Hoax Call Sparks Huge Police Response

A man who called the Wyckoff (NY) police department Saturday night told a dispatcher he had killed four people, was holding two hostages and demanded $10,000 in ransom and a police getaway car. However, after a heavy police response and tear gas fired into the home, police say the call was a hoax. Police say the residents were away and no one was jeopardized by the incident. The homeowner is a well-known media commentator who wrote a law enforcement investigator’s guide to on-line social media networks, which may have been the motive for the hoax. In previous incidents callers have used VoIP links to call police departments and report false emergencies, so-called SWATing incidents. Read more about the incident here.