Comment by thaumasiotes

Yes, it's possible to dial 911 from a locked phone. I assume that's a legal requirement; on its face it's pretty reasonable.

I never used to lock my phone at all, but starting with the Pixel 3a I've been forced to do it by the fact that the phone interprets rubbing against my leg through my pocket as a stream of commands. I wish manufacturers would go back to the non-crazy screens they used to make. Anyway, since locking the phone doesn't disable the ability to call 911, this is a constant risk, though I don't believe I've made an accidental call yet. (Or maybe I would have, if my phones weren't Pixels!)

I have mangled a text note I was keeping on my phone beyond recovery when I once put my phone in my pocket without manually locking it first.