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Wrong number: Cell number believed to be Derek Chauvin's actually belongs to west metro grandmother

The number was shared widely on social media, only it didn't belong to Derek Chauvin. The number belongs to a grandmother in the west metro.

This is a story about a wrong number.

When it became known to all that fired Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin was the one who put his knee onto George Floyd's neck for several minutes, while Floyd begged to be let up, something happened online.

People began sharing Chauvin's home address and a cell phone number on social media by the thousands.

But the posters got something wrong.

The phone number that was shared, wasn't Chauvin’s.

It belonged to a grandmother in her 50s who lives in the west metro.

“The second the news hit the screen, my phone blew up. I timed the volume coming thru and it was 3-4 texts and calls per minute, and that's not an exaggeration,” Merrillee said.

And while in those first moments, Merrillee didn't know what was going on, she says she opened up the first message to her phone.

"The very first text that I got was, 'How did it feel to have your knee on George Floyd's neck,'” she said.

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A quick look at the kinds of messages that came after that, and some of what callers left on her voicemail led her husband to search her number online.

That's when they noticed her number was the one being shared as the number for Chauvin.

“I’m not sure how it got out there,” Merrillee said.

That's a mystery she says she still can't solve, especially because she says she has had the same cell phone number for more than 15 years.

In those first few days, she said she tried to just deal with some of the messages one by one.

“I would send messages back saying no this is not that person I am a 50-something woman, I don't even live in Minneapolis,” Merrillee said.

As for those who called, she tried changing her voicemail message.

"I put my outgoing message to say if you are trying to reach Chauvin this is not him this is a 50s something woman if you need to vent I understand, call him, not me,” Merrillee said.

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That helped a little, but for the better part of four weeks, her phone was unusable due to the amount of calls and texts.

But she empathized, and empathizes she says with those calling and texting her thinking they are contacting Chauvin.

"I did not dispute the fact they were outraged and horrified. I was too and part of me was like I'm on your side. Don’t be coming at me I'm right with you,” Merrillee said.

In the end, telling her story, isn't about sympathy for her -- that would be misplaced when the energy of sympathy should go elsewhere right now.
She would be the first to say so.

But what she does want people to do, is think for a second before you act on something you see online.

“Please, don't believe everything you see without checking facts, because you can hurt somebody,” Merrillee said.

One last thing, I bet some of you are asking, why didn't she just CHANGE her number?

Her concerns are varied but here is a big one she shared is she was told if she gives the number back to the cell phone company, it just goes to someone else and then someone else will be getting these calls and texts, so, it doesn't solve the issue of someone they aren’t intended for, getting them.

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