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Girl Calls 911 Because She Knocked The Elf Off The Shelf
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 23, 2015
Modified Dec 23, 2015
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 23, 2015
Modified Dec 23, 2015
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Christmas is coming, which means many families have opted into the North Pole's surveillance program, also know as The Elf on the Shelf. Which is why one 7-year-old girl was so worried when she accidentally disturbed the Elf in her home that she called 911.
Isabelle LaPeruta had apparently thrown a ball in her Old Bridge home, and the Elf on the Shelf got knocked down to the floor. (The Elf cannot be touched by the children and must remain at a distance, but moves around the house at night, which can lead to all sorts of headaches for parents.) Since it was a Christmas emergency, she called 911. NBC New York got the recorded call:
"Hello?" the 911 operator says.
"It's Isabella," the girl says.
"Hi. Hi, Isabella. Why are you calling 911?" the operator asks.
Suddenly, the girl panics.
"Don't come to my house!" she shouts. "Don't!"
She goes on to explain, "I was trying to call my dad" to tell him about the accident.
The operator responds, "You can just say you made a mistake."
The police had to investigate the call and an officer "found the girl in tears. The officer calmed Isabella down as her mother woke from a nap and found her daughter trying to shoo away the cop."
The cop ended up calling headquarters, "Isabella apologized. She touched the Elf on a Shelf. She won't call 911 again." Old Bridge Police Lt. Joseph Mandola told NBC New York, "To her, it was an emergency when she touched the elf, and she's going to ruin Christmas, so that was her emergency. In her mind, she did right, and it was fine with us."
Isabella, who was described as hysterically crying during the incident, said, "I didn't want to get in trouble," and her mom said she now knows what a real emergency is.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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