Sheriff’s office explains the Tim Pool swatting incident

Tim Pool, one of YouTube’s most successful political pundits/propagandists, was swatted yesterday.

To swat someone is to call 911 and falsely claim there is a dangerous incident taking place at the target’s location, and to ask for the police to come. Someone did that to Tim Pool yesterday while he was live on YouTube.

We just got Swatted

— Tim Pool (@Timcast) January 7, 2022

Tim Pool is a neighbor of mine. Sort of. He and I both live in the same county in Maryland.

Tim Pool is weird

I’m not a fan of Tim Pool or his shtick. I think he’s weird, and not in a good way. Tim Pool is one of those guys who wears a beanie on his head 12 months a year, no matter the weather. Considering that it gets hotter than Satan’s armpit here in Maryland, I think wearing a beanie in August is dumb. Does he honestly think people don’t know he’s bald under that beanie? Tim Pool isn’t fooling anyone.

Our local law enforcement released a media statement this morning about the incident. From the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page:

MEDIA RELEASE:
On Thursday, January 6, 2022, at approximately 8:15 PM, Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a property in the 19500 block of Keep Tryst Road, Knoxville, MD, for the report of two people having been shot and the suspect threatening suicide.

Multiple Deputies from the Sheriff’s Office and surrounding agencies responded to this incident. While Deputies were still en route, a member of the Maryland State Police arrived at the property and advised the call could be a “swatting” incident. A “swatting” incident is a false 911 call reporting a serious incident to elicit a significant response from police and other emergency services.

Upon arrival, Deputies were advised that a live stream podcast was currently being broadcast. The property owner did not give Law Enforcement permission to enter the address without a warrant.

Given the exigent circumstances, a 911 call was made stating that two people had been shot and another was threatening suicide; Deputies advised they were going to check and address and confirm the safety of the occupants.

A check of the address was conducted, and they verified that no one was hurt or threatening suicide. Upon completion of the check of the address, Deputies left the property.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office takes “swatting” incidents seriously; this incident remains under investigation.

Do you have a warrant?

I read the above statement and actually laughed out loud when I read, “The property owner did not give Law Enforcement permission to enter the address without a warrant.” Imagine thinking law enforcement needed to go to a judge to get a warrant before responding to a 911 call. That’s obviously what Tim Pool thought. And some people actually value what he has to say about politics and current events. The man doesn’t even comprehend how a basic 911 call works.

I hope law enforcement finds out who placed the fake 911 call and they’re prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I don’t know if that will happen. Unfortunately, I think most of these swatting incidents end up unsolved. I don’t know if you can trace 911 calls if the caller takes precautions to hide their identity. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the 911 call came from inside his house.