Verizon Agrees to Help Police Save Man's Life if They Pay His Phone Bill

"Can you kill me now? Good."

The Carroll County sheriff's department was able to save the life of a 62-year-old Carrollton, Ohio man, but only after they agreed to pay his phone bill.

According to a story in the New Philadelphia (Ohio) Times-Reporter, the unidentified man was lost after fleeing the scene of a domestic disturbance and taking several bottles of pills.

Deputies were concerned the man may have tried to harm himself, so they called Verizon to see if they could locate the man through his Verizon cell phone and a nearby cell tower.

Sure thing, said Verizon Customer Service, you just need to pay his bill first.

It turns out the guy was behind on his cell phone bill, and they had shut off his phone service. The only way the Verizon operator would activate his phone, and thus possibly save his life, was if the sheriff's department agreed to pay the guy's bill.

After some haggling, Sheriff Dale Williams agreed to pay $20 on the phone bill, which would get Verizon to activate the line.

However, deputies found the victim just as Williams was preparing to make payment arrangements.

Hopefully Williams shouted "Found him. Suck on that, Verizon!" before slamming the phone down.

"I was more concerned for the person’s life," Williams told the Times-Reporter. "It would have been nice if Verizon would have turned on his phone for five or 10 minutes, just long enough to try and find the guy. But they would only turn it on if we agreed to pay $20 of the unpaid bill. Ridiculous."

Williams said he believed the man's condition was serious. Way to go, Verizon, profits before people.


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