UPDATE: House approves legislation to slap down ‘swatters’

Legislation would make some 'satting' incidents a felony

UPDATE POSTED 5 P.M. FEB. 9, 2022

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – The Kentucky House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday that would make false 911 calls that result in an emergency response a felony.

Current statute already makes falsely reporting an incident a Class A misdemeanor. House Bill 48, also known as the “anti-swatting bill,” would make falsely reporting an incident that results in an emergency response a Class D felony.

Rep. Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, said Scott County has had at least 10 “swatting” incidences within the last year.

Sometimes these fake 911 calls are pranks, and sometimes the calls are used as revenge, Pratt added. It isn’t uncommon for someone to be “swatted” by someone they do not know who lives in another state.

Being “swatted” can be an extremely traumatic and sometimes deadly event for the victim.

“There was a gentlemen in Tennessee who owned a Twitter (handle) @Tennessee. Another gentleman wanted it and he would not give it up. He ‘swatted’ him,” Pratt said. “He came out to his yard with all the SWAT team and everybody out there and died of a massive heart attack.”

In commenting on the bill, Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, said she believes the bill has good intentions, but is not in favor of adding another felony to statute.

“It certainly is criminal to call 911 when you don’t need it, but I think this needs to be an educational aspect rather than another felony,” Marzian said. “We have so many felons locked up already… I’d never heard of (‘swatting’), but it can’t be that many that we need to pass another felony.”

The House approved HB 48 by an 86-7 vote. It will now go before the Senate for consideration.

“These (calls) put people’s lives in danger every day,” Pratt said.

ORIGINAL STORY POSTED AUG. 5, 2021

SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) – If not for alert law enforcement, a fake 911 call in March could have turned tragic in Scott County and now lawmakers want to make these pranks a serious crime.

Since that one call, Scott County has had four more SWATT calls, which are fake calls claiming murders, serious fires or bombs.

Surveillance video shows the horror the family went through when deputies responded. Similar cases in Tennessee and California resulted in deaths.

Scott County Sheriff Tony Hampton told lawmakers Thursday such cases that result in harm should be a Class D felony that could result in five years in prison.

Currently, false reporting is only a misdemeanor.

“I have absolutely no problem sending someone to prison for one to five years for putting that family through what they did. And I don’t care whether there is an injury or not. It’s on the level of wanton endangerment,” said Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah. “I’ve responded to these calls, lights and sirens at high rates of speed, putting other citizens at risk. It needs to be treated very harshly.”

Lawmakers also said the state may need to invest more in 911 dispatch technology that will better pinpoint the sources of these calls to help track down the culprits.