HENDERSON – A Henderson man who is accused of calling Henderson 9-1-1 more than 3,600 times over the past year was arrested Wednesday night accused again of tying up the emergency line with hang-up calls.
Tuy Thai, 35, was booked Wednesday night into the Henderson Detention Center on 59 counts of unlawful use of 9-1-1. He is being held on $59,000 bond.
The 59 counts of unlawful use of 9-1-1 are just for the 59 times he is accused of calling 9-1-1 on Tuesday and Wednesday. In each instance, he is accused of calling 9-1-1 from his cell phone, when a dispatcher answered the call; he said nothing and then hung up. When the dispatcher recalled the number, he did not answer.
Henderson Police 9-1-1 communications operators recall all 9-1-1 hang ups to ensure that no one needs assistance.
“Crank calls into 9-1-1 dispatch centers prevent people with real emergencies from getting through quicker,” Henderson Police Chief Patrick Moers said. “When there is an emergency, every second can count and fake calls can delay getting help to the people who really need it.”
Thai had been questioned in the past regarding the calls into 9-1-1 and he always denied it or blamed it on others using his phone. On Wednesday, Henderson Police detectives watched him to ensure he was the one using the phone and that no one else had access to it.
Thai was pulled over after he left his house and was asked if he had an emergency that required assistance. He denied calling 9-1-1, and then later said his phone was broken and it dialed 9-1-1 on its own.
Thai faces up to a year in jail and/or up to a $2,000 fine for each count of unlawful use of 9-1-1, a gross misdemeanor.
-- From news release
