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The incident happened on Tuesday, May 2 between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., when the Brookfield Police emergency dispatch center received multiple unidentified radio transmissions over their primary radio channel, according to the department.
The transmission had requested all available units to respond to the back of the Kohl's Department Store for a large-scale fight in progress. However, Brookfield dispatchers were suspicious, as a similar false incident had happened on Monday, May 1 in Danbury.
When no officers responded to the store, additional unidentified transmissions were received. This time though, the person falsely identified themselves as a Danbury Police officer and urgently requested a police response.
A Brookfield detective then began searching the area in an unmarked vehicle and saw two men in the parking lot of 14 Candlewood Lake Rd. who appeared to be watching the back of the Kohl's location. Additionally, the detective also saw a radio antenna sticking out of one of the men's pockets.
With assistance from other Brookfield officers and detectives, authorities made contact with the two men and took them into custody after a brief investigation.
The two men, whose names have not yet been released by the department, were both charged with second-degree conspiracy to commit falsely reporting an incident.
One of the suspects was also charged with falsely reporting an incident and impersonating a police officer. The second man was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon.
Brookfield Police said that falsely reporting an incident can pose a serious safety hazard to the community and officers.
"False reporting of an incident, especially one of this nature, is taken very seriously," the department said, adding, "It not only puts responding police officers at risk by causing them to drive in emergency mode unnecessarily, but it also puts other motorists and pedestrians at risk. It needlessly pulls officers from their other duties and ability to respond to an actual emergency."
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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