amber alert 911

Police are now charging people who call 911 to complain about Amber Alerts

Ask and you shall (sometimes) receive, angry internet people.

A 70-year-old Hamilton man has become the first known Ontario resident to be formally charged by police for calling 911 to complain about an Amber Alert. 

Douglas Bagshaw was charged with mischief, according to Hamilton Police, after repeatedly calling 911 on Tuesday evening when an Amber Alert was issued for five missing children from the Niagara region.

"At 5:04 p.m. on October 1, 2019, Hamilton Police received a 911 call from a male who stated that he did not have an emergency and was calling 911 to purposely tie up emergency lines," reads a statement released by police in Hamilton on Thursday.

"The male was angry about receiving the Amber Alert on his phone since he was trying to rest. He indicated he would continue to call in response to the ongoing alert."

Fortunately, the five missing siblings were found safe with their father on Wednesday — as a direct result of the Amber Alert, mind you.

Bagshaw is the only person we know of so far to have been charged for misusing 911, but he's far from the only person to call emergency responders and complain about recieving an Amber Alert on Tuesday evening.

"ATTENTION: The Toronto Police have been receiving calls from the public complaining about the Amber Alert," wrote Toronto Police Service media relations officer Alex Li in a statement that same night.

"Please do NOT call police to complain, instead find compassion and have the understanding to help locate these children!" Li warned. "Amber Alerts are issued for a reason."

Lead photo by

Hamilton Police


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Mysterious Parisian-style pavilion in Toronto hides abandoned secret tunnel

Canadians could be getting even more money from the feds next week

Deadline approaches for Canadians to claim part of $1.8M Nissan settlement

Ontario Place bulldozed under cover of darkness and people are livid

German neighbourhood has streets named after Toronto and other Canadian cities

Here's when Toronto could get its first snowfall of the year

Ontario child dies of rabies after contact with bat in their home

Canada just got a stunning new sundial coin that can actually tell time