OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – State lawmakers are getting tough on fake emergency calls. Pranksters, making false emergency calls to 911, are costing tax payers big. In some cases, the prank calls are costing up to $40,000 per call.
"It's not a game, it's not funny"
"It's not a game, it's not funny," said bill sponsor Rep. Kurt Heise, R-Plymouth. "We're trying to make sure that individuals who think this is some kind of joke or some kind of cyber-attack … is not going to be tolerated in Michigan."
The act would be a felony punishable by up to four years of prison and/or a fine of up to $2,000. Penalties increase if anyone is injured or killed in response to the incident.
What led to the legislation
The legislation is in response to an August 2011 incident where a teenager from Boston, Mass. used an online hearing impaired service to make it look as though a teen from Troy was calling to report gunmen firing shots in his home while he hid in the closet. The two boys had been playing video games online.
Troy deployed its SWAT team and pulled up to the house just as the homeowner and the son were leaving the house. They were ordered to the ground art gun point.
No one was hurt in that incident.
Wednesday at 10 a.m., Oakland County Sheriffs will hold a news conference to discuss bills to help combat the trend known as "swatting."