CNHI News Service
ENID, Okla.
March 30, 2009 12:01 pm
—
Police have plenty to say to a 12-year-old boy they blame for making more than 60 hoax calls to 911.
A prankster used a cell phone to dial the emergency line in Enid two dozen times in 3 1/2 hours last Friday afternoon. In two cases the caller reported emergencies. In others he used profanity or hung up.
“We had two actual calls where he made reports of a person bleeding in front of Lowe’s, and an accident with injuries in front of Wal-Mart,” said Lt. Eric Holtzclaw, 911 administrator for the Enid police.
After hearing of the accident in front of the store, two police cars rushed to the scene with a pair of fire engines and an ambulance. Emergency crews spent 15 minutes looking for the hoax accident.
A prankster also made more than 40 emergency calls in a neighboring county, police said. In one call he reported seeing a man with a gun.
The caller told the dispatcher his grandparents’ name, which police used to track him. Police said the boy was visiting his grandparents while Oklahoma schoolchildren were on spring break.
Oklahoma law makes a misdemeanor of a false alarm or complaint that could result in sending out emergency crews. The crime is punishable by a fine of up to $500 and compensation for deploying the rescue crews.
Holtzclaw said the city spent more than $1,600 to respond to the hoax accident.
“We are going to do everything we can to prosecute,” he said. “This is a very serious offense, which puts the lives of the responders and the public at risk.”
The boy admitted making the calls, police said, but his grandparents didn’t know he was doing it.
“This should be a reminder for parents and grandparents to be more aware of what children are doing and being more cognizant of what they¹re saying,” Holtzclaw said. “We want to the public to know you’re going to get the help you need, but we want people to call for genuine purposes.”
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