Colorado statute

C.R.S. § 18-8-111 — False reporting to authorities - false reporting of an emergency - definition.

Current through 2025 Regular Session

Part of Part 1: OBSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC JUSTICE, Colorado Revised Statutes.

Criminal charges under this statute

False reporting to authorities

Full text of C.R.S. § 18-8-111

Statutory text current through the 2025 Regular Session. This is an officially sanctioned publication using the official text of the Colorado Revised Statutes; it is not the official statutes of the State of Colorado.

C.R.S. § 18-8-111Primary source, current through the 2025 Regular Session

(1) (a) A person commits false reporting to authorities if: (I) He or she knowingly: (A) Causes by any means, including but not limited to activation, a false alarm of fire or other emergency or a false emergency exit alarm to sound or to be transmitted to or within an official or volunteer fire department, ambulance service, law enforcement agency, or any other government agency which deals with emergencies involving danger to life or property; or (B) Prevents by any means, including but not limited to deactivation, a legitimate fire alarm, emergency exit alarm, or other emergency alarm from sounding or from being transmitted to or within an official or volunteer fire department, ambulance service, law enforcement agency, or any other government agency that deals with emergencies involving danger to life or property; or (II) He or she makes a report or knowingly causes the transmission of a report to law enforcement authorities of a crime or other incident within their official concern when he or she knows that it did not occur; or (III) He or she makes a report or knowingly causes the transmission of a report to law enforcement authorities pretending to furnish information relating to an offense or other incident within their official concern when he or she knows that he or she has no such information or knows that the information is false; or (IV) Repealed. (b) False reporting to authorities is a class 2 misdemeanor. (c) Repealed. (2) (a) A person commits false reporting of an emergency if he or she knowingly commits an act in violation of subsection (1) of this section that includes a knowing false report of an imminent threat to the safety of a person or persons by use of a deadly weapon. (b) (I) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (2)(b), false reporting of an emergency is a class 2 misdemeanor. (II) False reporting of an emergency is a class 1 misdemeanor, if: (A) The threat causes the occupants of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation to be evacuated or to be issued a shelter-in-place order, the threat causes any disruptions or impacts to regular activities, or the threat results in the initiation of a standard response protocol in response to the false report; or (B) The emergency response results in bodily injury of another person. (III) False reporting of an emergency is a class 4 felony if the emergency response results in serious bodily injury of another person. (IV) False reporting of an emergency is a class 3 felony if the emergency response results in the death of another person. (c) Upon a conviction pursuant to this subsection (2), in addition to any other sentence imposed or restitution ordered, the court shall sentence the defendant to pay restitution in an amount equal to the cost of any emergency response or evacuation, including but not limited to fire and police response, emergency medical service or emergency preparedness response, and transportation of any individual from the building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation. (d) It is not a defense to a prosecution pursuant to this subsection (2) that the defendant or another person did not have the intent or capability of committing the threatened or reported act. (3) For purposes of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the offense is committed and the defendant may be tried in the county where the defendant made the report, the county where the false report was communicated to law enforcement, or the county where law enforcement responded to the false report. (4) A violation of this section does not preclude a conviction for a violation of any other criminal offense.

Official sources

Legal terms used in this section

Questions this section answers

Is false reporting to authorities a felony or a misdemeanor in Colorado?

It depends on the circumstances: false reporting to authorities ranges from a class 2 misdemeanor to a class 3 felony in Colorado under C.R.S. § 18-8-111.

False reporting to authorities: class 2 misdemeanor (C.R.S. § 18-8-111(1)(b)) · False reporting of an emergency — base offense: class 2 misdemeanor (C.R.S. § 18-8-111(2)(b)(I)) · False reporting of an emergency — evacuation, disruption, or bodily injury: class 1 misdemeanor (C.R.S. § 18-8-111(2)(b)(II)) · False reporting of an emergency — serious bodily injury: class 4 felony (C.R.S. § 18-8-111(2)(b)(III)) · False reporting of an emergency — death: class 3 felony (C.R.S. § 18-8-111(2)(b)(IV))

Which Colorado statute covers false reporting to authorities?

False reporting to authorities is governed by C.R.S. § 18-8-111 (False reporting to authorities - false reporting of an emergency - definition).

This reference is informational and is not legal advice.