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Ex-student of School for the Deaf linked to false crime reports - Inside Bay Area
A former student of the California School for the Deaf may be responsible for at least a half-dozen fraudulent crime reports to Fremont police this year, a series of prank calls that authorities have dubbed "SWATting."
The ex-student, a 21-year-old man who lives in Sacramento, reportedly confessed recently to two cases in April, saying he made the calls because he was "bored and angry," Fremont police Officer Randy Burkhammer said.
The officer also noted that the man is being investigated in connection with six other calls to Fremont police since February, and at least one case in Elk Grove.
"We don't think he is alone," said the officer, who has been involved in the monthlong investigation. Other agencies involved in the investigation are a Bay Area regional high-tech crimes task force called REACT, and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.
Alameda County prosecutors last week charged the man with two misdemeanors, but he remains out of custody as authorities from Fremont and the Sacramento area investigate similar incidents.
There have been reports across the country of people making calls to police falsely claiming that violent crimes are under way, all with the intent of getting the SWAT team to respond, Burkhammer said.
"It's like a big game," he said, adding that the name of the prank is derived from the acronym for the special weapons and tactics division of police agencies.
"It's very dangerous and a waste of resources," Burkhammer said.
Since April, Fremont police said they have responded to eight fake calls, all of which reportedly were taking place at homes where deaf people live. In all, the man has been linked to 40 emergency calls to various police agencies throughout Northern California this year, he said.
Because of the circumstances of the calls in Fremont, police ramped up their response to the incidents but did not actually initiate a SWAT deployment — partly because police were able to quickly determine that the calls were hoaxes, Burkhammer said.
Police began investigating about a month ago. Through a series of search warrants, they were able to trace some of the calls to the man's home in Sacramento.
Through further investigation, police believe that the former student used a phone book he obtained while attending the deaf school to pick what address he would use in Fremont.
The suspect then would call police through a video relay service, use sign language to convey that a violent crime was occurring and local police dispatchers would receive the message from various call centers throughout the country.
"People who use this (system) think they are being anonymous, but they're not," he said, noting that the conversations are not recorded, but the time and location from which the call originated is entered into a log.
Although none of the Fremont cases resulted in the SWAT team being deployed, the case in Elk Grove — one of the cases to which the man confessed, police said — wound up with an elderly man with back problems being subdued by SWAT members. It was not clear Thursday if the former student has been charged with any crimes in that case.
A warrant for the man's arrest likely will be issued after additional investigation, Burkhammer said.
A former student of the California School for the Deaf may be responsible for at least a half-dozen fraudulent crime reports to Fremont police this year, a series of prank calls that authorities have dubbed "SWATting."
The ex-student, a 21-year-old man who lives in Sacramento, reportedly confessed recently to two cases in April, saying he made the calls because he was "bored and angry," Fremont police Officer Randy Burkhammer said.
The officer also noted that the man is being investigated in connection with six other calls to Fremont police since February, and at least one case in Elk Grove.
"We don't think he is alone," said the officer, who has been involved in the monthlong investigation. Other agencies involved in the investigation are a Bay Area regional high-tech crimes task force called REACT, and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.
Alameda County prosecutors last week charged the man with two misdemeanors, but he remains out of custody as authorities from Fremont and the Sacramento area investigate similar incidents.
There have been reports across the country of people making calls to police falsely claiming that violent crimes are under way, all with the intent of getting the SWAT team to respond, Burkhammer said.
"It's like a big game," he said, adding that the name of the prank is derived from the acronym for the special weapons and tactics division of police agencies.
"It's very dangerous and a waste of resources," Burkhammer said.
Since April, Fremont police said they have responded to eight fake calls, all of which reportedly were taking place at homes where deaf people live. In all, the man has been linked to 40 emergency calls to various police agencies throughout Northern California this year, he said.
Because of the circumstances of the calls in Fremont, police ramped up their response to the incidents but did not actually initiate a SWAT deployment — partly because police were able to quickly determine that the calls were hoaxes, Burkhammer said.
Police began investigating about a month ago. Through a series of search warrants, they were able to trace some of the calls to the man's home in Sacramento.
Through further investigation, police believe that the former student used a phone book he obtained while attending the deaf school to pick what address he would use in Fremont.
The suspect then would call police through a video relay service, use sign language to convey that a violent crime was occurring and local police dispatchers would receive the message from various call centers throughout the country.
"People who use this (system) think they are being anonymous, but they're not," he said, noting that the conversations are not recorded, but the time and location from which the call originated is entered into a log.
Although none of the Fremont cases resulted in the SWAT team being deployed, the case in Elk Grove — one of the cases to which the man confessed, police said — wound up with an elderly man with back problems being subdued by SWAT members. It was not clear Thursday if the former student has been charged with any crimes in that case.
A warrant for the man's arrest likely will be issued after additional investigation, Burkhammer said.
