QuickTake:

After reporting “largely illogical information” to 911 operators, a Eugene man will undergo a court-ordered evaluation. The man was convicted of improperly using an emergency reporting system, Lane County District Attorney Christopher Parosa said.

This story has been updated with new information.

A 48-year-old man will take part in a court-ordered evaluation for drug treatment rather than face a jail sentence after being convicted Friday for improperly using an emergency reporting system.

Donald Anthony Dyson called 911 “more than 10 times” with no apparent emergency before being arrested by a Lane County Sheriff’s Office deputy, a spokesman for the office said last week.

Dyson served five days in Lane County Jail after his June 9 arrest, according to court records.

Christopher Parosa, Lane County district attorney, in an email Monday said Dyson called 911 to report “largely illogical information.”

“The underlying facts of the case suggest that Mr. Dyson is an individual that may have some mental health issues that are exacerbated by drug use. During the exchange with 911 operators, Mr. Dyson indicated that he had been using drugs. Therefore, we used this case as a vehicle to obtain drug related treatment for Mr. Dyson,” Parosa said.

Dyson also was sentenced to 18 months of probation.

“If the person complies with the recommended treatment, the probation expires without violation,” Parosa said. Otherwise, a return to court may be ordered.

Dyson, who provided a Eugene address to the court, must report to private treatment provider Quality Research Associates for an evaluation by June 20, according to court records.

Others have also been arrested for similar reasons.

Since 2022, Eugene police have made 11 arrests for improperly using an emergency reporting system, police department spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin said. The total includes some people arrested on two different occasions for the same charge, according to McLaughlin.

Other law enforcement agencies have also made arrests, including Springfield police, who in February 2024 arrested a man they said made more than 25 calls to 911 over a period of 36 hours.

Dispatchers at Central Lane Communications Center, a division of Eugene police, answer most 911 calls made in Lane County and provide services for multiple police and fire agencies.

McLaughlin said the dispatch center has relatively low staffing levels for the number of calls that come in. For a 12-month period that ended April 1, the center received a total of 336,465 incoming telephone calls, a total that includes emergency and non-emergency calls, according a city of Eugene press release. About 43% of the calls were for emergencies.

“If someone calls in repeatedly, it takes time away from our ability to answer true emergency calls coming in and spreads the staff out thinner,” McLaughlin said in a statement, adding that calltakers “always start with a warning” and attempt “to educate the caller before sending officers, hence the relatively low number of cases.”