What do you do if you’re overcharged one cent for a beer? If you’re Danny Smith of Tennessee, you call 911, because it's a police emergency. But officers disagreed and arrested him.
Smith, 51, of Memphis, was arrested for using 911 in a non-emergency situation Monday by the Memphis PD, the Smoking Gun reported Wednesday.
According to a complaint filed in Shelby County, Smith called 911 to request police assistance at the Night and Day Food Market in Memphis. Smith told cops the clerk overcharged him and owed him a penny for the 16-ounce Heineken he purchased. Police warned Smith not to dial 911 in non-life-threatening situations. He then became agitated and walked away.
But just 20 minutes later, Smith called 911 a second time and relayed his story to officers again. A cop repeated to Smith that the situation was a “civil matter.”
Asked why he called 911 again, Smith allegedly told cops “he felt police was not helping him get his penny back from the business,” according to the complaint.
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The report states that Smith again became enraged and called a non-emergency number for police assistance while officers were still at the scene to speak to the store clerk. He was then arrested on charges of using 911 in a non-emergency situation.