(a) No person shall do any of the following:
(1) Initiate or circulate a report or warning of an alleged or impending fire, explosion, crime, or other catastrophe, knowing that the report or warning is false and likely to cause public inconvenience or alarm.
(2) Knowingly cause a false alarm of fire or other emergency to be transmitted to or within any organization, public or private, for dealing with emergencies involving a risk of physical harm to persons or property.
(3) Report to any law enforcement agency an alleged offense or other incident within its concern, knowing that the offense did not occur.
(b) This section does not apply to any person conducting an authorized fire or emergency drill.
(c) Whoever violates this section is guilty of making false alarms. Except as otherwise provided in this division, making false alarms is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If a violation of this section results in economic harm of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more, making false alarms is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law. If a violation of this section pertains to a purported, threatened, or actual use of a weapon of mass destruction, making false alarms is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(d) (1) It is not a defense to a charge under this section that pertains to a purported or threatened use of a weapon of mass destruction that the offender did not possess or have the ability to use a weapon of mass destruction or that what was represented to be a weapon of mass destruction was not a weapon of mass destruction.
(2) Any act that is a violation of this section and any other section of the Ohio Revised Code or these Codified Ordinances may be prosecuted under this section, the other section, or both sections.
(e) As used in this section, “economic harm” and “weapon of mass destruction” have the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2917.31.
(ORC 2917.32; Ord. 176-98. Passed 6-15-98; Ord. 53-03. Passed 3-3-03.)