Okla. Police Deliver on ‘Incredibly Smart’ Toddler's Unexpected 911 Call for 'Emergency Donuts' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Police delivered donuts to a 2-year-old boy and his brother after the toddler unexpectedly called 911 to ask for “emergency donuts."“Bennett requested a donut emergency, and #MPD delivered!,” wrote the Moore Police Department onXon Feb. 28. “His smile and laughter said it all! Together we are #moorestrong.”The 2-year-old, who lives with his parents and brother in Moore, Okla., gained local and national attention after he made the emergency call in February using an old phone. Amongst his toddler “gibberish,” the dispatcher was able to make out the words “emergency donuts.”“Kids these days are incredibly smart and advanced, so a lot of kids know 911 is for an emergency,” Clint Byley tells PEOPLE about the original phone call. “So, we weren’t sure exactly what we were expecting,” he continued. The public information officer was among those from the police department who responded to the child’s request the next day.After the initial phone call, the dispatcher called the number back, only for Bennett to end the call. The calls back and forth happened three or four times before the dispatcher realized Bennett wanted donuts, and he didn’t want to share them. In the later call, he started repeating the dispatcher, hence the final request for “emergency donuts,” Byley says.“She decided that she’s just going to talk to him and try to figure out why he is calling 911, but talk to him on his level,” Byley explains. “So, the conversation evolved very quickly to he wanted donuts, and he was calling on an older cell phone that his parents had given him to play with.”The police department called Bennett’s parents to confirm that nothing was amiss. When the parents learned their toddler wasn’t just pretending to order donuts, they were shocked.“They were appalled that this had happened,” Byley adds. Bennett’s parents had interacted with him while he talked about wanting donuts but didn’t realize the phone was capable of making 911 calls.“They were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we thought he was just playing a game with us,’ ” Byley remembers.After a quick meeting, Byley and his team decided to deliver donuts the next day with mom and dad’s approval.“They were super appreciative,” says Byley of the delivery, which was captured on video. “They asked to take pictures with us.”Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.In the video, both Bennett and his older brother are seen selecting their favorite donuts with grins on their faces.“It just was an incredibly positive experience overall,” Byley says of the interaction, which went viral after the police department posted the video on X. “It was a great way to teach others that just because a cell phone doesn’t have data or anything like that, it can still dial 911 in the case of an emergency, as long as it has a battery.”

Police delivered donuts to a 2-year-old boy and his brother after the toddler unexpectedly called 911 to ask for “emergency donuts.”

“Bennett requested a donut emergency, and #MPD delivered!,” wrote the Moore Police Department onXon Feb. 28. “His smile and laughter said it all! Together we are #moorestrong.”

The 2-year-old, who lives with his parents and brother in Moore, Okla., gained local and national attention after he made the emergency call in February using an old phone. Amongst his toddler “gibberish,” the dispatcher was able to make out the words “emergency donuts.”

“Kids these days are incredibly smart and advanced, so a lot of kids know 911 is for an emergency,” Clint Byley tells PEOPLE about the original phone call. “So, we weren’t sure exactly what we were expecting," he continued. The public information officer was among those from the police department who responded to the child’s request the next day.

After the initial phone call, the dispatcher called the number back, only for Bennett to end the call. The calls back and forth happened three or four times before the dispatcher realized Bennett wanted donuts, and he didn’t want to share them. In the later call, he started repeating the dispatcher, hence the final request for “emergency donuts,” Byley says.

“She decided that she’s just going to talk to him and try to figure out why he is calling 911, but talk to him on his level,” Byley explains. “So, the conversation evolved very quickly to he wanted donuts, and he was calling on an older cell phone that his parents had given him to play with.”

The police department called Bennett’s parents to confirm that nothing was amiss. When the parents learned their toddler wasn’t just pretending to order donuts, they were shocked.

“They were appalled that this had happened,” Byley adds. Bennett’s parents had interacted with him while he talked about wanting donuts but didn’t realize the phone was capable of making 911 calls.

“They were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we thought he was just playing a game with us,’ ” Byley remembers.

After a quick meeting, Byley and his team decided to deliver donuts the next day with mom and dad’s approval.

“They were super appreciative,” says Byley of the delivery, which was captured on video. “They asked to take pictures with us.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In the video, both Bennett and his older brother are seen selecting their favorite donuts with grins on their faces.

“It just was an incredibly positive experience overall,” Byley says of the interaction, which went viral after the police department posted the video on X. “It was a great way to teach others that just because a cell phone doesn’t have data or anything like that, it can still dial 911 in the case of an emergency, as long as it has a battery.”

source: people.com