Hartsville, IN—A 14-year-old boy in Bartholomew County has been arrested on Tuesday and accused of making a false 911 call in Hartsville.
Sheriff Matt Myers from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department hopes the teen’s arrest serves as an important safety lesson that making false 911 calls is not only illegal, it can also be dangerous.
“The 14-year-old said he was bored and felt it would be neat to see a police response,” said Myers.
Responding to that 911 call of an armed break-in at a gas station on state road 46 in Hartsville, deputies with Bartholomew County Sheriffs Department and the Indiana State Police rushed to the scene overnight. Sheriff Myers says after officers realized the emergency was fake, they quickly tracked down a 14-year-old suspect who admitted to making the call.
Sheriff Myers says no matter where they happen, false 911 calls can put officers in danger and pull them away from actual emergencies.”It is a big deal to make a false report,” said Myers. “This is a reminder for parents to have conversations with their kids.”
Because the suspect is underage, his name is not being released, but he is facing two misdemeanor counts involving the false reporting of a crime.
