[siruncledrew]

The second point is related to the first point. The police are being intentionally given bad information by the swatters in order to get the response of force by police (the reason why it’s “swatting” and not just calling the cops on someone).

If a ‘swatter’ called the police and said “Hey there’s a domestic disturbance going on next door”, then the response is basically sending a nearby squad car to check it out. That’s a pretty boring “prank” for a swatter if 2 cops just ring the doorbell and ask questions.

Thus the police have to be told something so serious sounding they would need to send SWAT. Something like “my neighbor is on drugs with a knife against his daughter’s throat threatening to kill his family, hurry!”.

These swatters are intentionally targeting people, so they can also BS enough personal details to make it sound plausible.

Human decency to not abuse this highly-serious system is not enough of a barrier to keep swatting douchebags from exploiting the system, so while the system needs adjusting, from an enforcement side this case is also a public reminder that swatting is not a cool prank that has serious consequences.