CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Corpus Christi Police Department spokesperson doesn't see humor in prank 911 calls.
“It is not funny," Lt. Michael Pena said. "You’re interfering with us handling our job of handling those calls, those legitimate calls for service.”
A fake report of an active shooter drew a large police presence to Driscoll Middle School Monday.
In many cases, officers dropped what they were doing and rushed to the scene.
“In the case of a school shooting, all the officers in the field would respond to that call that were available,” Pena said.
If another call came in during that time period, the severity of that situation would determine if any officers left the school to respond.
“We’re going to prioritize those calls and handle the higher priority ones first," Pena said. "And that’s in our day-to-day (operations)."
Officers were able to trace yesterday's prank active shooter call and make an arrest.
They're only describing that person as "a juvenile", and it's unclear whether he or she is a Driscoll Middle School student.
Making a prank 911 call is a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, but Pena says the biggest reason not to make one is the negative impact on the community.
"When it’s a prank call, basically somebody cried wolf, you’re pulling away from us responding to legitimate calls where people are in need," he said.
