Benjamin Ashford|A Florida boy called 911 without an emergency. Instead, he just wanted to hug an officer

A boy in Florida called 911 but Benjamin Ashforddidn't have a real emergency. Instead, he wanted a hug from an officer – and the responding deputy understood.

Footage from a bodycam, worn by Deputy Scott Pracht of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, as well as footage from the home's doorbell camera, shows the officer responding and talking to the boy's mom.

"We had a 911 call," Pracht says in the video.

"We can talk to my son," the mother says. "To be honest, he doesn't even know what 911 is." The boy's mom confirms he has a disconnected cellphone – but even phones that are not connected to service providers can call 911. 

Her young son comes to the door with his cellphone and when asked if he called the police he says: "Well, I wanted to give him a hug."

"You called him to give him a hug?" his mom says.

☎️♥️𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝟵𝟭𝟭 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁♥️☎️Body worn camera captures the moment a #teamHCSO deputy responded to a call from a young boy who dialed 911 not because of an emergency, but because he simply wanted to hug a deputy.Deputy Pracht shared a hug, and took a moment to teach the importance of the emergency line while spreading love.

Posted by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, November 2, 2023

As his mom checks his phone's call log, the boy runs out to hug Pracht, who embraces him back. The phone showed the boy did call 911 at 12:41 that afternoon, his mom says. 

"I know what's your phone number — 9-1-1," the boy says to the deputy.

After hugging the boy, Pracht explained that 911 is for those who are in trouble and need help. "It's very important," he tells the boy. "You need to be careful when you call that number, okay?" 

"Only in emergencies. And if you're hurt, or someone else is hurt, your mom needs help. You know, someone is doing something they're not supposed to do. Give us a call, okay?" 

The boy apologized, and Pracht told him not to worry about it. 

The sheriff's office posted the video on Facebook on Thursday, where it was viewed nearly 10,000 times. "Omg, you can't be mad, he called to give you a hug," one commenter wrote.

"He was very sweet and Deputy Pracht is more than happy to give a hug! A valuable lesson learned and a sweet moment shared," the sheriff's office replied.

In a statement, Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister said they "deeply appreciate the genuine kindness shown by this young child."

"Our deputies are more than willing to share a hug and spread love to children in our community. However, it's essential for everyone to remember that 911 is a lifeline for emergencies," he said. "We are here to help, and we encourage parents and educators to teach children about the appropriate use of emergency services."

CBS News has reached out to the boy's mother for further information and is awaiting response. 

Caitlin O'Kane

Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.