Ohio teen calls 911 after dad takes cell phone away

EUCLID, Ohio (WKYC) – A teenager in Ohio made an emergency call to 911 because her father took her cell phone away for disciplinary reasons.

“My father took property, which is an $800 phone that doesn’t belong to him. He didn’t buy it,” said the 16-year-old girl to dispatchers.

Officers saw a teaching opportunity, and responded to the call in Euclid Saturday afternoon.

Police body cameras were recording, as officers approached Anthony Robertson and his daughter outside the home. When they realized the issue was merely a parent trying to discipline a child, the officers backed up Robertson.

“It’s my property and I don’t live here,” said the teen, who lives with her grandmother, but occasionally stays at her father’s home.

“But guess what?” said one officer to the teen, “Everything that you own belongs to your mother and your father. Having a phone is not a right.”

“It’s a privilege,” added Robertson.

The stern father tells NBC affiliate WKYC that he still has his daughter’s phone, and will return it “when her attitude changes.”

Read more: https://on.wkyc.com/2supDxG

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