911 dispatcher accused of ordering McDonald’s when dealing with home invasion call: ‘Mhmm…McGriddle’

‘Your ordering breakfast should be different from answering a call,’ the county commission chair said

A Georgia man called 911 to report a home invasion only to hear the dispatcher ordering a McGriddle, according to a report (Getty Images)

A Georgia man called 911 when he thought someone was breaking into his home — but he heard the dispatcher ordering breakfast from McDonald’s on the other end of the line, according to a report.

Dylan Johnson called 911 on Valentine’s Day after his wife feared that someone was trying to break into their home. After trying three different lines, he finally got a hold of a dispatcher, who Johnson says he overheard ordering breakfast.

“My wife called me while I was at work about 9:30 and said someone was snooping around the house, knocking on the doors and banging on windows and stuff,” Johnson told WDBJ7.

He then rang Chatham County’s non-emergency line before ringing 911 three times.

A Georgia man called 911 to report a home invasion only to hear the dispatcher ordering a McGriddle, according to a report (Getty Images)

“I was panicking. My wife was home alone with my five-month-old daughter…. I was coming home not knowing what I was going to come home to,” Johnson said.

After trying to get in contact with an emergency dispatcher for six minutes, according to his call log reviewed by the outlet, he could hear that dispatcher pick up — and then he could hear her apparently ordering a McGriddle.

“Mhmm… McGriddle… *coughs* I’m sorry, what?” the dispatcher reportedly said three minutes into the call.

Johnson was shocked.

“I really couldn’t believe it. If it didn’t happen to me, I wouldn’t believe that it had happened to someone else. That’s how unbelievable it was,” he told the outlet.

By the time law enforcement showed up at his home, the suspicious person was gone, Johnson said.

Chatham County Commission Chairman Chester Ellis told WTOC that the dispatcher’s actions are now under review by her supervisors. After completing a review of Johnson’s call, officials will submit a report to Ellis, who will then discuss it with the Board of Commissioners, he told the outlet.

The dispatcher involved in the incident has been disciplined, but its details are not known.

Johnson’s call “is not a reflection of the level of service we hope to provide the citizens of Chatham County,” a county spokesperson told The Independent in a statement. “The call taker responded to someone in the room during the 911 call, and these two conversations should never have crossed. By the time the conversation in question took place, officers were already dispatched to the scene.” The call was dispatched within 24 seconds and an officer was on scene in 16 minutes, the spokesperson noted.

“That should never happen, okay? Your ordering breakfast should be different from answering a call. The two should never intertwine,” Ellis told the outlet.

Johnson said he was grateful the situation turned out to be OK, but stressed the need for change: “When someone is calling 911, they need help. I want them to treat everything as an emergency as they should be.”