Fake 'Swatter' Hoax Call Summons Colo. Springs Police

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- The Colorado Springs police responded Sunday to what turned out to be a prank call that could have had deadly consequences, authorities said. Around 6:50 p.m. March 11, dispatchers recorded a male caller who said he had shot and killed his mother. He claimed his girlfriend was shot but still breathing and he would hold her hostage when officers arrived. The called turned out to be a "swatter" hoax where police are falsely summoned to what is described as a dangerous situation.

Officers arrived at the address, in the 5600 block of Leon Young Drive and entered the home, where no one was in danger or hurt, police said.

"These types of [prank] calls have inherent risk associated with the violence being reported," said Colorado Springs Police Department spokesman Lt. Howard Black. "It takes a tremendous amount of resources, to contain a location when these types of calls come in, until we can confirm the information coming at us."

People caught making these prank calls are subject to not only criminal charges, Black said. "Individuals might be looking at civil liability too, if someone gets injured during these types of calls."

The inhabitant of the house, a woman, never heard the doorbell ring, or the "loud verbal commands" of officers entering the house, police said. "She was oblivious to the presence of officers and was playing online video games in a downstairs room while wearing noise reducing head phones."

Some Swatter situations do not have such a happy ending.

In Wichita Kansas, officers killed a man during a swatter hoax call in December, 2017. Twenty-five-year-old gamer Tyler Raj Barriss was arrested on a fugitive warrant in Los Angeles for allegedly calling police and falsely reporting a dangerous crime. Wichita police shot and killed Andrew Finch, 28, at his home, after Barriss allegedly claimed he had killed "his father" at Finch's address, and was holding family members hostage. He also falsely claimed he had doused the house with gasoline, and said "I might just set it on fire."

Black said police must investigate every call seriously. "Until we prove that it isn’t happening, you’ve got to make sure you’re doing due diligence and keep everyone safe. You don’t know if you have a kidnapping, or homicide or anything else." Officers were quickly able to determine the call was a hoax, Black said, so the CSPD SWAT team was not called to the site.

Black said swatting hoaxes are not common occurrences for the department.

"It's happened in the past, but it's not something that happens often in Colorado Springs," he said.

"These [hoax calls] are very dangerous. It may be something that someone might think was funny, but they put citizens and officers at risk."

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