Interfering with an emergency call in Okmulgee, Oklahoma is illegal, and can lead to fines and jail time.
States have begun passing laws to protect emergency victims. One such law in Oklahoma makes it a crime for a person to intentionally interrupt, impede, or interfere with anyone who is attempting to or is in the process of placing an emergency telephone call. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1211.1
A fairly recent law, this law is designed to prevent people from interfering once someone has started to reach out for help, often by calling 911.
What is Interfering with an Emergency Call in Oklahoma?
You may wonder why anyone would try to prevent another person from seeking help in an emergency situation. If anything, wouldn’t we all try to help?
Consider this situation for a moment. A 911 operator picks up a call. A female voice at the other end of the line is crying and asking for help. Suddenly, the line goes dead.
The 911 operator tries to call back, but there is no response. The 911 operator has the address and sends out a call for police to go to the address.
When the police get there, they find a man beating his wife. The phone has been ripped out of the wall, wires left dangling. The man is irate and drunk.
Interfering with an emergency call is just one of a number of charges that this man may face. He may also face domestic assault and battery charges and threatening a violent act in Okmulgee. And it may be that given these facts, this man may be convicted.
But suppose the facts are really a bit different. The wife, who is intoxicated, calls 911 in the middle of the argument and immediately regrets the call. She throws her phone at her husband and the battery falls out.
The police arrive as the husband and wife are hitting each other. Under these facts, its looks bad for the husband, but he may have a viable defense if his fingerprints are not on the phone.
Penalties
Interfering with an emergency call in Okmulgee is a misdemeanor crime. It is punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $3,000, or both.
Low-cost Consultation: Okmulgee Misdemeanor Defense Attorney
If you or someone you know is charged with interfering with an emergency call in Oklahoma, call 918-756-9600 right away for a initial strategy session with an Okmulgee misdemeanor defense attorney.
You may also send a message to the Wirth Law Office – Okmulgee through this website. All inquiries are confidential.
