A little New Zealand boy about to turn 5 wanted the police to come to his birthday party. So he called the island country's equivalent of 911. Twice.
His mother had no idea.
An emergency operator rang back just make sure everything was OK. Zach's embarrassed mother, Sarah, apologized profusely.
"I'm very sorry," she said. "That was my nearly 5-year-old son, he was just telling me that he, um, wanted to invite the police to his birthday party."
It was to be a police-themed affair, the mother explained. "I didn't realize he was going to phone!"
Both women laughed, with the dispatcher saying, "I don't know if we'll be able to make it, but I'll put it in."
And on the day of party, police in full riot gear crashed Zachary's party.
After banging on the door and shouting for Zachary, the towheaded boy peered around his front door.
"Zachary, can we talk to you for a second?" an office asked.
"No," the boy flatly stated, as party goers inside the house burst into laughter.
But when he was presented with a stuffed dog wearing a police jacket, the child said, "You can come in."
"We've got some stuff outside if you want to come take a look at it? Maybe a little play around with some of our gear? Would you be interested in that?" another officer asked.
"I might!" said Zachary.
Chaos ensued, as overjoyed kids clambered atop a police cruiser, played with handcuffs and gazed skyward in wonderment as a police Eagle helicopter thundered overhead.
Serenaded with "Happy Birthday" by cops and raucous kids, Zachary blew out a single candle in the shape of the number five.
The Auckland City District Police videotaped the whole gala and posted an edited version on its Facebook page, where thousands have viewed it.
Lest any small minds get big ideas, the police posted "We don't encourage kids calling 111 to invite police to their birthdays (smiley face)."
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