Swatting incident prompts heavy police presence on George Street in Peterborough

Peterborough police say a heavy presence on George Street on Friday evening was the result of a swatting call

The Peterborough Police Service says around 6 p.m. it received a 911 call at a George Street North address with information that required members of its emergency response team to be deployed.

Police did not provide details on the call.

Police and paramedics attended the scene along George Street North just north of Parkhill Road. Multiple police cruisers were in front of townhouse complexes and a police drone was also deployed above the scene.

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Officers closed both Parkhill Road and a trail behind a complex for several hours.

On Monday morning, police said the call was a “false report” and a case of swatting — a form of harassment in which phony attempts are made to get police forces to deploy their emergency response teams.

“These types of calls are false reports but require the response level of an emergency response team,” police stated. “Peterborough police remind residents that these types of calls require all the resources as if they were in fact real and charges in these cases could include criminal mischief charges.”