Law to prevent prank
911 calls comes into use

A Makiki man is charged with dialing police
14 times, under a law passed in April

Now that police have a weapon against prank 911 callers, they intend to use it -- starting with a 53-year-old Makiki man who allegedly called police 14 times in a three-hour period Monday.

Kurt Lance Nelson of 1560 Thurston St. was charged Monday under a new law that makes it a misdemeanor to misuse 911 by reporting a false alarm or complaint. Police said that Nelson made 24 prank 911 calls between July 3 and Monday night.

Maj. Kenneth Simmons of the department's Communications Division declined to elaborate on what Nelson told 911 dispatchers, but he did say Nelson was "babbling" and on at least one occasion reported that someone was trying to kill him.

Nelson has two felony convictions for first-degree terroristic threatening, both stemming from an incident in 1998. "He was really misusing the 911 system," Simmons said. "When people call us with false complaints, it cuts into public services."

The prank-call law was passed in April. Offenders face up to one year in prison and a $2,000 fine.

Simmons said that police get an estimated 400 "drop calls" to 911 a week, when callers hang up before a dispatcher answers. All the calls are investigated, but most are believed to be pranks because they are made from cell or pay phones.

Also, 911 dispatchers get about 30 false alarms a week, on average, from callers who report seemingly specific information about a fictitious event.

Police have gotten prank calls from people claiming to be kidnapped or giving birth.

One caller made up a terrible traffic accident and even went so far as to say cars were overturned and people were pinned inside. Another caller told police he had a shotgun and was going to use it against a hostage, causing a stand-off in Waianae last year that went on for hours.

Simmons said he believes a prank call caused the death of officer Issac Veal, who lost control of his vehicle Aug. 16 on the H-2 freeway while responding to a report of 10 to 15 people fighting in Mililani. When police arrived, there was no brawl.

"He died in the line of duty," Simmons said. "It's just wrong."

This week, police are also testing new technology that will help them trace calls made from cell phones -- another tool aimed partly at decreasing prank calls.

The service will not be up for several months, but it will eventually enable dispatchers to identify cell phone callers and pinpoint where they are calling from, Simmons said.