Traffic tattler should learn real emergencies

If my son ratted me out to police for running a red light, I would tell him my car is out of service for ice cream runs the rest of the summer.

Six-year-old Robbie Richardson of Quincy, who is an aspiring police officer, took his crime-fighting role a bit too seriously last weekend when he called 911 after his dad ran a red light.

“My daddy went past the red light,” he told the dispatcher. “It was in the brand new car, my mommy’s car, and we had to go to the car wash, and then he went past the red light.”

The dad told the Herald yesterday he made a legal right turn on red and explained that to his child at the time, but this traffic tattletaler ignored him, went ahead and alerted authorities anyway.

Robbie’s dad should skip the car wash for a while and have his son scrub the vehicle every week for dialing police on a non-emergency matter. He can save some cash and teach the child a lesson.

This youngster clearly took the slogan “if you see something, say something” too much to heart and disregarded the driver’s education course he was getting from the back seat of mom’s new car.

“I have to apologize … my 5-year-old son,” the chagrined father told the dispatcher, misstating his boy’s age.

“He said you ran a red light,” the dispatcher said.

“Oh, no. I apologize,” the father said.

“No problem, as long as everything is all right,” the dispatcher said.

The 911 call released by Quincy police is pretty hilarious, I have to admit, and Robbie’s parents seem to have a sense of humor about it all. But I was shocked they made him available to the media.

We know our kids will make bad choices sometimes, but they’re supposed to be teachable moments, not an opportunity for 15 minutes of fame.

It’s never too early to teach children the importance of respecting police. I make my 3-year-old son say, “Thank you for your service,” anytime we pass a first responder on the street.

Norfolk County Sheriff Michael Bellotti was amazed a 6-year-old kid knew to call police, but seemed less than pleased that the boy misused emergency services.

“911 is there for emergencies and not meant to call out dad for traffic violations,” Bellotti said.

Robbie’s parents are proud of their son, which is all well and good. But I bet if police handed them a hefty fine for misusing 911, they might feel differently.