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They don't have to murder people with no physical corroboration of the phone call at all. That's on them. What if it were a legitimate anonymous phone call with

They don't have to murder people with no physical corroboration of the phone call at all. That's on them. What if it were a legitimate anonymous phone call with a transposition of the numbers of an address, or if the cops just accidentally went down the wrong street? Should people die then, or should we think that's a problem?

blacksmith_tb 3y ago
The have only called 911 twice, once when a neighbor was waving a pistol around yelling at his wife (cops came, de-escalated things a little, then left - better than shooting someone clearly, if not exactly perfect). The other time I saw smoke pouring out from under the eaves of the house across the street - in that case, the firefighters roared up, jumped out, and busted in my front door (in spite of the fact there wasn't any smoke or flames) so I clearly see why people are worried about first responders charging in without understanding the situation.
- Arrath 3y ago
  I'm sorry but the mental image looking out your front door as a firefighter kicks it down, an ignored building happily in flames over their shoulder, is way too funny.
  - Obscurity4340 3y ago
    Reminds me of Captain Hindsight from South Park, where he flies over to the burning building and clarifies all the (in hindsight super obvious) structural flaws in the building leading to the fire and everyone being trapped in a burning building. Then flies away amidst they cheers of onlookers and trapped victims alike.
- Broken_Hippo 3y ago
  I called 911 when I found my ex after a suicide attempt. One of the cops that responded tried to blame me.
  - Loughla 3y ago
    Not sure why you're being downvoted. Your experience isn't unique, sadly. The closest I've ever been to being arrested was when I had to call the cops because I got robbed while at work. They had footage of another person entering the store and then sprinting out, but the 17 year old nerdy kid was a much easier target. Never again.
thakoppno 3y ago
From a simple technical perspective, it seems like something like a more targeted amber alert would be feasible. Is this one of those fabled edge compute use cases?
cornstalks 3y ago
Police don't just go in guns blazing with their eyes closed. It's a very high-pressure situation because police are running in fully expecting to get shot at. They don't know if they're going to end up in a situation like [1] or if this is just a prank. In the end it's a really crappy situation for everyone. Police have to be super alert and are likely jumpy because they expect to be shot dead if they aren't the first to pull the trigger. Personally I don't really blame the police. Rather I blame the phone industry for giving these callers way too much anonymity. It should be trivial to trace a 911 call to a real paying phone customer. That would make swatting a lot less attractive (assuming it carried a very heavy punishment too). [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ODn6wuuVsU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ODn6wuuVsU
- TechBro8615 3y ago
  > Police don't just go in guns blazing with their eyes closed In the Breonna Taylor incident [0], their eyes weren't closed, but they may as well have been: > Police then fired 32 rounds into the apartment... Cosgrove fired 16 shots from the doorway area... Hankison fired 10 times from outside through a sliding glass door and bedroom window, both of which were covered by blinds or curtains... The officers' shots hit objects in the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, bathroom, and both bedrooms. Now, granted that situation was out of the norm because an occupant of the apartment fired a shot first, since he thought they were being burgled and the police neglected to announce their presence. But that's exactly the kind of situation that could happen in a SWAT raid. Most victims of SWATTing don't expect police to show up to their door, so if they're someone who owns a firearm and they hear a loud bang at the door, they may quite rightfully fire a shot at it in self defense, just like happened in the Taylor residence. The main lesson there is that it's up to police to properly announce themselves (no-knock raids should never be used in response to an emergency distress call such as the kind that triggers a SWATTing). But even if they announce themselves and receive fire in return, I'd argue they should at least make sure they've sighted a target before they pull the trigger, rather than indiscriminately shooting a volley of bullets through a window like they're some kind of gangster doing a drive by. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Breonna_Taylor#Shooting_and_aftermath https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Breonna_Taylor#Shoo...

blacksmith_tb 3y ago

The have only called 911 twice, once when a neighbor was waving a pistol around yelling at his wife (cops came, de-escalated things a little, then left - better than shooting someone clearly, if not exactly perfect). The other time I saw smoke pouring out from under the eaves of the house across the street - in that case, the firefighters roared up, jumped out, and busted in my front door (in spite of the fact there wasn't any smoke or flames) so I clearly see why people are worried about first responders charging in without understanding the situation.

Arrath 3y ago
I'm sorry but the mental image looking out your front door as a firefighter kicks it down, an ignored building happily in flames over their shoulder, is way too funny.
- Obscurity4340 3y ago
  Reminds me of Captain Hindsight from South Park, where he flies over to the burning building and clarifies all the (in hindsight super obvious) structural flaws in the building leading to the fire and everyone being trapped in a burning building. Then flies away amidst they cheers of onlookers and trapped victims alike.
Broken_Hippo 3y ago
I called 911 when I found my ex after a suicide attempt. One of the cops that responded tried to blame me.
- Loughla 3y ago
  Not sure why you're being downvoted. Your experience isn't unique, sadly. The closest I've ever been to being arrested was when I had to call the cops because I got robbed while at work. They had footage of another person entering the store and then sprinting out, but the 17 year old nerdy kid was a much easier target. Never again.

thakoppno 3y ago

From a simple technical perspective, it seems like something like a more targeted amber alert would be feasible. Is this one of those fabled edge compute use cases?

cornstalks 3y ago

Police don't just go in guns blazing with their eyes closed. It's a very high-pressure situation because police are running in fully expecting to get shot at. They don't know if they're going to end up in a situation like [1] or if this is just a prank. In the end it's a really crappy situation for everyone. Police have to be super alert and are likely jumpy because they expect to be shot dead if they aren't the first to pull the trigger. Personally I don't really blame the police. Rather I blame the phone industry for giving these callers way too much anonymity. It should be trivial to trace a 911 call to a real paying phone customer. That would make swatting a lot less attractive (assuming it carried a very heavy punishment too). [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ODn6wuuVsU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ODn6wuuVsU

TechBro8615 3y ago
> Police don't just go in guns blazing with their eyes closed In the Breonna Taylor incident [0], their eyes weren't closed, but they may as well have been: > Police then fired 32 rounds into the apartment... Cosgrove fired 16 shots from the doorway area... Hankison fired 10 times from outside through a sliding glass door and bedroom window, both of which were covered by blinds or curtains... The officers' shots hit objects in the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, bathroom, and both bedrooms. Now, granted that situation was out of the norm because an occupant of the apartment fired a shot first, since he thought they were being burgled and the police neglected to announce their presence. But that's exactly the kind of situation that could happen in a SWAT raid. Most victims of SWATTing don't expect police to show up to their door, so if they're someone who owns a firearm and they hear a loud bang at the door, they may quite rightfully fire a shot at it in self defense, just like happened in the Taylor residence. The main lesson there is that it's up to police to properly announce themselves (no-knock raids should never be used in response to an emergency distress call such as the kind that triggers a SWATTing). But even if they announce themselves and receive fire in return, I'd argue they should at least make sure they've sighted a target before they pull the trigger, rather than indiscriminately shooting a volley of bullets through a window like they're some kind of gangster doing a drive by. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Breonna_Taylor#Shooting_and_aftermath https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Breonna_Taylor#Shoo...