NZ police answer 4-year-old's call, confirm toys are cool

By NICK PERRY

Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — An emergency call made by a 4-year-old New Zealand boy asking for police to come over and check out his toys prompted a real-life callout and confirmation from an officer that the toys were, indeed, pretty cool.

Police shared audio of the call on social media this week along with a photo of the smiling boy sitting on the hood of a patrol cruiser, noting that while they don't encourage children to call the emergency number, the incident was "too cute not to share.”

The call begins all business: “This is police, where is the emergency?”

There's a pause as the unidentified boy hesitantly says, “Hi," and then “Police lady?”

“Yes," the dispatcher says, switching to a friendlier, singsong tone. "What’s going on?”

“Um, can I tell you something?” the boy asks, and after being told he can, says “I've got some toys for you.”

“You've got some toys for me?” says the dispatcher.

“Yep. Come over and see them,” the boy replies.

A man then gets on the phone confirming the call was a mistake, saying the 4-year-old had been helping out while his mother was sick.

A police dispatch call then goes out, giving the address: “There is a 4-year-old there who is wanting to show police his toys, over.”

“Yeah, I'm one-up, I'll attend to,” responds an officer.

Police said the officer, who they identified only as Constable Kurt, was shown an array of toys at the boy's house in the South Island city of Invercargill.

They said the officer was also able to have a “good, educational chat” about the proper use of the emergency number, which is 111 in New Zealand.

“He did have cool toys,” Constable Kurt reported back after attending the callout, according to police. They added that: “The lucky kid also got to see the patrol car and the officer put the lights on for him, too."