Overly Loud Gamer Gets a Visit From the SWAT Team

[Andy Chalk]

Overly Loud Gamer Gets a Visit From the SWAT Team

A man from Bound Brook, New Jersey, has been arrested and taken to hospital for psychological evaluation after his "screaming" while gaming attracted the attention of a pedestrian, the police and ultimately the SWAT team.

The incident began Tuesday afternoon when a woman called police to report screams emanating from a house she had walked past. Police responded and asked the man who answered the door, who cannot be identified due to the ongoing investigation, if anything was wrong; he responded that he was yelling because he was playing videogames.

At this point, things get a bit hazy. The man became "irrational," according to a report by mycentraljersey.com [http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090715/NEWS/90715017], although why or in what fashion is unknown. More police showed up and the man became "increasingly irate," refusing the let the officers into his house, threatening them and eventually "slamming the door" on them.

The situation escalated further. The SWAT team was called in while police maintained contact with the man through open windows. And then, about an hour after it all started, he left the house "without incident," at which time he was arrested, charged with disorderly conduct and taken away for his psych evaluation.

Details are scarce and it's impossible to tell if this guy was a legitimate nut-job or just one of the hardcore who got caught up on a hot round of Call of Duty 4 [http://www.teamfortress.com/].

Whatever the case, the lesson seems clear: Hootin' and hollerin' from the bleachers is one thing but if you want to do it in the privacy of your own home, you'd better be ready to answer some questions - politely.


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[TheTygerfire]

Wow, way to overreact. I don't think they should have sent him in for a psych test, but he shouldn't have slammed the door on the cops either.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I think the SWAT team just wanted to have a go.

But seriously...exactly WHY were the SWAT team called? What part of this situation couldn't the police handle?

Oh, this gets better:

After the officers arrived, the man became increasingly irate, refused to let the officers into the house, threatened officers and then slammed the door, police said.

So, they arrived in his house, he got angry, THEN he didn't let them in, THEN he slammed the door.

Anyone else having problems with the timeline here?

As the officers continued to communicate with the man through open windows

So they yelled at him while he was playing games (presumbaly on a headset)

, the SWAT team was called and staged in the nearby parking lot of Bound Brook High School.

At around 4:41pm

"Mummy, why is that man got a gun and a gasmask?"
"Must be after one of those dreadful gamers dear."

And it's the gamer that's getting a psyche test? What about the police?

 

[The Shade]

Maybe he was playing Team SWAT mode in Halo.

*facepalm*

Really, though. If I was engaged in an epic struggle for control of Gravel Pit, I'm pretty sure I'd be snarky, too, when the police arrived to ask about yelling at my TV.

 

[Red Albatross]

Wow, the levels of idiocy shown in that situation were absolutely astounding. All those police officers should be given a nice slap on the wrist for being prats. The neighbors were right to be concerned that the fellow was actually yelling at someone instead of just something, but once the police found out that he was raging at a television, they should have turned around and left. No one's getting hurt, and they had absolutely no justification for trying to force entry into the man's home, unless there's something the article is leaving out, like the smell of pot wafting out the open door, or something of that sort. But calling the SWAT team? What a disgusting and blatant abuse of power, not to mention a shameful waste of resources.

 

[ElephantGuts]

Wow, overreacting much?

The way I see it going down is that the police wanted to come in and make sure everything was alright, and he refused. But that was a complete overreaction to call in the SWAT, if they were just dealing with an angry guy. That's what they have mace, pistols, and their bodies for. Of course I'm sure it was just because the SWAT guys had nothing better to do.

The most fucked up part being that if the cops didn't have a search warrant I don't believe they were within their rights to demand entry to his house. They should have left when the guy said he was fine.

 

[Bat Vader]

This man is dedicated to his games.

 

[HardRockSamurai]

I got five bucks says his name is Leeroy Jenkins!

 

[MrMisfit]

Wow! I am both impressed and disturbed by this. I get pissed and yell while playing games but I've never had the cops called on me.

 

[Scabadus]

What if the man had not been yelling at the TV/games? What if he was yelling stuff like "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to rip your arms off and stab you!" and had actually been shouting at a person he had trapped in his house? Would it have been fair for the police to call SWAT then?

Now the the event is over we know he was not, but we don't know the full facts and it was possible the police thought he was a geuine threat. Either way, we don't have the information here that the police had there; their reactions could have been perfectly reasonable to the situation.

 

[maxusy3k]

I dunno, reading it like this does make it seem like the police over-reacted, but then if I was to write down a step-by-step, factual account of when a dude apparently went completely crazy in my neighbourhood a couple of weeks ago, it would read pretty similar.

That incident went from a dude yelling and screaming, to having the police having to smash one of the windows of the car he'd sealed himself in and carefully pluck him out while he was pretty much catatonic.

Sometimes people go nuts, and maybe this guy did.

I'm baffled as to why they felt the SWAT team should be called in, though. I suppose they could have felt there was a chance the guy was amped on something and might be willing to exercise his 2nd Amendment rights or so, but surely that still falls within the remit of the conventional police department?

After the officers arrived, the man became increasingly irate, refused to let the officers into the house, threatened officers and then slammed the door, police said.

So, they arrived in his house, he got angry, THEN he didn't let them in, THEN he slammed the door.

I figure that should maybe read like "After the officers arrived on the scene". Certainly in the UK a police officer won't usually enter your property unless he has specific reason to do so. If he's asking a few questions, and particularly responding to a disturbance at the residence, they will usually save that until they feel there is a real need to come inside. Generally speaking, if a cop shows up on your doorstep because neighbours or passers by have made complaints, and after asking you some questions they want to come in, then you can be pretty sure they think you're guilty of whatever.

 

[Dyp100]

Mic spammers beware, the police is coming to get you.

That is all!

 

[vamp rocks]

haha, i think he was just losing badly at the game and because he was blind with rage he was being snippy to the cops... lol

 

[LeQuack_Is_Back]

Hmm, I was actually thinking of getting a mic until I read this...

 

[Laura.]

Well, if you are shouting stuff for 2 hours and the police show up, you should open the door, since they have no idea if you are really playing a game or if a robber is threatening you to ditch the police. It's for your own good and stuff.
Maybe they were asking him if they could enter the premises just to check if everything was ok (or to have a good old split screen console party), and he refused while insulting them. You know, a bad idea.

And so it happens that the SWAT team was in the neighbourhood...

 

[MasterSqueak]

I'd be mad too if I was pulled away from my games from the police.

Of course, I probably would have broken their limbs...

 

[JWAN]

I would say they called SWAT because a neighbor heard screaming and then a nervous agitated person answered the door and had a lame-ass excuse to the cops. They probably thought he had someone tied up in the back and he was torturing him when the sock fell out of his mouth.

(to the N.J kid)I understand yelling at your computer, I owned windows 98 at one point, but at least respect your neighbors and the cops.

I think it was a damn good move on the cops part.

 

[Nimbus]

A SWAT team? Seriously? One cop with enough leg-strength to kick the door in could have handled the situation, and they called in a fucking SWAT team?

Idiots in power... It makes me wonder how society continues to work...