INTERFERENCE WITH EMERGENCY REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE
In Texas, it is illegal to interfere with another person’s attempt to request emergency assistance. You can be charged with interference with an emergency request for assistance, as defined in Texas Penal Code §42.062, if you:
- Knowingly or recklessly
- Prevent or interfere
- With another’s ability to place an emergency call or to request assistance
- In an emergency
- From a law enforcement official, medical facility, or other entity with the purpose of providing safety to individuals.
In other words, you can face charges under §42.062 if you knowingly and intentionally prevent another person from calling for help when it is needed in an emergency situation.
However, you cannot be convicted of the crime unless the state is able to prove each of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt. We’ll discuss what each of these elements means, specifically, and what the state will have to prove.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ACT KNOWINGLY?
You may be surprised to learn that “knowledge” is actually defined in Texas law. According to Penal Code §6.03(b), “a person acts knowingly, or with knowledge…when he is aware of the nature of his conduct or that the circumstances exist.”
Put another way, to act knowingly means that you understand what you are doing and the potential consequences of your actions. As a result, behavior that is unintentional or accidental may not fall under this definition.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ACT RECKLESSLY?
You don’t necessarily have to knowingly prevent someone from calling for help in an emergency situation. If your reckless behavior destroys an electronic device that would allow another person to call for help, you can be guilty of a crime under §42.062(b).
According to Penal Code §6.03(c),
a person acts recklessly, or is reckless, with respect to circumstances surrounding his conduct or the result of his conduct when he is aware of but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur.
Reckless behavior can also be defined as a “gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise” under similar circumstances.
In other words, your conduct will be considered reckless when you should have known that a certain result is the likely consequence of your actions.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PREVENT OR INTERFERE?
In order to face charges under §42.062, you must knowingly “prevent or interfere” with another person’s attempt to call for help in an emergency situation. The type of behavior that can be classified as “prevention or interference” is fairly broad.
Prevention or interference can be physical (e.g., hiding, destroying, or disconnecting a telephone or electronic device) or verbal (e.g., using threats to intimidate another person so they will not call for help).
The bottom line is that any behavior or conduct that prevents or interferes with another person’s ability to call for help in an emergency situation will violate the law.
PLACING AN EMERGENCY CALL OR REQUESTING ASSISTANCE
Texas law prohibits conduct that prevents or interferes with a person’s ability to place an emergency call or request assistance. What counts as an emergency call or request for assistance? There are two primary calls for help that can’t be subject to prevention or interference:
- Calls to request medical assistance, and
- Calls to report criminal activity.
This means that you can’t stop someone from calling the authorities (or another agency tasked with protecting the safety of individuals) to get emergency medical help or to report you for committing a crime. This applies to crimes that are being committed at the moment, as well as crimes that have been committed in the past.
WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY?
So, what exactly is an “emergency” for the purposes of Texas law? Penal Code §42.062(d) defines emergency to mean
a condition or circumstance in which any individual is or is reasonably believed by the individual making a call or requesting assistance to be in fear of imminent assault or in which property is or is reasonably believed by the individual making the call or requesting assistance to be in imminent danger of damage or destruction.
That’s a fairly complex way to say that an emergency exists when a person believes, or reasonably believes, that they:
- Fear an imminent assault; or
- Believe their property is about to be damaged or destroyed.
This means that emergency calls do not necessarily have to be made for the purpose of asking for medical help. Emergency calls can also be made to report fears of immediate harm or crimes that have occurred.
RECIPIENTS OF EMERGENCY CALLS FOR ASSISTANCE
It’s not necessarily a crime to stop someone from placing any call they want. Interference with an emergency call or request for assistance requires that the individual is attempting to (1) report an emergency or request medical assistance; and (2) contact a specific type of recipient.
You cannot prevent or interfere with another person’s efforts to contact a:
- Law enforcement agency
- Medical facility, or
- Other agency or entity that helps to provide for the safety of individuals.
Examples of recipients of emergency calls may include:
- Local police officers
- State police officers
- Federal law enforcement agencies (e.g., DEA, FBI, ATF)
- 9-1-1 operators
- Hospitals and/or a doctor’s office, and
- Fire departments and/or Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs).
So, it is a crime to prevent someone from calling 9-1-1 to report a crime. However, it would likely not be a crime to prevent someone from calling a friend or spouse to report that same crime. The recipient of the emergency call for assistance must be law enforcement, a medical facility, or another entity tasked with protecting the public.
CONSEQUENCES OF INTERFERING WITH AN EMERGENCY CALL
You can face criminal charges if you knowingly prevent or interfere with another person’s effort to place an emergency call. In most cases, the crime of interfering with an emergency call will be a misdemeanor offense. However, there are certain times when the crime can be aggravated to a felony.
CRIMINAL CONSEQUENCES OF INTERFERING WITH AN EMERGENCY CALL
In most cases, the crime of interfering with an emergency call will be a misdemeanor offense. Specifically, interfering with an emergency call is a Class A Misdemeanor. In Texas, a Class A Misdemeanor is punishable by:
- A maximum of 12 months in jail;
- $4,000 in fines; and/or
- Probation.
There are certain times when the crime can be aggravated to a state jail felony. If you have been convicted of this crime in the past, you will face felony charges. In Texas, a state jail felony is punishable by:
- No less than 180 days, but no more than 2 years in a Texas state jail;
- $10,000 in fines; and/or
- Probation.
COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES OF INTERFERING WITH AN EMERGENCY CALL
You may think that the consequences of your crime end once you’ve served time behind bars, paid your fine(s), and/or successfully completed the terms of your probation. However, you may be surprised to learn that you will still be subject to the collateral consequences of your crime.
Collateral consequences aren’t criminal in nature, but rather social and civil penalties that exist because you have been convicted of a crime. These penalties are not necessarily related to your specific crime. Instead, they exist because you now have a criminal record.
Collateral consequences of interfering with an emergency call can include:
- Difficulty finding gainful employment
- Prohibitions from working in certain fields (e.g., education, healthcare, government)
- Difficulty renting or buying a home
- Inability to secure financial loans
- Inability to participate in government welfare programs
- Loss of your professional license(s)
- Adverse child custody decisions, and/or
- Limitation of gun ownership rights.
This is not an exhaustive list of collateral consequences in Texas. Simply having a criminal record can affect every aspect of your life. These are simply a few of the most notable consequences that can occur.
DEFENDING CHARGES FOR INTERFERING WITH AN EMERGENCY CALL
Just because you’ve been accused of a crime does not mean that you’ll be arrested, charged, and/or convicted. You have the right to defend yourself at every stage of the criminal proceedings. Hiring an attorney who is well-versed in local law and procedure to lead your defense will help you to secure the best possible outcome in your case.
There are two primary ways to approach a defense to criminal charges. The first is to offer explanations and/or justifications for your alleged behavior. The second is to attack the state’s case against you and cast doubt on your guilt. Remember, you cannot be convicted unless it is proven that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If the state does not have a persuasive case, or if there is not strong evidence to support its argument, prosecutors may be more willing to discuss a plea or drop the charges.
Defenses that may be helpful in a case for interference with an emergency call include:
- You did not act knowingly to prevent or interfere with an emergency call;
- Your actions were not reckless;
- You have been falsely accused of criminal behavior;
- You have been mistakenly identified as the person guilty of the crime; or
- The state has gathered evidence against you in violation of your Constitutional rights.