E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSA man in Connecticut called 911 when a deli sandwich wasn't made to his liking. WVIT-TV's Todd Piro reports.
A Connecticut man knows how he likes his sandwich, and so does the 911 dispatcher who took his call on Wednesday afternoon complaining about how it was made.
“I specifically asked for little turkey, and little ham, a lot of cheese and a lot of mayonnaise and they are giving me a hard time. I wonder if you can stop by and just … ,” he said when he called 911 from Grateful Deli in East Hartford on Wednesday afternoon.
You can listen to the full call here.
But, here are the highlights:
The dispatcher remains calm and manages to calm Rother McLennon down, all while trying to make him realize that a sandwich, no matter how much it differs from what he asked for, is no reason to call 911.
“You’re calling 911 because you don’t like way that they’re making your sandwich?” the dispatcher asks.
“Exactly,” he said.
With that settled, the dispatcher offers some advice:
“So, then, don’t buy it,” she said.
But McLennon, who seems to be a regular at the deli, tells her he’s not just calling about this sandwich. He also fears that they won’t make his sandwich to his specific request in the future.
For more, visit NBCConnecticut.com
“I mean, I just want to solve this the right way,” he said. “Her sister made it, but she left. They are playing games with me, so I was just wondering if you could come by,” he said. “I just want it resolved and I want to be able to come back here and get the regular sandwich that I ask for.”
The call ends with more advice to the caller
“In the future, just don‘t buy the sandwich,” 911 tells him.
“I’ll look at it before I buy it,” he said.
Tila Azinheira, who owns the deli, said the man placed a phone order for 14 sandwiches and they made them the way he asked. Then, he did not want to pay for them.
Woman has 911 meltdown over McNuggets
Azinheira said the deli told the man they could not take the sandwiches back because they were special orders, then he used the deli's phone to call 911.
McLennon called the deli on Thursday to apologize and tell them that he would be coming back in the future for more sandwiches, the deli owner said.
No information was immediately available on the man’s age or his hometown. Police have not filed charges.
March 4: The 27-year-old Florida resident told authorities that she'd paid for a 10-piece, but was refused a refund after being told the restaurant had run out. MSNBC's Willie Geist has the details.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
Leave a Comment:
This story is incomplete. Calling 911 for non emergency situations is a crime. In a few places it is actually a felony. This story doesn’t even mention that fact, but it does say that police have not filed charges. I will at least mention here, that these people are complete and TOTAL IDIOTS, and should probably not be allowed out in public, without some sort of adult supervision.
Totally and completely agree with you.
Kinda sounds to me like the guy may be mentally challenged. That's probably why the police aren't filing any charges. It's probably a small town where everyone knows him. Calm down everyone...
Why isn't it a reason to call 911? It is better than reaching over the counter and smacking them, isn't it? I'm all for the latter, as it might teach people to be better mannered and nicer to each other, but then who winds up in jail? Our society is becoming a lose/ lose, where we feel dependent on police, because either action we choose is usually wrong or illegal.
Exactly Adrienne, law enforcement holds wide discretion in charging out crimes. Statutes often criminalize the act of calling 911 in non-emergency situations, but there usually needs to be something more than just making the phone call (such as calling over and over again or harrassing the dispatcher) and in no state in the union does it rise to felony level (interfering with a 911 call could be charged as a felony but not making a non-emergency call).
Settle down JamVee. This individual most likely suffered from a mental illness or a mental challenge. He did not hurt anyone. Our criminal laws do not punish people for being stupid. And that is exactly why we grant law enforcement latitude in choosing to charge out behavior that could arguably fall within a statute. Imagine if every act that could arguably fall into a criminal statute was actually charged. We'd all be in prison.
trust2112
Why isn't it a reason to call 911? It is better than reaching over the counter and smacking them, isn't it? I'm all for the latter, as it might teach people to be better mannered and nicer to each other, but then who winds up in jail? Our society is becoming a lose/ lose, where we feel dependent on police, because either action we choose is usually wrong or illegal.
Yep, causing violence always makes people better mannered and nicer to each other. Whatever! You can't just smack someone for not making your sandwich the way you want.
Small town?? It's freakin Hartford!!
Lets see 'Trust 2112' You want to smack someone to make society better mannered and nicer? That makes a lot of sense. I'm sure its just the kind of thing Gandhi would have recommended.
Lets see maybe he was't charged because he is challendged and everyone knows him, I doubt it sinceit was a 14 sandwich order. But I sure hope no one with a real emergency was prevented from getting timely help because this person was tying up a line. 911 does not have unlimited lines and operators and tying them up over stupid stuff like this is why people should be charged.
Hartford, for lack of a better term, is a sh!thole that doesn't even deserve the term "city". It claims a population of 120,000, but anyone who has ever spent any significant amount of time there knows that it's actually 60,000 insurance and law firm employees who show up between 9 am and 5 pm, and then the rest of the time, the city's population consists of 60,000 gang members and drug dealers.
And for some reason, all of these Connecticut idiots think that Hartford is some sort of cultural center. Bitchplease. It's Springfield's fat, mean older brother. It's really funny because Connecticut is right between Boston and New York, but most of CT's residents can't be bothered to visit either of these great cities because they're so caught up in their stupid, meaningless ghetto lives.
If you couldn't tell, I'm not from Connecticut and I'm incredibly bitter that I somehow ended up living here. This entire state sucks.
This one is easy; since there was no emergency, simply bill the caller for the 911 dispatcher's time.....say $1,000 or so.
@JamVee, While it is a crime virtually everywhere, I would ask that you prove it is a FELONY anywhere. I seriously doubt that.
Put these idiots in jail for 30 days. See how they like those sandwiches and McNuggets.
Well, 'it' SHOULD be a felony, just as submitting this article should be grounds for something far less than a Pulitzer!!
@Her Peas;
You have the option of moving to another state. I suggest that you do so, because we are all getting very tired of your bichin and whining about how much Connecticut sucks.
ercillor,
This article received your attention which is far less than a Pulitzer.
Her Peas,
Are you in jail or something? Get the EFF out if you hate it so much. Your torment brings a tear to my eye!
Love,
A Happy Rich Bastid in Westport
Fine this idiot, who cares if he's mentally challenged.
The man needs to talk to his therapist, and darned sure he should not call emergency dispatch.
He seems sane enough to stand trial.
Stop the spread of STUPIDITY , sterilization is in order here ! If these idiots don't have enough sense to know you don't call 9/11 over bad food ,then you got no business raising kids .For that matter being allowed to roam free is more than these deserve . You gotta wonder to yourself how these people get this stupid . I think all fast food workers should take a lesson from the Brother at Mcdonalds .The one that opened up that large can of Whoopass, on those beligerant black females attacking him.Gonna learn someday these people get paid poorly, and worked hard, they're not there for your personal abuse, nor do they have to take it . Just ask those 2 Black girls if they ever gonna talk @!$%# again !
Some people just don't know what 911 is for or what institutes an "emergery"(fire, crime in progress, serious health issues/injury). But you hear story like this one all the time. Remember one that a lady called 911 because she was waiting too long in drive thru @ a fast food place. Another one about a guy who called 911 because the bag of weed he bought was "light" and had too many stems!. People need to learn beter intercommuitactions skills and how to deal with minor conflicts and disagreements. No matter what you might think of them, 911 and the police are not there to make sure you pizza has enough cheese on it or your Fries are not cold! As far as the attacks on the state of Conn. I don't live there --visited a few times --do know some parts are better than others -- and for all I know some places really do suck --but there are some really nice places there too..depending on what you can afford -- just like anywhere else. If you hate your town so much --get a job , save up your money --buy a bus ticket --and get the @#&%$ out!. I bet the folks there might be happy to see you go!
I too was curious about the lack of any penalty for calling 911 over so trivial a matter.
I expect that, not withstanding the law, it is simply not worth the bother to prosecute every self-involved fool who expects to resolve their minor conflicts through an emergency call to the police.
Isn't there a fine for using 911 for non-emergency reasons in law already???
2 deleted, elmer simendinger-1586074 derailing about McLennon's suspected politics.
There's a whole section for that.
You're suspended for a day for violating #4 of the Code of Honor. Post on-topic.
I wrote my first post before I listened to the tape , WTF this guy is black also . What the hell's wrong with you people ! You'll shoot each other at will, and cut your own throat if you call a cop . But you'll call 911 over a screwed up sandwich ? I'm not a racist person ,in fact I believe Jesus was Black ,as was some of the other Isrealites. And I hate to admit it , but after watching video, after video, of Violent, Cussing, Irate over nothing, Black Females show their a$$es in public, I can see WHY racist's have a field with you . At least the hillbillies stay in the hills and act stupid ,that gives them more sense than ya'll .
@HerPeas: We all know Conn. sucks but unlike you we are smart enough not to live there. If you don't like it move it's that simple
Should have gone to Quiznos.... They're like a donut shop where I live, always a cop or two nearby.
Better to let the guy blow off a few pounds of steam on the dispatcher than a few rounds of mean on the cashier.
If police aren't going to file charges, then the precedent is set. If you live in Hartford, don't be afraid to call 911 for sandwich support. This is clearly an acceptable practice, otherwise, the police would press charges.
But I think the real story here is that Casey Anthony changed her name to Tila Azinheira and now works in a deli in Connecticut. That's obviously her in the above picture.....
:)
one should be able to call the police over bad restaurant service or bad food, we shouldn't have to wait for hell's kitchen to reach every restaurant to inspect...if he doesn't get what he wants, and then can't cancel, that is a good reason to call the cops, because the restaurant is now trying to steal from him. it might be a small crime, but if you steal someones purse and it only has $5 in it, it is still a crime.
Not so sure about the non-emergency thing. When I lived in Buffalo, I discovered that some items had been stolen from my locked basement storage area, sometime within a 2 month period. I called the Buffalo Police phone number, assuming that since this was a non-emergency I should not call 911. They told me to hang up and call 911.
In my town (the one that that the weatherman got shot with a crossbow) they actually tell us to call 911 for anything, even non-emergencies. However, they do prioritize those calls and will always respond to emergency situations first, then get down to lesser problems. And no it isn't a misdemeanor, or even felony like some would have you believe. I've had to call 911 because a neighbors dog kept crapping in my yard, and they wouldn't come clean it up, as an example of how we do things here.
And yes they did advise me not too shoot the dog or neighbor, even though they were destroying my property and I do have a right to defend it, with force. And no, I am not a Republican or teabagger.
trust2112 you must understand 911 is for people to access Emergency Services. Fire, Police, Ambulance....only. No complaints over sandwich orders, no discussions over how to cook a turkey, no discussion on the merits of paper over plastic. Emergency Services....do you not understand what those are? The 911 operators have much more important things to deal with than you complaining instead of reaching over the counter to "smack" someone. They will however dispatch police to have you arrested for doing so and also for calling 911 to complain about your sandwich, since that is illegal. Good luck with your attitude. It seems to me you are the one that needs to be taught respect which hopefully happens very soon. If you please make attempts like you stated that would be very good, I need to read about more idiots. You say you arent a republican but I believe you need to be teabagged as well. You give rednecks a bad name.
If it was my deli he would not be allowed back in or to purchase anything else. "NO SOUP FOR YOU!"
Actually it's East Hartford and the population is only 50,000.
Better than shooting the place up I guess ... Some people have such a bad temper that believe it or not would kill someone over something that stupid.
i've had rotten bread served to me, i've been over charged titled miscellanea at a food service, and ive threatened to call the police over this bad services, but knowing they would hang up on me i didn't bother. but because the food area is important to our health, a customer should have the right to complain because it is a service that we pay for...and if we don't like what they are serving us, and or overcharging when the price is not displayed the cops should be notified...why, because if they are doing that crap to one person, they must be doing it to alot more people who don't pay attention to these details, then we wonder why there are so many sick incidents, and why hospitals have so many patients in them.
too funny ... made my Friday hahahahahahhahaaha ... pretty soon people will be calling 911 and complain about themselfs..."i did not like the way i made my sandwich....can you come down and talk to me and resolve it"
oh please! ok kamanda, that's why 70% of americans will have cancer in 2020! i guess cancer just rises only because of bad karma! it's funny how people believe in fairytales, but don't believe that food can actually be the cause, yet it can't be the food one makes for oneself, because im sure they make it carefully....which must mean it's the food that is made by restaurants and delis and what else out there people eat at. plus, they don't like to throw away rotten food, they rather sell it to people who don't complain, and who cares if they get sick, at least they won't know to link it to them, right.
Golly, trust2112, you sound like a great neighbor.
Way to go tyler - you got a day's detention. Perhaps you'll learn to be a little more discrete in the future.
I'm amazed that we can get people to answer 911 calls. Well, maybe we can fix that too; if we keep shrinking government, they'll get laid of.
@ Russell-1925152, I don't think you understood what I said. Here in Johnson City, TN you can call a complaint too the police's non-emergency number. The police tell you too call 911, even though they know it isn't an emergency. Of course most people have enough common sense to not call on cooking tips or because x-store screwed up my order, but that is the way things are done here, right or wrong, everything goes through 911.
Trust2112 -
Had the same problem one time with the next-door folks - dog crapping in the yard where children played. Talked to them about it to no avail. Shoveled it all up one day when they weren't home and deposited it on the "welcome" mat. Had no problems after that.
I've had bad sandwiches but I didn't know reporting this crime to 911 was an option.
Another shining example of the dumbing down of America, yikes.
Easy there. It sounds to me like he was mentally challenged, which is probably why the police didn't press charges.
No, it's just the Hartford area. It's a well-documented fact that over 93% of the people there are f--king retarded.
Yes, it's more proof that the average U.S. Citizen is becoming dumber -- because you have to be very dumb to call being ticked off about a sandwich order an "emergency".
And, Her Peas, why don't you just pack your things and MOVE to another state?
Because it's almost more fun to observe how ridiculous you all are without realizing it, tell you about it, and listen to you react with indignation and shock.
Agnon, if you are indeed a CT resident, try to deny that this behavior isn't so completely typical of the morons who inhabit CT's cities. Just try.
You know you can't, because this is actually pretty tame compared to the stupid sh!t on the news here every night. Run over a 70 year old man and drive away? HARTFORD! "New England's Rising Star." LOL.
PH-3046605
Yes, "mentally challenged" in the way that all people are who call 911 over such trivial things as no pickle on their hamburger -- or not enough mayo on a sandwich.
If this man is mentally challenged, I don't see why he isn't in some institution. He's a threat to society, especially if he drives - which I wouldn't be surprised about.
@Her Peas;
No, I am not a resident of Connecticut. You, however, have just admitted to choosing to live in Connecticut -- just so you can
Some advice for you: Get a life, stop pretending you are better than everyone else. Oh, and I know that the stuff you complain about in Connecticut also happens wherever you happen to have moved from, because it happens everywhere -- even where I live.
I don't know, I can see how someone with some OCD issues might lose it a bit. I don't think he would need to be institutionalized, just maybe better with his meds. I'd save the institutionalization for people who are so crazy AND dangerous. I don't think he's a threat. In fact, I think the opposite because he called a mediator instead of being violent. While 911 is obviously not the right mediator in this case, it at least shows some logical process. Much better than the rage heads who actually hurt people when they don't get what they want.
Not OCD issues, PH. Just someone who thinks everything should be done according to THEIR wishes.
I don't have to pretend.
So you know him personally then? And are well-equipped to discuss his mental health and history? Please, do share with the rest of us.
This tears it MSNBC, I come in the house because it's too freak'n hot outside and all I see is one moron "who gives a $hit" story after another. And that includes Obama's immigration story, I'm going in the pool!
Her peas, I give you some advice that I always gave my kid. "It can't always be everyone else. Sometimes it is YOU."
Sounds like your kid's an asshoIe. Wonder how that happened?
Her Peas banned, rereg of Chris-629698.
Pretty dumb, calling 911 because of a bad sandwich. Everyone knows that's what 411 is for. Sheesh.
call...BR549...
Sample's Sales is now Sample's Sandwiches? Good for Junior, finally branching out! :-)
WTF are these kind of people on? Seriously.. Calling 911?! Over an effen sandwich or nuggets,ect..?!!
/boggle
People like him should be institutionalized. Imagine if this guy was able to get his hands on a loaded gun.
Time to start charging these idiots who call 911 to report things like a stopped-up toilet...
A co-worker of mine actually called 911 because her electricity went out early one morning. The dispatcher told her that was not an emergency. She said, "Yes it is, because I need to get ready for work". So I guess one person's "emergency" is another person's inconvenience.
They should of held the cheese and the mayo all together and told the fatass to eat a salad!
It's a double standard - it would have been perfectly fine for the shop owner to call 911 if the man had walked out without paying the full amount that the shop owner wanted.
That would have been an actual crime...
Jay - and not delivering on an ordered product isn't?
You can call them "crimes" all you want, but 9-1-1 is for emergencies, not civil disputes. I would suggest you all remember that before you call 9-1-1 for something non-emergent in nature.
lawful1 - in many communities, the only number listed for the police IS 911.
That may be true, but a mis-made sandwich is not a matter for the police unless and until the situation escalates into physical confrontation.
You can refuse to pay for something that is unsatisfactory. It's not like the store owner snatched his wallet.
Well, I might be COUNTRY but where I come from you can dial zero and tell the operator you need to speak to the police. But even with that being said, what idiot calls the police to report a wrong order at a deli? REALLY? Are we supposed to be so LAZY that we can't just refuse to pay for the order or be civil enough to take the sandwiches and not patronize the deli after placing a complaint with the owner? In being an adult (a rational adult too) there is no option for tying up emergency personnel on a non-emergency sandwich order.
You sound as idiotic as the caller. You see no difference between a messed up sandwich order and an actual crime? Idiots like you are the reason sandwich orders get screwed up in the first place.
No way2go. That would be a civil dispute. Failing to complete a contract.
Quizicat, you are correct! Just because they demanded payment does not obligate him to pay for an item that was not up to the standards of the actual order. The entire thing is silly, most of us would have been annoyed and left the deli.
Now, I must attack the pizza delivery boy that did not hold the box level.....
No not if he hadn't paid for it. The owner reserves the right to serve who they want. He hadn't paid for the order yet so no contract has been violated.
3rdviewfromleft
No, it is not a double standard. Had the man walked out with the sandwiches and not paid for them, that would be theft.
Because the man had not yet paid for the sandwiches, and there was no requirement for him to even accept the sandwiches, there was no crime. You need to do some more studying on Law, 3rdviewfromleft.
Exactly what Agnon said.
He has every right to change his mind and say he doesn't want them, granted he doesn't take the sandwiches with him. If he leaves the store without the sandwiches without paying, that's completely legal...he hasn't stolen anything.
Tila Azinheira, who owns the deli, said the man placed a phone order for 14 sandwiches and they made them the way he asked. Then, he did not want to pay for them.
Azinheira said the deli told the man they could not take the sandwiches back because they were special orders, then he used the deli's phone to call 911.
From this, I take it that he was required to pay for the sandwiches so walking out and not paying for them was not an option. That's why he called 911. I'd be pretty pissed off if I had to pay for 14 sandwiches that weren't made the way I asked them to be made and I don't know what option there is in a case like this.
The dispatcher might have been kept from helping someone with a real emergency during the time that this stupid guy was on the phone with her. Charges should absolutely be filed. I would like to know that this kind of (recently frequent) abuse of the 911 service is not going to hamper it's actual function, and that if I or a loved one has a real emergency, we are not denied assistance because of some overly-entitled, self-centered jack wagon.
I can understand his frustrations. Stupid foreigner taking orders. Sounded to me like she barely understands English, let alone speak it.
That doesn't give anyone license to call 911 to complain. Sounds like a fine is in order (perhaps $50 for the 1st offense; $100 for the 2nd)...
Kevin - And YOU are a stupid commenter with no compassion, heart, or soul. You are "better" how? Because you have been in America longer than this lady? You deserve "special" for what reason? Sick narcissist that you are deserves nothing special.
Yes, she's so stupid, she probably knows more about the History of the United States of America than you do. I wonder, Kevin N Cramer, where YOUR grandparents/great-grandparents came from -- and whether THEY spoke perfect English when THEY came to "America".
Oh, wait... "Cramer" is a White name, and the owner of the deli isn't White. Ok, "mystery" solved.
Cramer, spreek engrish
If we are not allowed to kill these morons, can we at least sterilize them to get them out of the gene pool?
Can't we just round up idiots like this and make sure they don't reproduce...we don't need this kind of DNA in the pool
that guy doesn't know how to make a sandwich. no story will ever top the mcnuggets lady!!
Time to start thinning out the herd.
Can we start at your house. We would have to start somewhere. We should only keep the best of the best of the best ad infinum. That would only leave me and you and I am smarter than, to bad but you gotta go Mary.
Fine that selfish idiot as much as possible for abusing an emergency service.
Only one of two possibilities: Mental illness OR IQ of 5.
Third possibility: Has the "Veruca Salt Syndrome". You know what it is, the "I want what I want and I want it NOW!" entitlement mentality that so many people seem to develop just because they think they are "important" in some small way....
Poster children for birth control.
Nope. Poster child for the extremely selfish.
Charge him for the call, and any calls in the future, cuz, clearly, he'll make more. But more importantly, lock that whack job up! Helloooo he needs medication! ANYONE who would do that and think it was OK is obviously NOT.
He should've at least had the decency to choke on the damned thing; at least that would've justified such a moronic call. What a stupid, stupid man....
We get to deal with these idiots on a daily basis in the fire department. People calling because they have a splinter or constipation. Our society has become ignorant and helpless beyond belief.
Charge them $500 for each stupid call and eventually they will get the idea.
I don't envy your job, Watermelon53.
And yes, I agree with both you and Whatever-4; our society HAS become ignorant and helpless. And yes, we SHOULD charge people for misusing emergency services. They're not your maids, butlers or personal complaint departments. They're there to save your fool neck!
Meanwhile someone with a legitimate medical emergency is unable to get help because the phone line to 911 is tied up by frivolous, idiotic calls like this.
the 911 dispatcher should have sent out a police car asap - to arrest the guy "and" to bring back lunch for the crew.
LOL! Yes! Hahaha
SHOPPERBEN~
That was perfect! LOL...
LMAO at SHIPPERBEN !!! ROTFLMFAO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I dialed 911 on a fax machine at the office used it like the phone, forgot I didn't have to dial 9 Long distance so I dialed 1 it dialed the other 1 to get out side line don't know how the other one was dialed either I did or the fax did as an emergency back up or I hit the 1 too many times, the police showed up. We explained what happened YA I felt like a idiot I had to give my license for ID, the whole nine yards they took a report, honest mistake, but still, the officer explained I could have been arrested.
That is actual very common. The international calling access code is 011 and people would frequently mis-dial. The problem is when the dispatcher calls them back when they hang up they are usually elusive requiring a unit response. Mistakes happen. Just admit it and there isn't an issue.
This is no joke. We had a couple of old phones, that weren't needed. We let the kids play with them and they dialed 911; it of course was not plugged in, so...no problem. But months later we needed it again. I plugged it in, and heard the sounds of it dialing....and it auto called the last number (which was 911). Before anyone answered, I picked up the receiver and hung up. Less than a minute later, the police called to see if there was a problem I, embarrassingly told them what happened.
If the guy was a cop, he should have just tazed the deli clerk, as yes, calling 911 for non-emergencies may well be illegal.
Police should have been dispatched to the deli for sure. Because while this idiot was tying up the 9-1-1 line and operator, someone with a REAL emergency might not get through. He should have been arrested and/or fined.
It takes more time and resources to send a unit than to simply explain that the line is for emergencies. We have them call back on a non-emergency number. It really isn't a big deal, nor is it a infrequent event. The media makes it sound like a big deal. Multiple calls are an issue. One call?? Not really. As long as one or more of the 911 lines are free and a dispatcher is available, no need to make a major issue out of it.
Most calls come in right around the bar closing time...go figure.