Calling 911 to report something that is not a crime, isn’t always charged as False Reporting in Fort Collins and Larimer County, unless you keep calling. A man was recently charged with False Reporting to Authorities after repeatedly calling 911 to report that someone dumped his clam chowder in the dumpster. He called 4 times within 40 minutes and law enforcement showed up at his residence to ensure that he didn’t need medical attention and then gave him a summons for calling the emergency line, when he knew there wasn’t an emergency. As hard as it may be to believe, someone throwing away your soup in a dumpster is not a 911 worthy emergency. The man was so angry, he called 911 again to complain about getting a summons, even after the police gave him the non-emergency number. Police again responded to the residence, this time to arrest the man. He put up a fight and got charged with the equivalent of Resisting Arrest.
Larimer County False Reporting to Authorities Attorney: Definition of False Reporting
The Larimer and Boulder County, Colorado law definition of False Reporting to Authorities – C.R.S. 18-8-111(1)(c) – is:
(c) He or she makes a report or knowingly causes the transmission of a report to law enforcement authorities pretending to furnish information relating to an offense or other incident within their official concern when he or she knows that he or she has no such information or knows that the information is false;
Because the man continued to call and report something that was neither an emergency nor a crime, he was charged with this crime. False Reporting is also charged for setting off alarms when there is no emergency, preventing an alarm from sounding when there is an emergency, reporting a crime that did not happen, and giving false identification information to police.
Sentence for False Reporting in Loveland and Estes Park
In Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park, False Reporting is a class 3 misdemeanor. This level misdemeanor is punishable by up to 6 months in the Larimer County Jail.
If you or someone you love has been charged with, accused of, or arrested for False Reporting to Authorities, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-658-0007 to schedule a free consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
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