A Twitter prank that overwhelmed the Los Angeles Sheriff Department's phone lines Friday night could land a rapper in some legal hot water.
Around 5:30pm Pacific time Friday, a post on the Twitter account belonging to Jayceon Terrell Taylor, also known as "The Game," said that he was looking for an intern and urged those who were interested in the job to call the phone number provided. Trouble is, the number belonged to the Compton Sheriff's Office, which soon received an overwhelming number of calls from some of The Game's more than 583,000 followers.
Captain Mike Parker tweeted The Game twice, asking him to remove the phone numbers from his feed. "This is compromising public safety," he wrote.
In a statement, the Compton Sheriff's Station and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said they received "hundreds" of calls from The Game's fans, and dubbed the effort a "telephone flashmob" or "flashcalls." Most people hung up when someone answered the phone with "Compton Sheriff's Department," but some questioned officers about the music internship. Calls eventually tapered off around 8pm.
"These needless phone calls interfered with the ability of sheriff's desk personnel to answer the business line phones and 9-1-1 calls, and for dispatchers to send help to people who really needed it," Parker said in a statement. "We don't know how many people needed help but couldn't get through the overwhelmed phone lines."
Delays in providing help included a missing person, a spousal assault, two robberies and a stolen car, the department said.
The Game did not respond directly to Captain Parker, though his feed does not currently list the phone number(s). Instead, he joked about how he might be arrested for a tweet, jokingly blamed a friend for "hacking" his account with the phone number, and criticized the LA Sheriff's Department.
"Yall can track a tweet down but cant solve murders ! Dat was an accident but maybe now yall can actually do yall job !!!! #iSpeak4ThePeople," The Game tweeted, referring to the still-unsolved murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.
The LASD, however, was not amused. The department said it will be filing a criminal complaint, accusing The Game of: annoying or harassing phone calls via electronic device or the Internet whether or not conversation ensues; delaying or obstructing peace officers in the performance of their duties; and knowingly and maliciously disrupting or impeding communications over a public safety radio frequency.
The Game doesn't seem too phased; in a recent tweet, he said he'll be in Mexico "until this media blitz blows over." Later, he also tweeted that "Haters will broadcast your failure but whisper your success." Of course, a media blitz might be just what he wanted; The Game's new album drops on August 23.
What do you think? Does the tweet warrant criminal charges?
Editor's Note: This story was updated Monday to clarify that this issue concerned the LA Sheriff's Department, not the LAPD.
Source:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391072,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05039TX1K0000762
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