What’s The Worst Part of a SWATing Call?

Danger to the public? Not by half. Swatting call takes time, manpower.

Forget about the fact that someone might get shot, since that someone is most likely to be the homeowner, and not a cop.

So did they do anything to try and contact the homeowner aside from assembling an army with the goal (mostly) of shooting a bad-guy? A bad-guy who didn’t even exist.

“We are fortunate we don’t have many instances of it in Georgetown,” said Robert Swanigan, Georgetown Police assistant chief. “While nothing may actually happen, it is a strain on resources because it is the type of reports that require a significant response. And it’s not just police. We usually have ambulances and other personnel on the scene.”

If you have a reason to assemble that army, do you think one person might approach a judge to see if a warrant might be available to get a phone number? Or is the only way cops know how to communicate over the sights of an AR-15? Suppose they were coming to my house; if they checked with the 3 largest cellphone providers in America, they would find a cellphone that I pay for, so maybe they could send me text, since I don’t usually answer calls from people who are not in my contacts list. But it seems like they are too busy getting medical support lined up and climbing into their superhero costumes. Or their tactical gear, whichever.

I get that cops have a dangerous job. They should have been told that on day one when they went to whatever police academy they attended. (And they should probably sign a document that they know the job is dangerous every January 1st) That doesn’t mean that they should get to have open-season on homeowners, whenever some anonymous call comes in.

Now no one died in this incident. Except maybe a little more of the respect I once had for cops.