Law roundup: Man calls dispatchers hoping to swat swatting attempt

Informed on a chatting website that he was about to get a visit from law enforcement, a Kalispell area resident contacted the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office in an attempt to head off the confrontation. The man told dispatchers someone warned he was about to get “swatted,” meaning another individual was going to report an emergency at his location in the hopes of sending in first responders. Dispatchers described the man, who asked that law enforcement ignore any requests to come to him, as having “very bad anxiety.”

A caller in Whitefish alerted authorities to a vehicle left at an area trailhead with two dogs inside. The caller worried someone abandoned the animals and the vehicle.

The owner of a support dog in Kalispell told authorities that their landlord had taken the animal and refused to return it.

A stranded motorist contacted authorities worried about her boyfriend, who planned on coming up to disentangle her. She told dispatchers her vehicle was perched sideways against a cliff. Another vehicle was stuck about 500 yards ahead, she said. When she moved her Subaru, it threatened to slide down the mountain, she said.

Deputies were called upon to intervene with a man walking along a Kalispell road and allegedly jumping into traffic.

Hearing a bunch of screaming and yelling, a caller asked that authorities check out a potential disturbance in a Kalispell neighborhood. It had grown to the level where the caller worried a disagreement had turned violent.

Worried about suspected ongoing drug activity in the neighborhood, a resident asked that deputies run extra patrols. As evidence of possible illicit goings-on, the resident noted several strange vehicles in the area.

When a caller reported seeing a fire, with flames shooting upwards of 40 feet in the air and above the treetops, they were informed that a resident had earlier advised authorities of a recreational blaze at the location.

Someone alleged that a vehicle belonging to a federal agency was traveling down the road with a foot and a half of snow on the hood. The driver needed to “clean it off before it comes off and kills someone,” the caller said. Informed that the agency did not presently have any vehicles on the road, the caller disagreed. He also refused to give his last name or leave a phone number with authorities.

Deputies responded to a report of a man pacing in the middle of a Kalispell road. The individual behind the report told authorities that the man looked drunk and later said he had fallen down. Deputies were unable to locate the man.

Thinking they had spotted their stolen snowmobile, a resident began pursuing their lost property into Columbia Falls. They later told dispatchers they lost the trail.

A motorist rang dispatchers to let them know that the roads were covered in black ice. The caller reported being unable to go faster than 40 miles per hour and expected there would be some wrecks if officials failed to take care of the problem. He hung up after dispatchers told him that “the whole county is that way.”