By Nathan Duke
A 50-year-old Oakland Gardens man was arrested last week after he allegedly placed as many as 20 fake 911 calls over a period of four months during which he claimed police officers had either been shot or held hostage, the Queens district attorney said.
One of the calls resulted in two borough officers being injured in a crash, DA Richard Brown said.
Alex Rodriguez, of 75-20 Bell Blvd. in Oakland Gardens, was arraigned June 23 before Queens Criminal Court Judge Robert McGann on charges of reckless endangerment, criminal nuisance and falsely reporting an incident, Brown said. The defendant, held on $10,000 bail, could face up to seven years in prison if convicted, the DA said.
“Fake 911 calls kill,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. “They can kill officers who respond to what they believe is an actual emergency and they kill real victims deprived of life and death seconds wasted on fakers.”
Between Feb. 22 and June 20, Rodriguez is alleged to have placed approximately 20 phone calls to the city’s 911 emergency call system from pay phones throughout Queens, the DA said. During each incident, he allegedly told 911 operators that a specifically named police officer or detective had been shot, killed, struck by a vehicle or was being held hostage, Brown said.
“Prank calls to police jeopardize the lives of officers and civilians alike, waste resources and keep police officers from dealing with real emergencies,” the DA said.
Rodriquez is also alleged to have used police lingo during the calls, such as “10-13,” which means an officer is down or needs assistance, Brown said. Every single call was deemed to be unfounded, he said.
During an incident June 20, two officers from Richmond Hill’s 102nd Precinct were injured while responding to one of Rodriguez’s alleged calls, Brown said. The officers had been told they would be aiding a fellow officer, so they drove at a high rate of speed during poor weather conditions, he said.
The officers lost control of their vehicle, struck a metal pole and both of them sustained neck and back injuries in the crash, the DA said.
Rodriguez is scheduled to return to court July 7, Brown said.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
