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Troopers responded by determining the identity of the individual who tweeted, contacted the local police agency where the user resides and responded to the tweet's poster on Twitter advising them to call 911 if it was an emergency, police said.
Officers responded to the residence and determined there was no need for a police response, according to police.
"We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that requesting police assistance on social media, when it truly is not needed, is the same as a false 911 call and qualifies as misuse of the emergency response system which is a crime," said a State Police spokesperson. "False posts/tweets for assistance take police and other resources away from those that truly need help. We take these incidents seriously and caution everyone that misuse of the emergency response system will be investigated and can result in criminal charges."
In addition, the public is reminded in regards to “swatting” and online threatening that the same laws apply on the Internet as in face-to-face interactions, police said.
Threatening to commit any act of violence is a crime and will be investigated, police said.
"More importantly our social media accounts are not monitored 24/7 and should never be used to report any emergencies, criminal matters or reckless/suspected intoxicated drivers," said the spokesperson.
"9-1-1 and the non-emergency numbers for police departments are in place to handle these matters quickly and efficiently. We appreciate the overwhelming positive interactions we regularly have with you on our social media platforms and appreciate your help going forward," police said.
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