"TODAY" Features What Happened When a Latter-day Saint 5-Year-Old Called 911 for a Happy Meal

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Five-year-old Charlie Skabelund is making national headlines. In hilarious audio released by the City of Mesa Police Department, Charlie asks a 911 dispatcher if he is speaking with McDonald's.

"Do you have an emergency?" dispatcher Anthony Bonilla asks. Charlie responds that he would like “One Mc-Happy Meal” and then hangs up the phone.

And the responding officer's response to this exchange was priceless. 

Fifteen minutes after the phone call, officer Randolph “Scott” Valdez pulled into Charlie's driveway carrying the iconic cardboard box of a McDonald's Happy Meal. 

And rather than scold 5-year-old Charlie for calling 911 unnecessarily, Valdez gently explained why Charlie shouldn't be calling the police for a Happy Meal order.

"Officer Valdez was really sweet and went over the rules with Charlie about when you’re supposed to call 911, ” Charlie’s mom, Kim Skabelund, told TODAY Parents. “He explained how if he’s busy bringing Happy Meals to kids, he can’t help people who really need him. He couldn't have been nicer."

The best part? The meal—a cheeseburger with just ketchup—wasn't even for Charlie. It was for his 6-year-old sister, Jadyn.

“That’s what Jadyn gets. Charlie only eats the chicken nuggets,” Kim explained to TODAY Parents. “He's always looking out for Jadyn.”

And the officer's kind response to Charlie's attempt to be helpful has gone viral. 

“He wants to teach kids that the police aren’t just there for T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” Valdez's wife, Charlotte Ann, wrote on the post. “They care about people and are there for help and support!”

Lead image from City of Mesa Police Department Facebook page
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