Skip to content

"My McNuggets Are an Emergency"

Latreasa L. Goodman, 27, was cited for misusing the 911 system after police said she called three times over a McDonald's order. The citation is a misdemeanor, and she was issued a notice to appear in court.

An open 10-piece box of McDonald's Chicken McNuggets.
A 10-piece box of Chicken McNuggets. Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash.

On the recording, the caller does not hesitate before she gets to the point. "This is an emergency," Latreasa L. Goodman tells a dispatcher, according to a Fort Pierce police report. "If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one."

audio-thumbnail
"My McNuggets Are an Emergency"
0:00
/237.06125

The released 911 audio of Latreasa L. Goodman's calls to Fort Pierce dispatchers.

The dispute began at a Fort Pierce, Florida, McDonald's on Feb. 28, 2009. Goodman, 27, ordered a 10-piece Chicken McNugget meal and paid for it, according to the police report. A cashier then told her the restaurant had run out of the nuggets.

Goodman asked for her money back. The cashier, Francesa Torres, told her all sales were final and offered a substitute item from the menu, according to the report. Goodman declined the swap and picked up her phone.

She dialed the emergency line three times in all, police said. When officers arrived, she explained her reasoning to them directly. "I called 911 because I couldn't get a refund, and I want my McNuggets," she said, according to the report. She also insisted, the report noted, that "my McNuggets are an emergency."

Officers cited her for misuse of the 911 system, a misdemeanor, with a notice to appear in court. The emergency line, the report noted, exists for police, fire and medical calls.

According to news accounts at the time, a McDonald's spokesman said the refund should have been issued, and that the company would send Goodman a gift card for a free meal.

Latreasa Goodman's booking photograph.
Latreasa Goodman's booking photograph. St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.
Add Legally Obscene: A True Crime Publication on Google