Atlanta woman calls 911 to order chicken wings

ATLANTA - When you're craving some spicy wings, it may seem like an emergency, but it wouldn't be something you'd call 911 for.

One Atlanta woman would disagree. Atlanta police say she rang up the emergency line to "order some finger-lickin' goodness."

Police shared audio of the 911 call on Wednesday.

"I was just wondering if someone could order me some hot wings," the woman asked the 911 dispatcher.

After a moment of silence, the dispatcher responded.

"Hey, that's not what 911 does," she told the woman, who then hung up.

The Atlanta Police Department said that, while they loved a good wing fest as much as the next person, 911 is only for true emergencies.

"Next time you’re craving some hot wings, remember: dial up your favorite restaurant, not 911," an APD spokesperson wrote on Facebook.

Unnecessary 911 calls in Atlanta

Last year, officials told the Atlanta City Council that out of 1.3 million calls handled by the ATL e-911 in 2023, only 45,000 were deemed serious emergencies and only 900 of those were shootings or stabbings.

Some of the calls they received in 2023 included a man calling to ask about the score of the latest football game and a man trying to move his couch's pillows.

Though call wait times have improved slightly from an average of 29 seconds to 24 seconds, Atlanta Police Department’s chief administrative officer Peter Aman told members of the council the influx of non-emergency calls has made it difficult to get phones answered more quickly on top of staffing issues.

Officials are urging residents to think twice before dialing the number and directing people with non-emergencies to call 311 instead.

Starting this year, ATL 311 is now being used to handle APD’s non-emergency calls.