Police try to bring man in by lying that his mother was hospitalized

A Jerusalem resident has accused police of trying to summon him for questioning by falsely telling him that his mother had collapsed and saying he should rush to the hospital.

Police said they were looking into the case, but that it appeared an officer had acted inappropriately.

The man, from the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, received the call some two weeks ago from someone who presented himself as a member of the United Hatzalah ambulance service, Channel 12 news reported Wednesday.

“He told me, ‘Your mother has collapsed, she’s on her way to the hospital, come quick,'” said the man, who has not been named.

He said he began to suspect something wasn’t right and started recording the call. When he asked the caller to speak to his mother, he was told she was unconscious.

"תבוא מהר, אמא התמוטטה!": התרגיל השנוי במחלוקת של המשטרה כדי לזמן צעיר לחקירה >> https://t.co/5ZhdcBlbGx@yaircherki pic.twitter.com/XJcOWM4TST

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) December 25, 2019

After asking several more questions and hanging up, the man called his parents’ home — and answering the phone was none other than his mother.

“She told me that there had been cops in her home who looked for me,” he said. “I told her people called to say she had collapsed and mom started laughing.”

The man then returned the call to the supposed paramedic and confronted him. He said the man then acknowledged that he was a policeman.

Police say the man is suspected of assault and that a warrant has been issued for his arrest, but that several attempts to bring him in have failed.

The man insists he has no idea why cops would come looking for him. “And even if they have something against me, no son deserves to be called and told their mother has collapsed,” he said.

Police said, “An initial examination indicates that the policeman’s conduct is inappropriate and goes against the rules. The behavior will be probed and dealt with accordingly.”