False calls

[USAF_2T2]

I get a call to 10-21 (call by phone) to our Communications center in reference to a 10-73 (mental subject) that is armed with a 10-38 (gun or weapon). I call the lady in New Mexico who is this guys online counselor. :wtf: :wtf:

She tells me that *** ****** is severely depress and is going to Code 44 (kill himself) and if we show up he is gonna shoot us then kill himself. The caller states that he has a weapon in the home, but is unsure what caliber or type it is. Now this gets my blood pumpin a little as we are going to his house. I contact my Sergeant as to give him a heads up on the situation. We roll up there 6 deep and with our weapons drawn go towards the house. Me and another guy position ourselves by his vehicles in the front drive and the other 4 are further back to include our sniper. He is in a wooded area out of view and tells us that he has the front door sighted in and to stay clear of that area. Our Lieutenant shows up with the Tahoe and we use the PA to ask him to come out.

He opens the front door of his home and exits with his hands up. Me and the other guy are pointing our weapons at him and he is totally complient with our instructions. After we 10-72 (in custody) him we search him and the house. The guy is playing pinnacle (sp) online in a tournament. We tell him why we are there and he says that he was depressed earlier due to a recent breakup with his girlfriend, but had no intentions of killing himself.

I take him to the hospital under an emergency commitment (psychological exam) and he is cleared by a doctor to go home. I ask him while we are there about this lady and he says that she is his pinnacle partner and runs a suicide hotline from her home. I tell him the 10-48(information) that we got and he tells me that she says that to ensure that the Police arrive.

After I clear the hospital I contact my Sergeant again telling him what I was told and he calls the lady in New Mexico back asking her why she said what she did. The lady denies saying that and we pull the tape from our communications center that clearly records her saying that.

All in all it was a fun trip, but could have turned out differently. The man stated that he was scared that we came at him with our weapons drawn but he said, "I almost sh1t down my leg when I saw the laser pointed between my eyes (sniper).

We are actively pursuing charges on the lady for misuse of 911, but they may or may not press charges. As of right now I am not sure what is going to happen as that is above my paygrade. It goes to show just some of the "other" things we do besides write tickets and harrass the citizens like so many think we do.

[scubadiver]

Sheesh some people. I hope they do something. I'm glad it turned out like it did. I've heard suicide by police is on the rise and that can't be fun. Video and audio tapes seem to be a blessing. Helps get rid of the bad cops and saves the good ones. ;)

[Uturn2001]

It really ticks me off to hear stories like this. I wonder how many lives have been lost because police, fire, or EMS personal, not to mention 911 operators are tied up with bogus calls.

Not too long ago I seen a show about outrageous 911 calls. The one that really got me was the woman who called 911 because she did not get her hamburger the way she ordered it at some fast food resteraunt.

[Foxfire]

On two occasions I needed to talk to local Police and could not find a phone book at a payphone. I called 911 and told the operator what number I needed then made the call I started out to make. I can understand this but to call with made up crap is just unbelievable!

[windcatcher]

I agree with all the above..
It angers me :angry: just thinking of the potential jeopardy that this placed the subject in: and the unnecessary tension and use of manpower the bogus call placed on law enforcement officers... I do hope the seriousness of this situation is thouroughly examined by the prosecutors' office.

fyi of the general reader here, persons whit mental illness who experience alterations of reality evidenced by delusions, hallucinations, or paranoia, are unpredictable during a flare-up of their illness; but are subject to be victimized and stressed by acquaintances, friends, and family contacts, who are uncertain and concerned for their stability or will use their illness to manipulate control over them.

The general public is not aware of the extraodinary compassion and understanding and demands made on law enforcement officers and EMS personnel attending to these situations...bogus or real. Whenever I read or hear criticism aimed at these LEO's who place their life and reputation on the line to keep our communities safe, especially in regard to situations similar to this that have a less fortunate outcome...I think I wish the public in general could step inside a crises and stabilization unit of a hospital and get a real glimpse of the self control and discipline required of staff in dealing with psychotic or delusional or fearful individuals... to see how abusive some patients can be and how exceptionally strong they may be during a crises..... the public then would have a greater appreciation for the both the care and the restraint of LEO's in attending to such persons to bring them to treatment before counselos and medications can bring them under control.

[magicman]

In the 6 years I spent as a 911 operator, I had several, no make that hundreds of calls that were not as bad as the caller stated. We had to make our decisions by the reputation of the caller, some were regulars. And we had to keep the officer's safety in mind when placing a status on the call.

One year, on the 4th of July, I had the Mayor sitting with me, as an observer. He wanted to better understand our job and the interaction between us and the Police and Fire Depts.

I was stacking calls up about an inch deep. I was broadcasting "Shots Fired" calls and not sending officers on the calls. The mayor asked why. I told him simply that he had cut the number of officers on the street and I had every single available officer, INCLUDING a Sergeant and a Lt. on the same assault call. If he had an extra officer to spare, I would gladly send one. Our jobs on a 4th of July night was to send officers on real calls, NOT fireworks complaints. When people called in shots fired calls, we HAD to insure they had true knowledge of the actual gun involved. When we got 5 or 6 calls from the same person about fireworks, and then they change it to shot fired, we often sent an officer to have a chat with the caller about false calls.


That night we did have several shootings, and I would announce the Rescue squad call on the Police radio, asking any officers in the area that could respond to identify themselves. In the situation of a shooting or cutting, officers would put a report they were writing aside til later to respond to the shooting call.

Occassionally, we could find no victims or crime scene. We then would call the caller back for more info. Once in awhile, the caller would say they only called in the shooting to get officers out there. Usually a Sgt would go have a chat with them and cite them for misuse of the 911 system and false reporting. We could usually get the news media to let people know they would be cited for false calls on the 4th or on any day for that fact.

Suicide calls were always tough. Sometimes the person threatening suicide would call in and we would try to talk them into talking to the suicide prevention line. If they declined, we stayed on the line and tried our best to disuade them from committing suicide. Sometimes we got through to them, sometimes we didn't. Worse thing in the world is to spend 30 minutes talking to someone, start getting through to them and them have them say Goodbye, I've got to do this. If we were lucky, they'd hang the phone up. If not, we sure got shook up when the gun goes off. Hard to invest that much of your heart and soul into trying to save someone and have it go sour on you.

One night one of the operators spent 30 minutes with a guy that had Cancer. He almost talked him out of it and he did what I said. Laid the phone down and BANG. The very next call he picked up, I happened to answer, too. The guy said he was going to kill himself. I couldn't get across that console fast enough to disconect the other operator from the line. That was the last thing he needed to hear. I was a little luckier. I got this guy to talk to the Suicide Prevention Counselor.

Quite often on suicide calls from another person, the officers would have us call the alleged suicidal person on the phone and ask if they would step outside and talk to the officers. In almost every instance they would. Often times it was a joke or an over sensitive Ex, that called in.

Irregardless how the calls come in, the officer's saety, as well as that of the public has to be of the utmost importance.