North Van RCMP shares child’s apology letter after mistaken 911 call

Mounties in North Vancouver are hoping to connect with a child who penned a heartfelt apology letter after calling 911 over the weekend.

The RCMP says the child — who is likely elementary age — wrote up the apology and dropped it off, along with a Starbucks gift card, with their parent on Saturday.

“It’s obvious that the child called 911 by accident and we did respond. As per our protocol, we always respond to 911 calls, dropped 911 calls,” explained Const. Mansoor Sahak.

The letter, shared by the detachment on social media, says the child, named Aedan, is “really sorry” that he phoned the emergency line “whan (sic) I did not need it.”

Aedan goes on to apologize for not telling the truth when officers came to his door.

“I am sorry I lied. I should have told my mom or dad,” the letter continues. “I know I wasted your time. Thank you for keeping us safe.”

Hi Aedan,
We received your apology note and we think it’s very nice of you. On the plus side, we are glad you know how to dial 911 for help. We would like to meet you to teach you about real emergency situations. Give us a call at 604-985-1311 and request to speak to Cst Sahak. pic.twitter.com/8QijLH80v0

— North Vancouver RCMP (@nvanrcmp) May 15, 2023

Sahak says officers would like to reconnect with Aedan, adding they “haven’t been able to track him down.”

“Our goal is to just have a chat with him, and we really appreciate the letter — it’s a very sweet and kind letter — and (we want to) give him a tour of our 911 operation centre at the detachment,” Sahak told CityNews Monday, adding they also have stickers to give the child.

“We always like ending things on a positive note and it’s an amazing thing that this kid did, writing to us and apologizing and making up for his mistake.”

In addition to giving the child a tour, Sahak says officers would also like to teach Aedan about emergency situations, adding police are happy to know that he knows how to dial 911 — if needed.

The RCMP also shared the note in an effort to help inform others of the proper reasons to call the emergency line.

“It’s a good reminder for everybody, especially for kids,” Sahak said. “It’s quite surprising, even adults sometimes don’t know what is the proper way of calling 911 or police in general, what’s considered an emergency and what’s not. In the cases where you call 911 by accident, it’s very important that you stay on the line so that we’re not tracking you down. It is our policy that anytime there’s a dropped 911 call, in most cases, we will have to attend to make sure that you’re safe especially when there’s some distress heard in the background.”

Mounties are hoping to connect with Aedan to set up a tour. His family can call 604-985-1311 and ask for Const. Sahak.