(WWJ) A woman called 911 in Bloomfield Township, her voice so hysterical that dispatchers had a difficult time figuring out what happened or where it occurred.
But it turned out they didn't need to .. because nothing had happened. Bloomfield Twp. Lt. Paul Schwab said it a swatting incident, one where a caller hoaxes police and tries to get a full SWAT team to swarm a neighborhood. In this case, Bloomfield Township did, sending every available officer to the address the woman claimed to be at, and then going through that neighborhood, and others they thought she could be in.
The same thing happened this weekend in Royal Oak, Lapeer and for Michigan State Police, Schwab said.
In Lapeer, State Police were contacted at 4:23 a.m. Saturday regarding a potential barricaded gunman after a person purported to be 12 years old called 911 claiming their uncle -- identifying the registered home owner by name -- had a long gun and was threatening to shoot people. The caller was crying and screaming "please don't shoot me". At 4:33 AM, the caller taker heard "multiple loud bangs" in the background. The caller continued crying after the loud bangs while saying "please don't shoot me again". Deputies surrounded the residence. There was no visible activity observed inside. At 4:42 AM, police got the homeowner on the phone. He and his wife were both sleeping and said nothing was happening inside. The home owner and other occupants were cooperative and exited their residence to meet with deputies on the lawn.
Police quickly determined they were fine, and it was deemed a false report or a swatting prank.
In the Bloomfield call, the woman's voice rises as she begs dispatchers for attention, saying, "My phone's about to die."
Stuttering and sobbing, she tells them a man raped her at a party on Sutter's Lane in Bloomfield Township. How many people are there? "A whole lot," she says, adding it's "way more" than 20 or 30 people.
Dispatchers sent officers to the alleged party, braced for a serious situation.
She says she's 24 years old, attends Oakland Community College, and is waiting for officers outside the house. "Oh God, oh God, oh God," she wails. "I feel like I'm about to die."
Police swarmed the area, and found nothing that looked like the house party she described -- and no sign of the victim. The house was empty, the homeowners -- luckily -- out of town. Officers didn't give up easily, going throughout that neighborhood, and others where streets sounded like Sutters Lane.
It was a waste of time, resources, and adrenaline. And it's happening now more than ever.
In Bloomfield's case, Schwab said, "After we established that the house was, no one was home, the house was up for sale and there was no house party, it took time to do the systematic search," Schwab told WWJ Newsradio. We had all of our available units out there. We conducted a systematic search of the immediate area, we determined there was nobody in the area who was in distress. Any street tha thad a sound a like to Sutters Lane, we started checking those streets."
Bloomfield Township is 26 square miles, and every available officer trolled the streets. Dispatchers tried over and over to ping the number, and track the womam they thought was a victim down by name.
If they find her, or any perpetrator of swatting, the suspect would face a charge of filing a false police report, a misdemeanor.
Should they face more repurcussions?
"Not only is it calling in a false alarm, but when you add the element that it's a female who was acting out a false claim of sexual assault, it almost adds another layer ... I think they think it's a gag, it's a thrill, but it's not funny. It stretches our resources thin. It puts not only the first responders, but the public in a direct or indirect risk. If we get into an accident and injure somebody, we're liable for that," Schwab said.
In a press release, the Lapeer County Sheriff's Department said these pranks have happened throughout the nation, and they "create a dangerous and frightening situation for both home owners and law enforcement... If the caller is identified, the maximum criminal law violation will be pursued."
