ROYAL OAK, Mich. – Police are investigating after a false report resulted in police being called to a house in the 4500 block of Groveland Avenue, near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and 14 Mile Road.
According to authorities, the Royal Oak Police Department was called Sunday by a woman who said she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her father. Police said the woman told them the man had a gun and would shoot police officers if they came to the house.
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When police officers responded to the area, they found the house to be vacant and for sale. Police said an investigation confirmed no one was at the house and checked with the neighbors.
Authorities said they believe the call was false and was an attempt to trick the Royal Oak Police Department into dispatching emergency responders, commonly known as swatting. Filing a false police report of this nature is a felony, with a penalty of up to four years in prison, a $2000 fine and repayment of the cost of the resources deployed to the handle the incident.
Police said other local law enforcement agencies had received similar swatting calls around the same time.