Eleven-month-old boy accidentally dials 9-1-1 and gets dad arrested

THE CANADIAN PRESS

21/01/2009 2:55:00 AM

WHITE ROCK, B.C. - A B.C. man probably wishes he had given his 11-month-old son a set of keys to play with instead of a phone, after the infant accidentally dialled 9-1-1 and brought police to dad's marijuana grow operation.

Mounties say a 9-1-1 call came in from a White Rock, B.C. residence Friday morning but whoever was on the other end of the line hung up. Officers arrived at the residence and after numerous knocks on the door went unanswered, they entered the home.

"The gentleman was quite surprised," said White Rock RCMP Const. Janelle Canning.

She said the 29-year-old male, startled by the sudden sight of police, insisted he hadn't made the call.

When it was suggested a child might have dialled, the father objected and said his son was far too young.

That's when police spotted the baby boy, phone in hand.

"We saw him playing with the cordless phone and just pressing all the buttons, so evidently he had called 9-1-1," Canning said.

With that mystery solved, officers began inspecting the residence and soon discovered a 500-plant marijuana grow operation.

The father was arrested and will appear in court in early April on charges of production of a controlled substance and mischief.

The boy was removed from the home by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, though he was later released into his mother's custody.

The mother does not live in the residence and Canning says she had no idea what was going on at the home.