Police raided a gym after Siri called emergency services because it misheard a boxing instructor's words, owner says

The Siri function on a trainer's Apple Watch was thought to have been accidentally triggered.

Antonio Villas-Boas

• Siri called emergency services after mishearing a boxing instructor, a gym owner told Insider.
• Police rushed to the scene after the Apple assistant heard him shouting a boxing term, he said.
• The term is similar to the number for emergency services in Australia and other countries.

Siri, Apple's virtual assistant, called the emergency services after it misheard a Muay Thai fighter and boxing instructor during a training session, a gym owner said. 

A trainer at the gym, which is based in Sydney, Australia, triggered the call. The Siri feature on his Apple Watch heard him shouting the boxing combination "1, 1-2" and telling his client "good shot," the gym's owner, Andrew Parnham, told Insider. He said the digital assistant then called 112, which is an alternative emergency number in Australia and other countries.

Police then raided the gym, saying they had received a report that shots were fired, Parnham said. Several ambulances waited outside, he added.

The trainer, Jamie Alleyne, told news.com.au that "about 15 officers including undercovers showed up."

Parnham said Alleyne's Siri function had likely been activated because the side of the watch was pressed down while he was holding up boxing pads.

Siri is no stranger to accidental emergency callouts.

In December, dispatchers in Utah told KSL.com they had seen a rise in accidental 911 calls from skiers. The skiers reportedly had new Apple products with crash-detection technology. The technology sends users a message with an alarm sound if it detects a crash. If the message is not dismissed it sends an automated message to the nearest emergency call center. 

Last week, a spokesperson for Apple told The New York Post that the company was getting feedback from emergency call centers, which have reported a spike in automated calls.

The NSW Ambulance Service and representatives for Apple did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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