TMZ: Attempted SWATting at Miley Cyrus’s Home
Nobody was home and nobody was hurt:
Cops raced to Miley Cyrus’ L.A. house tonight after receiving a report about a possible home invasion … but when they arrived to the scene, it turned out to be a false alarm … and all signs point to a troubling prank known as “Swatting.”
Law enforcement sources confirm … the LAPD received a 911 call at 6:50 PM to report a possible home invasion, possible shots fired.
The LAPD responded immediately … guns drawn … but the house was quiet, no one was home … and there was no sign of a crime. Cops determined it was a false alarm.
Law enforcement tells TMZ … officials now believe the caller is a “911 abuser.”
The call seems to fall in line with a prank called “Swatting” — in which a caller tries to trick emergency responders into dispatching law enforcement (like the SWAT team) to a home by making up a serious crime.
The more people do this without consequence, the more it will happen. One day someone is going to get hurt.
Maybe law enforcement will take this one seriously . . .
I do believe Sen. Saxby Chambliss might be getting some results with DoJ, though. For what it’s worth.
Patterico (8b87cf) — 8/1/2012 @ 9:34 pmThings that have NOT invaded Miley Cyrus’s home:
Icy (5fefc2) — 8/1/2012 @ 9:44 pm— talent
— the DEA
— child protective services
— a sustainable career
— responsible parenting
does she still live with her dad now that she’s getting her hunger games on and all?
just wondering
they live just over here in toluca lake (the really really *really* nice part) – I think kinda over where George Lopez lived before his wife got the house in the divorce
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 8/1/2012 @ 9:46 pma sustainable career
Dean Cain just got a gig in prime time I wouldn’t sell Miley short just yet
this is not an endorsement of her I personally think she’s kind of gross with all her tattoos and general pointlessness, but she’s had a good run and I bet it’s not over cause of, you know, say what you want about her, when she works she works hard
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 8/1/2012 @ 9:49 pmConservative shot dead, BFD. Stupid teenage singer with no talent shot = wall to wall coverage.
TheLastBrainLeft (6df1de) — 8/1/2012 @ 9:52 pmJust thinking how weird it is to even know what a Swatting is.
I agree though, I think it could bring more attention to all this (as sad as that is).
Noodles (3681c4) — 8/1/2012 @ 9:53 pmJust wait until there is a swatting at the apartment of a cop’s girlfriend, with the cop inside. The PD doesn’t keep track of every house that a cop might visit from time to time. They won’t know there’s a cop inside. When they kick down the door, having failed to announce, the cop inside won’t know who’s coming in. He’ll take out his service weapon, and shoot it out with them.
When cops kick down a door, they often fail to announce. They’ll lie about it afterwards. Who are you going to believe, cops who say they announced, or some guy at the scene of a chaotic event, who might not have heard anything and might have a reason to lie? So the cops get away with lying about no-knock raids.
Even when they kill an innocent person, they get away with it. They say they announced, they say he’s a gun nut who pointed a weapon at officers, they say whatever they need to say to protect their careers.
They have zero obligation to wear cameras when they do their raids. Can you believe that? Before they storm a house, they ought to put on a $50 video camera. They don’t want to. The liability would kill the PD. If people could prove all of the s### cops do, every PD in the country would be bankrupted.
City PDs don’t want to worry about swattings. High tech stuff is hard for them to handle. And let’s face it: cops don’t want to question anonymous tips. Cops want to be able to act on them. Anything that makes it harder for a cop to have an excuse to search someone, or to get a warrant, the police don’t want that. They have plenty of motive to turn a blind eye to swattings.
Maybe I am too cynical.
Daryl Herbert (eac120) — 8/1/2012 @ 10:14 pmLord, I’m really unfamiliar with pop culture. I had to look her up. At first, I thought she was a he, and a country-rock star.
Regardless, this shit has to stop. It isn’t perfect, but I wonder if a call-back protocol would help? Not everyone has a landline (I don’t), but calling the residence after a 911 call might help diffuse at least some of this.
Jamie (ee4a20) — 8/1/2012 @ 10:32 pmYou’re absolutely sure that her becoming a world-wide star and fabulously wealthy was as the result of bad parenting?
Covet/envy much?
Random (dd401a) — 8/1/2012 @ 10:33 pmCops determined it was a false alarm. Some cops are genius that way.
Gazzer (fe090b) — 8/1/2012 @ 10:40 pmYeah, what’s your problem, Icy?
nk (875f57) — 8/1/2012 @ 10:46 pmJamie, do us a favor and stick to masturbating in front of the Obama poster in your mom’s bathroom.
nk (875f57) — 8/1/2012 @ 10:47 pmDaryl you are not too cynical, IMO. Did you see this one last week?
Gazzer (fe090b) — 8/1/2012 @ 10:48 pmhttp://www.wesh.com/news/central-florida/Deputies-shoot-kill-man-after-knocking-on-wrong-door/-/11788162/15527202/-/euk6tg/-/index.html
In another report I read that the popo claimed they did announce themselves but were forced to retract when an eye witness said that they did not. Sadly, most cops I meet these days are dismally stupid and arrogant bullies.
Random’s not dead yet? He got rotated back here?
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/1/2012 @ 10:51 pmi’m surprised that LAPD didn’t call back an hour or two later and ask if there was still a problem.
maybe NoHo division has a different policy than Van Nuys?
redc1c4 (403dff) — 8/1/2012 @ 11:29 pmNo I feel much, much better.
Random (dd401a) — 8/1/2012 @ 11:41 pmThere was a SWATting in Dallas recently. One drug/thug called the cops on another one saying there was a kidnapping occurring. Cops arrived and just found 2 guys in a crack house, both ran, and one started fighting the cop chasing him, so the cop shot the guy!
It almost started a riot because the family of the dead guy said he was shot in the back while running away. (He wasn’t, the coroner released today)
They figured out who did it almost instantly, and arrested the SWATter soon after.
Interesting that they won’t find out who is doing it to the right…
Dallas SWATting almost turns to riots!
JarvisW (95d736) — 8/1/2012 @ 11:51 pmThank you, nk, but I’d rather have satisfying sex with my girl, and later wish that you could at least find a therapist, assuming you can afford one.
Jamie (ee4a20) — 8/2/2012 @ 12:25 amJaime keeps his girl at the bottom of a dried up well… 8)
redc1c4 (403dff) — 8/2/2012 @ 1:21 amhey Feet: is that the Toluca Lake that isn’t part of the San Fernando Valley?
redc1c4 (403dff) — 8/2/2012 @ 1:22 am5- huh? Imagined persecution anyone? You’re not even dead and you’re already christening yourself a martyr.
tye (b89df5) — 8/2/2012 @ 4:09 amOH.
Well NOW we’ll see some investigating.
jcw46 (b4329c) — 8/2/2012 @ 5:27 amno it’s this one
oh. I had no idea it was a natural lake I saw it once at an open house and it didn’t look very natural really
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 8/2/2012 @ 6:07 amShe doesn’t live in Malibu like on the TV show?
JD (cfef43) — 8/2/2012 @ 6:22 amMr. Happyfeet–Toluca Lake residents living and dead: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, W.C. Fields, Andy Garcia, Henry Winkler, Lana Turner, Mackenzie Phillips
Birdbath (ce2227) — 8/2/2012 @ 6:32 amDon’t forget Jules Winfield’s partner, Jimmy, and his wife Bonnie. They live in Toluca Lake, too, and damn good thing too – Marcellus Wallace ain’t got no friendly places in the Valley.
radar (257ad5) — 8/2/2012 @ 6:56 amThere is a real pattern to places where this crime is pursued aggressively and solved, and places where it is not. And sadly, I think some culprits adapted to this pattern and select targets where it is apparent law enforcement won’t do their jobs. I hate to put it that way, but it is what it is. They are welcome to prove me wrong.
Dustin (73fead) — 8/2/2012 @ 7:07 amThere are tools available, which aren’t everywhere because of the up-front cost, to deal with this security hole.
The tools alert responders that the call is made over voip and that the number is spoofed.
SarahW (b0e533) — 8/2/2012 @ 7:16 amYou’re absolutely sure that her becoming a world-wide star and fabulously wealthy was as the result of bad parenting?
Covet/envy much?
Comment by Random — 8/1/2012 @ 10:33 pm
— Random luvs him some Hannah Montana
Icy (5fefc2) — 8/2/2012 @ 7:27 amThe New York Times had a story today that started in the bottom half of the the front page:
In Virtual Play, Sex Harassment Is All Too Real
Paragraph 19 (of 27) goes:
Stephen Toulouse, who was the head of enforcement for Xbox Live from 2007 until February, policed the most egregious behavior on the network, owned by Microsoft. And women were the most frequent target of harassment, he said. In that role, Mr. Toulouse experienced the wrath of angry gamers firsthand, who figured out where he lived, then called the police with false reports about trouble at his house (more than once, SWAT teams were sent).
Sammy Finkelman (ce5e39) — 8/2/2012 @ 8:43 amThe following SWATting seems to have happened almost exactly the same time yours (and Mike Stack’s) did:
http://hu.sott.net/articles/show/230819-US-Xboxer-SWATTED-by-armed-cops-after-online-spat
(This happened to the family of a 15-year-old Xbox player in Naples, Florida.)
Sammy Finkelman (ce5e39) — 8/2/2012 @ 8:48 amStephen Toulouse is stepto on Twitter, and he has been on Twitter since April 4, 2007.
2007!?
Sammy Finkelman (ce5e39) — 8/2/2012 @ 9:01 amComment by Dustin — 8/2/2012 @ 7:07 am
And sadly, I think some culprits adapted to this pattern and select targets where it is apparent law enforcement won’t do their jobs.
And I think one of the tactics of the Weinergate/Kimberlin SWATters is never to SWAT the same person twice.
Sammy Finkelman (ce5e39) — 8/2/2012 @ 9:06 amI wonder what Toluca Lake was like back in the Sinatra days
here’s a restaurant what tries to pretend it’s in Toluca Lake – cause of it’s on that side of Lankershim – which, maybe technically it is I guess… but it’s very fancy and I seen very fancy people going in sometimes cause of I walk by there a lot
I haven’t been yet but you can get cooking lessons there from Mr. Fabio
I could stand to take a lesson or two I think, but I know I won’t cause it’s just not really my thing right now
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 8/2/2012 @ 4:54 pmEvery so often there are cases where cops serve no-knock warrants on the wrong apartment. Some of those cases result in fatalities.
In *every case* that i’m aware of, the ruling has been that the cops weren’t at fault.
aphrael (24797a) — 8/3/2012 @ 8:11 am“I wonder what Toluca Lake was like back in the Sinatra days”
Mr. Happyfeet– Everybody had rowboats and they could row across the lake for dinner parties. Row row row your boat, which was actually how long it took because the lake is so teeny.
Bing Crosby’s house had a wrought iron 10 ft. G-clef on the peak of his house (or the chimney can’t remember) that was really cool.
One of my favorite L.A. neighborhoods.
Birdbath (ce2227) — 8/4/2012 @ 1:04 pmaphrael #35,
The police were held liable in the Kathryn Johnston case. The police misconduct in that case was significant but, in keeping with your point, the police weren’t penalized as harshly as many thought they should be.
DRJ (a83b8b) — 8/4/2012 @ 1:56 pm