‘Threw a baby out the window’: April Fools’ Day prank sparks multi-agency response
By Meghan Mosley
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — An April Fools’ Day prank sparked a real multi-agency response Wednesday night, with police, firefighters and Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers responding to the false call.
Now, there are serious questions about how this all unfolded.
KOCO 5 has confirmed that a dispatcher called out over Oklahoma City police radio that police were involved in a chase, where a baby was reportedly thrown from the window of a car.
It was all a prank, and now the state’s 911 coordinator is sounding the alarm, calling it dangerous.
‘It wastes resources’ “Anytime we have emergency calls that are false, it wastes resources within the 911 center and also the response. And it also endangers the public,” said Lance Terry, Oklahoma’s state 911 coordinator.
KOCO 5 played the radio dispatch for Terry, which our team first heard over a police scanner radio on Wednesday night.
“Officers, be advised, suspect in pursuit, Southwest 29th and Walker, northbound, red Charger, no tag,” a dispatcher could be heard saying.
The dispatcher, who works for the Oklahoma City Police Department, went on to report that the suspect, at one point, threw a baby out of the car and then minutes later reported a “transient” had been run over.
“I’m not sure where the Charger is,” a person said during the radio conversation.
The call led to officers, firefighters and troopers to be dispatched.
“They are currently southbound on Robinson from Southwest 29th,” a dispatcher said. “The unit in pursuit, something’s wrong with their radio, so they’re not broadcasting, but we’re watching on the map, and they’re getting … messages.”
You can hear the moment Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers became involved.
“Sounds like Santa Fe is in pursuit. Can we see if they need our assistance? 157 all units, unless it’s a felony, we’re going to stay out of it for the 10-13 right now,” troopers said.
“Oklahoma City to all units, we have advised Santa Fe is in pursuit, it is going to be felony charges, they’re going to be westbound from Grand and Robinson. It’s going to be a red Charger with no tag, city just advised the suspect threw a baby out the window,” a dispatcher said.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department confirmed that one of their engines, rescue ladder trucks, an entire “blood unit,” and a district chief responded.
“157, be advised this vehicle supposedly ran over a transient,” a trooper said. “782 city, can you tell us if this was eastbound, westbound?”
‘It was an April Fools’ prank’ Five minutes into the call, a dispatcher said it was an April Fools’ Day prank, but there’s no indication of where it all originated.
“We’re going to terminate this pursuit,” a person could be heard in the radio exchange. “It was an April Fools’ prank.”
“My initial feeling is, is how much stress and workload did it take on all responders, including the 911 dispatchers, to manage that event. And also, what was going on in the background, what other calls may have been delayed or put on the side as this incident was rolling out,” Terry said.
Oklahoma City Fire Department officials told KOCO 5 that when they found out from police that the call wasn’t real, they called off their response.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials said they did not have a statement to release about the incident.
Oklahoma City Police Department officials released a statement about the incident Thursday evening. “We are aware of a reported pursuit involving some of our officers that included serious claims, which has since been determined to be false. The matter is currently under review as part of an internal investigation. Due to the ongoing nature of this process, we are unable to release any additional information at this time. We take this situation seriously and are committed to ensuring a thorough review is conducted,” officials wrote.
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