911 Is Not a Joke: Florida Man Arrested After Repeated False Calls on Local Bar

Here in Lee County, we take 911 seriously. Like, really seriously. And yes, I know Flavor Flav once told us “911 is a joke” in a pretty killer song back in the day, but that doesn’t mean you can actually treat it like one, especially not around here.

Now, full disclosure: I host karaoke at bars all over Southwest Florida. I’ve seen it all. Seen people sing their hearts out, forget the lyrics halfway through the chorus, hug strangers like they’ve known them for 20 years, and yes… I’ve also seen people get kicked out. Sometimes it’s because they’ve had a few too many. Or they’re acting a little foolish. Sometimes it’s both. It happens. But what shouldn’t happen is using 911 as some kind of petty revenge button after you get shown the door.

According to the Gulf Coast News, a 41-year-old man named Kevin Samuelson allegedly decided that being kicked out of Sea Grass Sports Grill.. Also lovingly known by locals as the Scrounge Lounge, was reason enough to repeatedly call 911. Not once. Not twice. But multiple times. And what was he reporting? Underage drinking.

Deputies say these calls started late Thursday night and kept rolling into the early hours of Friday morning. Each time, deputies responded to the bar, checked things out, and confirmed the same thing: no underage drinking, and yes, the caller had already been kicked out. Case closed, right? Nope.

Instead of letting it go, the guy doubled down. He kept calling. He refused to give his name. Sometimes he gave deputies a fake name. Not exactly the behavior of someone who’s confident they’re in the right. Deputies eventually went back to the area and noticed a man walking while on the phone. Turns out, he was actively on a call with 911 while deputies were approaching him. That’s some next-level commitment to a bad decision.

Deputies also noted he smelled like booze and even admitted he was drunk. Despite being told there was no underage drinking, he stuck to his story. That’s when things went from annoying to serious. He was arrested and charged with misuse of 911.

Here’s the thing: 911 is for real emergencies. It’s the number we call when someone is hurt, or danger. When you truly needs help. It’s not a customer service line for hurt feelings. It’s not Yelp. And it’s definitely not a tool for getting back at a bar because last call didn’t go your way.

So let this be a reminder, Lee County: if you get kicked out of a bar, the best move is to go home, drink some water, and sleep it off—not call 911 and make things way worse for yourself.