Why call the police when a UFO is sighted?

[krool1969]

This is something I've never understood. I mean, you call the cops if you see a crime happen. As far as I know there are now laws that apply to interstellar travel.

Also, What are the police going to do about beings that have technology to travle from their star system to ours?

Personally I think it would be better to call the astronomy department at your nearest university.

[Citicop]

I know for sure I have never gotten this call, and I don't think I've ever heard another officer saying they got a call like that in my whole career.

But it's not surprising. People call the police for all kinds of things... toilet won't quit running and is flooding the house, squirrels in a trashcan, my 9 year old won't do his homework, etc...

[MikeG]

This is something I've never understood. I mean, you call the cops if you see a crime happen. As far as I know there are now laws that apply to interstellar travel.

Also, What are the police going to do about beings that have technology to travle from their star system to ours?

Personally I think it would be better to call the astronomy department at your nearest university.

Simple really. People call "911" for an emergency. A "fiery streak" might make you think the Fire Department would be a good choice. After all, an airplane crash is a fire call so an Alien crash should be a fire call too. But that analysis fails to factor in the fact that Firemen have a lot of downtime and have seen all the alien movies out there. In fact, they are probably playing an Alien FPS XBox game when the call comes in. They aren't going without an armed escort and dispatch knows it. Whence the reason why cops are dispatched to Aliens.

QED.

[retdetsgt]

Simple really. People call "911" for an emergency.

Yep. We have one dispatch center for 911 that handles police, fire and ambulance. People may not necessarily want to send the police, but they feel they need to tell someone.

Plus our dispatch center gets a lot of calls from nut cases who are too crazy to sleep at night. Who else is awake to talk to at 3 in the morning?

[txinvestigator1]

For UFOs call INS. They handle illegal aliens.

Right after Gulf War I started I was dispatched to talk to a woman who reported seeing a "Scud" missle headed over the city. In south Texas. roflmao

**this was not long after CNN and Headline News became 24 hour news. Scuds were a huge topic of reporters and anchors**

[retdetsgt]

Right after Gulf War I started I was dispatched to talk to a woman who reported seeing a "Scud" missle headed over the city. In south Texas. roflmao

**this was not long after CNN and Headline News became 24 hour news. Scuds were a huge topic of reporters and anchors**

Our dispatch center is really good about triaging those kinds of calls. The street cops never know of about 95+% of them that come in. Particularly on a night shift, our guys simply don't have the time to fool with that kind of nonsense and the 911 center knows it.

[mcsap]

Because Ghostbusters went out-of-business back in the late 90's. Seems the libs got a law passed that ghosts were a minority and we could only deal with them if we had probable cause. There was a lawsuit over False Imprisonment and another for Deportation Violations without due process.

Simply because they were a ghost was not enough to vanquish them.

[Aussie George]

I remember when back in the Army one day I was flicking through some manual on protocols etc....

I stumbled on the section on what to do if a UFO sighting was reported....made me laugh.

On another note, isn't it funny how nowadays with all the cameras out there now, on phones, iPhones, etc, and yet no one has managed to get good recent footage of UFO...hmmmm

[retdetsgt]

On another note, isn't it funny how nowadays with all the cameras out there now, on phones, iPhones, etc, and yet no one has managed to get good recent footage of UFO...hmmmm

Simple, because most people living in trailer parks can't afford that stuff......

That doesn't mean some anal probing isn't occurring though.

[icu650]

Most people who legitimately see something unexplainable in the sky call the police because they are scared and don't know if the object creates a threat. It is their way of documenting their sighting with a reliable witness. The others are just plain nuts with aluminum foil hats.

[krool1969]

I am a certified science nerd. Personally I think 100% of the UFO sightings are natural or man-made (human made) events. Hardly anyone ever looks up at the sky, especially in cities with a lot of light pollution. In the city there simply isn't much to see. So when something unusual happens it's a big deal. A fireball (a metro larger than a golf ball can be very spectacular and isn't all that uncommon. (any of you who've worked graves will know this)

About 15 years ago the aurora reached as far south as the San Fransisco Bay Area. I'd never seen anything like it, and frankly it was creepy as hell. Beautiful but creepy. That caused the 911 dispatchers to be overloaded. This concerns me. What about real, life threatening emergencies? Once, driving down the freeway I came upon a stalled car in the number 2 lane (of 3). Cars were servicing all over but no one had crashed yet. I called 911 and it took quite a long time to get through (might have been others trying to call as well.) I later learned that a car hit the stalled one and someone was killed. Makes me wonder how many people die evry year waiting on hold because someone has called 911 because their kid won't do their homework.

[MikeG]

Simple, because most people living in trailer parks can't afford that stuff......

That doesn't mean some anal probing isn't occurring though.

And I think we have a winner....

"If I report to the police that I was drunkenly probed by aliens against my will, my friends won't think I'm gay."

Look at where these encounters seem to happen and tell me that isn't the real reason. I guess there are also the people that get so drunk they don't remember their gay romp and rationalize that aliens are the only possible explanation. I'm pretty sure Ned Beatty in Deliverance reported it as an alien encounter.

[suzanne1020U.S.]

At 14 years of age to my present age I still say it's government test flights, so just enjoy the view with a bag of popcorn.

[zombielion]

For UFOs call INS. They handle illegal aliens.

Right after Gulf War I started I was dispatched to talk to a woman who reported seeing a "Scud" missle headed over the city. In south Texas. roflmao

**this was not long after CNN and Headline News became 24 hour news. Scuds were a huge topic of reporters and anchors**

Haha. Wow. I'm from south Texas
And though I can't say for sure that I've seen a UFO
I can say i have seen odd things in the sky quite often

Maybe because of NASA in Houston, or the Border Patrol.
But one night in the empty lot behind my house.I saw a craft which i thought was a Drone(UAV)
And upon closer inspection, it looked like nothing I've ever seen before
Your right though.. i do think INS is your best bet when it comes to this. An alien is an alien whether it be from Mexico or another Galaxy

[Kimble]

.. i do think INS is your best bet when it comes to this. An alien is an alien whether it be from Mexico or another Galaxy

Too bad the federal government dissolved INS in 2003 during the creation of the Dept of Homeland Security (as well as the Bureau of Immigration & Customs Enforcement and Customs & Border Protection).

Also, someone of hispanic descent may take offense to your last sentence, that could be construed as a racist remark.