A Police Dispatcher Received A 911 Call From A Boy Who Said He Had “A Really Bad Day” And Needed Help With Homework

The Lafayette Police Department would like to gently remind the general public that the emergency line should not be used for homework help.

A 911 dispatcher for the Lafayette Police Department in Lafayette, Indiana, received a call from a young boy last week who said he had “a really bad day” at school and was overwhelmed with his homework assignments.

The dispatcher, a woman named Antonia Bundy, proceeded to stay on the line with the boy and help him with his homework.

Matt Gard, a sergeant at the police department, told BuzzFeed News that while they do not condone anyone using the emergency line for nonemergency help, their dispatch center was not busy at the time. So, Bundy felt OK to receive the call and stay on the line with the child.

“That day there happened to be five dispatchers working at the same time, and only two dispatchers were taking calls,” said Gard. “Had other emergency calls come in, we had other dispatchers available to taking calls.”

Our dispatchers never know what the next call might be.They train for many emergency situations, homework help is not one they plan for. We don't recommend 911 for homework help but this dispatcher helped a young boy out and brightened his day.@PoliceOne @apbweb @wlfi @WTHRcom

The Lafayette Police Department shared the recording of the call on Twitter, writing Bundy “helped a young boy out and brightened his day.”

“I had a really bad day,” the boy is heard telling Bundy on the call.

“I just came to tell you...I just have tons of homework.”

When Bundy asked him what subjects in school he was particularly struggling with, he responded, “Math, and it’s so hard.”

Bundy then helped the young boy work out a math problem that involved adding fractions.

“I’m sorry for calling you, but I really needed help,” he’s heard saying at the end of the call.

Gard said Bundy attempted to stay on the line with the child to learn more about him and hopefully get in touch with his parents, but the call abruptly ended after the exchange.

Gard also added that because the call came from a cellphone that only allows the user to make 911 calls, they were unable to make a callback.

Overall, the police department is pleased with how Bundy handled the call.

“We don’t encourage the use of 911 for homework help. [However] in this situation, Antonia stated we weren’t busy and it sounded like [the boy] could use our help,” said Gard.

“She had to figure out what was causing him to have a bad day, and we were glad she was able to help the child out.”

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