Smoking = Call 911

A contradiction has arisen in Omaha (Neb.), where police are telling residents to dial 911 to report violations of the the smoking ban at businesses that serve food or alcohol, but they’re considered low-priority incidents. PIO Sgt. Teresa Negron told a reporter, “”[It’s like] any other crime that happens in any city — if somebody sees a crime happen, they can call 911 and report it.” She said that during the first week dispatchers handled about 10 calls related to the new smoking law. “Calls concerning the smoking ban were not high-priority calls, so we have a system in place that calls that come in and have a higher priority will be handled.”