‘He’s got a gun’: Single mum of five lies to 000 to speed-up police response time

A single mum of five who sparked an urgent rush to her care after falsely claiming her ex-partner and father of her children was threatening them with a gun had been up all night drinking and playing a popular battle video game before making the call. Jaimee-Lee Watson on Thursday pleaded guilty to making false claims via a 000 call at Manjimup Magistrates Court and was ordered to complete 40 hours of community service and compensate for the overtime of two South West police officers who came to the family’s aid in the early hours of the morning. On October 1, the 33-year-old called 000 at 4.45am claiming her ex-partner had a gun and wouldn’t let her leave his Greenbushes home, and was making threats against her and their children. Twenty minutes later Watson called 000 again — where the same call operator answered — claiming her and her children’s safety was no longer in danger and police assistance was no longer required. The call operator advised Watson two officers were already urgently recalled to duty and were on their way. The court heard that police arrived at the Greenbushes address and quickly established Watson and her children were in no danger from the ex-partner. Police ascertained Watson wanted to leave the property, however her ex-partner was trying to stop her as she was too intoxicated to drive a vehicle. When police spoke with Watson she said she told the 000 operator there was a gun involved because she knew it would speed-up their response time. Watson’s duty lawyer Fiona Walsh said Watson had been playing Fortnite and drinking all night which lead to her “out-of-character” actions. She said Watson realised her mistake of making a false accusation and did try to rectify it by making the second phone call to 000. Ms Walsh said the only explanation for Watson’s actions was the alcohol, having suffered from substance abuse in the past due to finding her father deceased. Police prosecutor Sen. Const. Sarah Lowe said Watson’s penalty needed to reflect the seriousness of her actions, expressing concerns that Watson’s inability to distinguish between a game — Fortnite — and real life was troubling. Magistrate Linda Keane said she agreed with Sen. Const. Lowe on the seriousness of Watson’s behaviour. “I doubt there would be any other person in this room with a belly full of alcohol that would do what you did,” she said. “(The charge) could lead to a term of imprisonment.” Making a false report to police carries a maximum penalty of one year imprisonment. Taking into account that Watson’s behaviour seemed out of character, Ms Keane sentenced Watson to 40 hours of community service — to be completed within 12 months — and ordered her to pay $671.81 to the State to cover the overtime costs of the police officers involved, as well as court costs of $264.30. Alcohol & Drug Helpline 9442 5000