Ohio state Rep. Kevin Miller told Newsmax on Thursday that legislation might be needed to combat an increase in "swatting," or the practice of tricking police into showing up at a person's home with a SWAT team by prank-calling in a threat.
During an appearance on Newsmax's "National Report," Miller said he was the victim of swatting on Tuesday afternoon, when someone made a false police report of a shooting at his residence that resulted in more than 10 officers arriving at his home with guns drawn.
The Buckeye State Republican said government at the local, state, and federal levels needs to work together to stop swatting, which can lead to potentially dangerous clashes with authorities.
"Some of the things that make these things so difficult to find the perpetrators [are] the different apps and the ability to disguise your phone number and where things came from," Miller said. "So, I think creating a database probably helps us start to determine where these calls are coming from. Moving forward, we may have to look at some sort of legislation that may take a look at, hey, should we really be able to block numbers and not allow at least the law enforcement authorities to figure out who folks are that are making these calls and doing these things putting lives in danger?"
In June, the FBI launched a national database to track swatting incidents at the urging of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who reportedly called the incidents "dangerous, disturbing, and downright terrifying."
Miller said he had previously served as the police post commander for the area, so he called the chief deputy to find out what was going on. He said not everyone can do that, however.
"You take this and put it in a different environment with somebody else who's not familiar with this or they weren't outside and the police show up and they either enter the residence or they order folks out of their residence — it's a very scary situation for folks," he said. "The one thing that a lot of people don't understand … anytime officers are going code three and they're running lights and siren, they're putting themselves at risk and also the motoring public that's out there on those roadways as they're going to this call. This is a hot call. It's a call of a shooting, so they're trying to get there to protect folks and at the end of the day, it's all for a hoax.
"One of the other things I also tell folks is, not only are they responding to that, but there's multiple officers; in my case, nearly a dozen officers responded," Miller continued. "The question then becomes, well, who's covering the areas where they're supposed to be? So, that's why these instances are such a drain on our resources and a waste of time. It's so unfortunate."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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