[HammerT]

Me thinks we're gone a bit too overboard if a SWAT team is deployed for this type scenario. [Video at the link]

[COBOL2Java]

Someone calling in a false report, or some bored Rambos itching to try out their new SWAT toys?

[manc]

he’s an idiot for doing this in the first place

[RetiredTexasVet]

Should charge the perp with attempted murder!

[TigersEye]

"Swatting" is the act of calling in false reports to draw real SWAT teams to a target's house, and is often inflicted on rival gamers."

Whoever makes a false call like that needs to be dealt with harshly but
this would happen a lot less if cops would do some real detective work.

[fulltlt]

Article from back in March of this year.

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/05/teen-arrested-for-30-swattings-bomb-threats/

[GingisK]

Littleton, Colorado must be a haven for some serious kooks. They are in the news quite frequently for a mere wide spot in the road.

[South40]

[normbal]

The problem isn’t the ones doing the “prank,” but the SWATZIs who are all too ready to show up armed to the teeth to lay the hammer down, smash down doors unannounced, kill dogs, break teeth and bones then say “oops,” over and over.

Met with appropriate resistance (already supported by several state supreme court cases this past year), they just MIGHT tone it down a bit.

“To Protect and SERVE,” not enslave.

[Oatka]

The Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces, like the Internet, is full of stories about the too-quick implementation of SWAT teams. Many police officers complained about the SWAT guys mentioning what a rush it was to "suit up and kick ass" and said they were just as addicted to that power as the druggies they were supposed to arrest. They also pointed out a version of Penis Envy as to why small/tiny towns get their own SWAT team (and it applies to govt agencies as well): "If town X has a SWAT team, why can't we?" Then when nothing happens to warrant the team, and a small non-violent crime is committed, it is "Well, we got 'em, let's use 'em." and a tragedy results.

More than one of them also complained that the pool of competent SWAT guys was too small for the demand and they were getting people who should be the last to be given a badge, gun, and the color of authority.

By the way, I had to stop reading the book as I was getting too pist off to continue reading about these abuses and the officials continuing to refuse to admit that they did anything wrong. The book didn't just catalog these incidents, but used them in a "this is why that happened" context.

[Sidebar] The small Nevada town near me (pop 15,276) just got an MRAP, so I suspect a SWAT team is not far behind. There isn't much crime there, so I expect that in about a year or so, a "let's use it anyway" scenario will arise and we'll have a tragedy.