This article contains news and liberal commentary.
A black female college student’s dorm door exploded open at 3 a.m. and cops poured into her room with drawn guns because 10 of her fellow students, described as racially diverse but mostly white, called campus police and falsely accused her “of threatening to stab someone with scissors.”
This “swatting” incident occurred at Austin State University in Texas on September 14, 2020. “This could have been a Breonna Taylor circumstance,” her attorney said, suggesting she’s lucky to be alive, and adding he believes it was racially motivated. He wants all 10 students expelled and criminally charged.
Wikipedia describes “swatting” as a “criminal harassment tactic” of deceiving a 911 dispatcher into sending a SWAT team to another person’s address by falsely reporting “a serious law enforcement emergency” such as a bomb threat, murder, hostage situation, or mental health emergency such as suicidal or homicidal threats.
Two weeks later, the college has taken no action against the students, and police have made no arrests. The college and police claim the incident is “under investigation.” The chief of campus police said, “The students responsible will be held accountable for their actions at every possible level.”
How long does it take to investigate a “swatting” incident? The 911 call was recorded, campus police and college officials apparently know who the perpetrators are, so why has nothing happened? Most colleges immediately suspend students accused of serious on-campus misconduct. Police rarely take this long to make arrests. But this is Texas, so what do you expect?
Photo: Christin Evans, 17, was the victim of a “swatting” incident
Most bomb threats fall under this same rubric. Police often have a recorded 911 call, and usually have an idea who the perpetrator is, but most never result in charges.
The police are likely embarrassed by the incident, and probably would like it to disappear. They are in a catch 22 in not responding and it turns out this was a real incident, to responding to a hoax and things go sideways.
The Austin cops are still unsure if they should accept Willie’s invitations to smoke one.