POLICE ACTIVITY – False report of an attempted kidnapping
On Sept. 1, 2021, at 9:08 a.m., the City of Santa Clara’s Public Safety Dispatchers received a 9-1-1 call. The caller reported his 11-year-old child may have been the victim of an attempted kidnapping earlier in the day.
According to the child, at about 7:45 a.m. the child was riding his bicycle towards school when an adult male shoved the student off his bicycle. According to the child, the child was able to defend against the attacker, ran home and did not sustain any injuries. The child called his father, who reported the incident to school administrators and the Santa Clara Police Department (SCPD).
Multiple patrol teams, traffic officers, police-service dogs and detectives from SCPD arrived and investigated the incident into the late hours of the night. Officers went door to door, canvassed several blocks surrounding the alleged incident and checked our camera registry program for footage of the incident. This investigation required a significant amount of police resources to ensure safety to our community.
On Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, at 6:56 a.m., the child’s father called our investigating officer. The father informed our staff that his child had fabricated the story. SCPD officers responded to the residence to meet with the family and confirm this was the case.
This incident serves as a reminder to our residents of several important:
1 – As children exercise their independence by walking, scootering and riding their bicycles to school, it is important to have a conversation with them about safe routes to do so, what to do if they are approached by a stranger and the importance of communicating with a trusted adult when something suspicious occurs. Talking points for this conversation are available at www.ncpc.org
2 – It is important that residents contact SCPD directly with matters requiring attention vs. posting something on social media websites. The Santa Clara Police Department is reminding residents that as a public agency with a Nextdoor presence, the SCPD is able to post information to our residents on Nextdoor. Also, SCPD is also able to read the comments on our own posts. However, Nextdoor’s privacy policies do not allow public agencies to access individual neighborhood posts (e.g. read thread, comment on post, view link to content, etc.). Public Safety Dispatchers work 24/7/365 and can deploy police, fire or medical resources as necessary. In an emergency, dial or text 9-1-1. For non-emergency situations, call (408) 615-5580.
Date of Occurrence: Sept. 1, 2021
Time: 9:08 a.m.
Incident: False report of attempted kidnapping
Case Number: 21-9010046
Location: 500 block of Saratoga Avenue
Address/Location
Santa Clara Police Department
601 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95050
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 408-615-5580