Prank Call Sparks Response, Gets Personal

A 911 call to a Los Angeles County (Calif.) sheriff’s dispatcher reporting a medical emergency…then a shooting, then a hostage situation and then nothing, sparked a response of heavily-armed deputies to a Norwalk neighborhood. While the call doesn’t follow the classic pattern for a SWATing incident, the law enforcement response was the same. A man first claimed a woman with him was having breathing problems. But he quickly escalated the situation, saying he had shot the woman and would shoot any deputies who arrived at the scene. Gunfire was audible on the call, but deputies who had arrived on-scene said they heard nothing, and found no one in jeopardy. Within minutes, the dispatcher became personally involved in the incident—the caller threatened to shoot his victim if the dispatcher didn’t describe the color of her panties. On the logging tape of the incident, there is only the slightest hesitation from the dispatcher, who then answers, “Black.” Dispatchers and deputies realized within minutes that the call was not authentic, but kept the caller on the phone and continued to check out his claims. After talking to the unnamed dispatcher for 28 minutes, the male caller hung up and is still unidentified. Investigators say the voice is very similar to another 911 call made to LASO on August 18th during which the caller made similar claims. It’s not clear if the call was made on a cellular, wired or VoIP connection. Several high-profile prank calls were closed with arrests, federal convictions and prison time in 2009. The calls were made using VoIP connections, most by a group of on-line game players. Listen (mp3) to the entire Norwalk call.