Law roundup: Police may have been target of swatting attempt
The Kalispell Police Department SWAT team reportedly responded to what appeared to be a “swatting” incident after receiving a call March 9 from a man who refused to give his name and sounded in distress. The man allegedly said he had an AR-15 and was going to kill his family and police before hanging up. Officers made contact with one occupant and determined the report was unfounded unless further information was obtained. Swatting is a criminal act when someone makes a false report of an ongoing crime in order to hoax dispatchers into sending police and other emergency units to a location.
Someone clad in plaid PJs was seen driving a small white pickup and reportedly almost hit pedestrians before parking and walking into a store.
An uncooperative man allegedly involved in a theft threatened to punch a man and took off running, dodging and weaving between vehicles in the parking lot and headed toward the highway. What was initially designated as a report of theft was changed to a “robbery.” He was taken to jail.
Dispatch answered a call where a child said something about their mom and hung up. On the callback, a woman answered the phone, and a kid was heard saying their dad hit mom.
Three boys dressed in black hoodies and one girl sitting on the ground were allegedly trying to get into storage garages. The youths appeared to be about 14-ish, according to the person calling in the report. One of the teens ran off when officers arrived. All the youths returned home.
A Columbia Falls man called the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office about his wife reportedly being “drunk and outrageous.” Her antics had awoken everyone in the house. She also pushed him.
A caller from Kalispell allegedly saw something in the sky/mountains that was mesmerizing enough that all they could do was keep repeating, “It is not the moon but looks like part of the moon.”
An employee went to open a business for the day and found a woman sitting on the porch. They reportedly let her inside because it was cold and she repaid the kindness by reportedly stealing $100 from the tip jar.
Three or four black cattle were charging down the side of a road and someone was afraid they would cause an accident.