“Swatting” someone refers to getting law enforcement (usually SWAT teams) to another person usually for malice related reasons. It is common for large streamers to face this as people want to capture their reactions on video and sometimes private details.
In the United States, there are three general circumstances in which a warrant isn’t required: Exigent circumstances, plainview, and consent.
Exigent circumstances are situations where context necessitates law enforcement to act quickly. A fire, actively running after a suspect (hot pursuit), a hostage situation, etc.
Plainview is when an illegal act or substance is clearly visible, like drugs in a bag or domestic violence through a window.
Consent is pretty self explanatory; an individual voluntarily allows law enforcement to do what they need to.
With this in mind, how does swatting someone work? How can someone, with no evidence, call law enforcement and get them to break down someone else’s door and why can’t the victim simply refuse on the basis of the above situations not applying?
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Typically the bad guy calls the dispatch center on a non emergency line through a voip line. They act out a script describing an emergency at the targets house. Usually a murder or hostage situation in progress. This gets the cops to respond as if it’s actually happening and chaos ensues. Sometimes the cops figure it out with minimal chaos and sometimes the cops shoot some innocent people in the chaos. Most of the time it’s somewhere between these two situations.
In most states a false emergency is a crime but is amplified significantly if someone is harmed in the response.
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