State Assembly Looking at Bill to Toughen Penalties for SWATing
Friday, November 15th, 2019 -- 1:09 PM
(WRN) -The State Assembly is considering a bill to toughen up the penalties for calling in a false emergency on someone else.A bill to give Wisconsin a stronger law against SWATting is making its way through the Assembly. That's when someone fakes an emergency call with the intent to bring out a massive police response. Representative Tyler Vorpagel says the practice goes way beyond just being a prank.
"This is certainly not about people who are doing something harmless, it's more for situations where people intend to cause harm and damage to someone else."
Vorpagel says a fatal incident in Kansas shows it's not just a prank.
"He didn't know what was going on, and they thought the guy had hostages. He walked out on his front porch and actually was shot and killed."
Vorpagel says it's gotten more widespread in the digital age.
"Someone can be in California and figure out where you live, and then call in a threat at your address just by doing a little research and figuring out your address on the Internet."
Vorpagel says district attorneys have been asking for better tools to prosecute people who make these sorts of calls. People who make SWATting calls could go to prison for 6 years under the bill.
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