City of San Luis gripes about 911 calls going across border

YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities in San Luis, Arizona, say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border to a San Luis in Mexico.

The Yuma Sun reported Friday that complaints have increased in recent months, according to Lt. Marco Santana, a San Luis Police Department spokesperson.

He says it’s caused by callers in the Arizona border city being close to cellphone towers in Mexico.

Mexico also uses 911 as an emergency number.

Arizona callers say they are being transferred to the San Luis Rio Colorado police emergency dispatchers in the state of Sonora.

Santana says the complaints have only risen as the population grows and more people only use cellphones. But emergency dispatchers in San Luis Rio Colorado are aware and can immediately reroute the Arizona-based calls to the San Luis police.

Unfortunately, there are no immediate solutions, Santana said.

People on the Arizona side who make calls on landlines should not have this issue.