SWAT Team Hoaxed By Prank Caller, Get Caught On Gamer's Live-Streaming Webcam

[oberliner]

Jordan Mathewson was streaming a game of "Counter-Strike" when he was suddenly surrounded by dozens of armed officers, demanding him to lie down and be compliant. Earlier in the day, police had been informed by a prank call that Mathewson was a gunman who shot two colleagues and was currently holding more hostages.

The latest case, caught by a camera in the gamer's office, is a worrying trend of "swatting," with police warning yesterday that the trend may one day result in an innocent person being shot dead. "Fortunately there were no injuries today, but a massive law enforcement response wastes resources and greatly increases the chances of innocent people being injured or killed," police said in a statement. "If the investigation determines that today's incident was a hoax, those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Mathewson, who goes by the username Kootra and has 220,000 Twitter followers, founded an online gaming group known as The Creatures and broadcasts daily on Youtube. According to UK MailOnline, he was midway through one of his streams at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday when he paused, hearing officers bursting into room after room in the office block. "What in the world?" he said. "I think we're getting swatted."

Then, five heavily armed SWAT officers enter the room, cursing and barking at the man to get down, "Put your hands up! Get on the f****** ground! Don't you f****** move, you hear me boy?"

"What's your name?" one officer barks as another tells dispatch they have "one in custody."

"What about this is funny to you?" one officer asks as they bring the handcuffed man up to a standing position and search him.

"What? I'm not doing anything that is funny," the gamer says back.

However, when the game's on-going audio track interrupted them, announcing "Terrorists win," the confused SWAT officers asked the gamer to explain what he had been doing.

"I'm sitting there playing a game, people are watching it, and I guess a joker thought it would be funny to call you guys in," said Mathewson, who then had to show the officers in excruciating detail how to switch the camera off.

http://www.hngn.com/articles/40652/20140828/swat-team-hoaxed-prank-caller-caught-gamers-live-streaming-webcam.htm

Crazy story.

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. How's this for a solution: stop sending in the goddamn SWAT team without first investigating?

Unbelievable statement by the police:

The latest case, caught by a camera in the gamer's office, is a worrying trend of "swatting," with police warning yesterday that the trend may one day result in an innocent person being shot dead. "Fortunately there were no injuries today, but a massive law enforcement response wastes resources and greatly increases the chances of innocent people being injured or killed," police said in a statement. "If the investigation determines that today's incident was a hoax, those involved will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

What in the world? It's the fault of people putting in the prank calls, rather than the fault of know-nothing cops going in with the fucking SWAT team on ZERO evidence? Jay-sus, we're through the cop fetishist looking glass fo sho.

[ksoze]

3. Wrong

If someone calls the police and says there is someone in my house about to kill my family, I want the f'ing army there. Not an investigation. Sorry, this one is not on the police. I wantthe same if its a call for an ambulance - send it to me now - no need for "evidence".

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. Yeah, there's no middle way between a plodding investigation and sending "the army" through the door

knowing absolutely fucking nothing.

A clownish inability to see anything but ridiculous and unlikely extremes.

[Rex]

11. Agree...wtf do we pay cops to do again? OH RIGHT, investigate crime!

Heaven forbid they put any effort into scouting out a place first! No...that would make too much sense, much better to waste hundreds of thousands of dollars and then get caught looking like fucking idiots so they can blame society!

[Tommymac]

15. +1

[AngryDem001]

13. Agreed.

[whereisjustice]

19. by your analogy, this wasnt a call for an ambulance, this was a call for Mayo Clinic

to airlift in a team of cardiac surgeons and mobile operating theater because someone called to say someone else is having chest pains.

If that kid had been shot, or his dog (they WILL shoot pets, threat or no threat) what would your apology have been - he deserved it for not properly following orders?

I can hear the chorus of apologists demanding that (along with Uzi training for kids) we need proper compliance training in schools on what to do when cops raid our house or pull us over (driving while black) because it is never the fault of our out of control fucking police state. It's always the fault of an unarmed citizen.

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. Why don't they COMPLYYYYYYYY! I woulda COMPLIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEED

As soon as somebody says that, I know I'm dealing with an asshole at the very least.

[deutsey]

7. That's what baffles me.

The SWAT team just springs into action without bothering to confirm anything first?

I understand the urgency of a hostage situation or a gunman on the loose, but it might be in these morans' best interest to get a brain and actually develop some protocols for establishing that there is, indeed, a real crisis before going all Rambo on everyone.

[AngryDem001]

14. Yeah! Let's blame the COPS!

Not the fucking PRANKSTERS!!

[Tommymac]

16. Ok. I blame the cops.

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. Yes, I blame professionals for acting like a bunch of clowns

I expect clowns to act like clowns, which is why the pranksters don't get the lion's share of the blame here. We pay cops to do shit professionally, not to act like a bunch of trigger happy jackasses.

[951-Riverside]

2. Interesting enough that's how Justin.TV the creator of Twitch.TV got its start back in 2007

The one problem Kan has faced, he said, is that “you put a target on yourself when you’re walking around with a camera.” He was particularly upset when a viewer prank-called the police claiming there had been a stabbing at the apartment he shares with Shear, Seibel and Vogt.

“They busted in at like 11 at night with their guns drawn, expecting to see some horrible crime,” Kan said. “Instead they see three dudes on laptops. I think they were a little disappointed.”

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2007/04/05/alum-stars-in-own-truman-show-online/

I remember back then a lot of people were wondering if it was just a publicity stunt to get attention for the site.

[oberliner]

5. How common is stuff like this?

I didn't realize swatting was a thing.

[RandiFan1290]

4. Idiots ask him why he stayed there when he heard them clearing rooms

Was he supposed to run into the hallway so they could shoot him?

Morans

[oberliner]

6. Scary situation for him

Very easily could have gone very wrong.

[Inkfreak]

9. I'd be scared & angry if I was that guy.

Scared a couple cops who I have no trust in could kill me. Angry some asshole pulled this prank and frankly angry at the police for charging in guns drawn with no info. Honestly, to say they don't know the scenario and are just taking predations pretty much excuses them to act as aggressively as possible. Look at how harsh they handled him. Just because they didn't know. Notice they went to turn the video off ASAP. Fuck them. He's in a room playing a video game. When the fuck has anyone EVER committed murder and them calmly waited for the police to show while PLAYING A VIDEO GAME??!! If someone comes up with blue links to shit on my point, I'll be bummed and amused, lol.

[oberliner]

12. Me too

I would be curious to know how often this sort of thing happens.

[Vincardog]

10. I suggest we call in a SWAT team every time we know of a terrorist

meeting. For example any time the Koch brothers are involved,
they are obviously plotting someone's death.

[Tommymac]

17. +1

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. "What about this is funny to you?"

"Besides the fact that gamers are accused of believing they're action heroes?"

[Cali_Democrat]

22. WTF?!?!?

People still play counter strike?