For Immediate Release
October 26, 2017
Incident: Woman Arrested for Falsely Reporting an Emergency
Location: Eastbound Route 27 Service Road at Exit 52A, Patchogue, New York
Date/Time: Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 2:30 a.m.
Suffolk County Police today arrested a woman for falsely reporting an emergency in an effort to avoid receiving a speeding ticket.
Alfreda Chaplin was driving a 2008 Mercedes Benz eastbound on Sunrise Highway near exit 46A when she was pulled over by a Highway Patrol officer for speeding at approximately 2:05 a.m. Chaplin told the officer that she was on her way to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in East Patchogue because her mother was dying. The officer informed Chaplin that he would follow her to the hospital to confirm her story.
Chaplin had concocted the story about her mother in the hope of avoiding the speeding ticket. While en route to the hospital, Chaplin called 911 from her cell phone, gave a false name, and reported that she had been assaulted by her husband, who had a gun and had left her on the eastbound service road of Sunrise Highway near exit 46A. She hoped that the officer escorting her would be called away. It was determined that the false 911 call had come from Chaplin, and when the escorting officer pulled her vehicle over again, Chaplin admitted that she made the false call.
Chaplin, 43, of Bay Shore, New York, was arrested and charged with Falsely Reporting an Incident 3rd Degree. She was also issued a summons for speeding. She was held overnight at the Fifth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Authority: Timothy D. Sini, Police Commissioner 17-627144
Suffolk County Police Department JM/0935
