911 communication centers are very busy places. Recently, the centers have reported being more busy than ever due to the increased amount of non-emergency calls. Apparently, people are not quite clear on the definition of emergency. One drunk male called because he needed a ride home and he wasn’t sure exactly where he was. Another woman dialed 911 to report a mosquito infestation in her house. The emergency center staff even got a call from a skier, who was stalled on a chairlift with his family and insisted the 911 dispatcher send out a helicopter to rescue him. Aside from ridiculous emergency requests, pocket and butt dialing 911 calls account for almost 1/3 of the calls the centers receive. While other states have started passing laws making bogus 911 calls a crime, Colorado has not joined that bandwagon yet. We do, however, have the crime of False Reporting to Authorities – which does not address the butt dialing issue, but does make filing a made-up report to 911 a crime.
Butt Dialing 911 : What is False Reporting in Larimer County?
False Reporting to Authorities – C.R.S. 18-8-111 is defined by Colorado law as:
(a) He or she knowingly:
(I) Causes by any means, including but not limited to activation, a false alarm of fire or other emergency or a false emergency exit alarm to sound or to be transmitted to or within an official or volunteer fire department, ambulance service, law enforcement agency, or any other government agency which deals with emergencies involving danger to life or property; or
(II) Prevents by any means, including but not limited to deactivation, a legitimate fire alarm, emergency exit alarm, or other emergency alarm from sounding or from being transmitted to or within an official or volunteer fire department, ambulance service, law enforcement agency, or any other government agency that deals with emergencies involving danger to life or property; or
(b) He makes a report or knowingly causes the transmission of a report to law enforcement authorities of a crime or other incident within their official concern when he knows that it did not occur; or
(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; or
(d) He or she knowingly provides false identifying information to law enforcement authorities.
(2) False reporting to authorities is a class 3 misdemeanor; except that if it is committed in violation of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section and committed during the commission of another criminal offense, it is a class 2 misdemeanor.
Breaking down this wordy definition, there are basically 5 different situations where a person can be charged with False Reporting to Authorities in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park:
1.Setting off a fire alarm, or any other alarm that triggers a response from law enforcement, fire department, ambulance, or any other governmental agency.
2.Deactivating or preventing an alarm from sounding in order to keep law enforcement, fire department, ambulance or any other governmental agency from responding.
3.Making a report to law enforcement authorities of a crime that you know did not occur.
4.Making a report to law enforcement authorities pretending to have information relating to a crime or incident the authorities are interested in, without actually having the information or making the information up.
5.Providing false information to authorities.
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What Are Some Examples of False Reporting to 911 in Fort Collins?
In a typical 911 scenario, a person could get charged with this crime if they called and reported a crime had occurred, knowing the crime never happened. For instance, if out of revenge a woman called to report her boyfriend had hit her knowing he never laid a finger on her, she could be charged with False Reporting in Larimer County.
Another example would be if a person called 911 to report they had information about the whereabouts of a wanted friend and gave the 911 operator the specific information, but the information provided was false in an effort to get the police off the friend’s trail and give him time to get away, the person would be charged with False Reporting.
As a class 2 misdemeanor in Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County, this crime is punishable with 3 to 12 months in the Larimer County Jail and up to $1,000 in fines. Don’t leave your freedom to chance. Entrust your case with the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office.
If you or a loved one has been charged with False Reporting, 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 your free consultation today. Together, we can protect your future.