Celebrities

Hefty fines for ‘swatters’ behind fake 911 celeb calls

The swatters just got swatted!

Dopes who make phony 911 calls that draw SWAT teams and police to the homes of celebrities will face tougher penalties under a new California law signed Tuesday by Governor Jerry Brown.

The law takes aim at the expensive and, cops say, dangerous hoax known as swatting, when a caller says that violent intruders have taken over a celebrity’s home, prompting a massive police response.

In Southern California in recent months, swatters have sent police to the homes of Ashton Kutcher, Tom Cruise, the Kardashians, Chris Brown, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Clint Eastwood, according to state Senator Ted Lieu, who sponsored the law.

“The reason it’s called swatting is because the incident that’s being described is of such a severe nature that the police send a SWAT team or its equivalent,” Lieu, a Democrat who represents the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, told Reuters.

Firefighters and paramedics will also often be sent out because the pranksters sometimes claim that a resident in the home has been injured or even killed, he said.

The cost of sending out SWAT teams can be as high as $10,000 per call, Lieu said. Under the new law, callers making the false report – or their parents – will be required cough up the full amount to law enforcement agencies.

Previously, pranksters could face up to 1 year in jail and a fine up to $1,000, depending on the court’s discretion. The new law does not change the potential jail time.

Such pranks are dangerous, Lieu added.

“Let’s say it’s late at night and it’s dark and you have all these law enforcement officers showing up with guns drawn,” he said.

Homeowners or private guards could misinterpret the situation and draw their own weapons, he said, resulting in an unintended bloodbath.