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648.06 MISCONDUCT AT AN EMERGENCY.
   (a)   No person shall knowingly do any of the following:
      (1)   Hamper the lawful operations of any law enforcement officer, firefighter, rescuer, medical person, emergency medical services person, or other authorized person engaged in the person's duties at the scene of a fire, accident, disaster, riot, or emergency of any kind;
      (2)   Hamper the lawful activities of any emergency facility person who is engaged in the person's duties in an emergency facility;
      (3)   Fail to obey the lawful order of any law enforcement officer engaged in the law enforcement officer's duties at the scene of or in connection with a fire, accident, disaster, riot, or emergency of any kind.
   (b)   Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit access or deny information to any news media representative in the lawful exercise of the news media representative's duties.
   (c)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of misconduct at an emergency. Except as otherwise provided in this division, misconduct at an emergency is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If violation of this section creates a risk of physical harm to persons or property, misconduct at an emergency is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
   (d)   As used in this section:
      (1)   "Emergency facility" has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2909.04.
      (2)   "Emergency facility person" is the singular of "emergency facility personnel" as defined in Ohio R.C. 2909.04.
      (3)   "Emergency medical services person" is the singular of "emergency medical services personnel" as defined in Ohio R.C. 2133.21.
(ORC 2917.13)
648.07 INDUCING PANIC.
   (a)   No person shall cause the evacuation of any public place, or otherwise cause serious public inconvenience or alarm, by doing any of the following:
      (1)   Initiating or circulating a report or warning of an alleged or impending fire, explosion, crime, or other catastrophe, knowing that the report or warning is false.
      (2)   Threatening to commit any offense of violence.
      (3)   Committing any offense, with reckless disregard of the likelihood that its commission will cause serious public inconvenience or alarm.
   (b)   Division (a)(1) of this section does not apply to any person conducting an authorized fire or emergency drill.
   (c)   (1)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of inducing panic.
      (2)   Except as otherwise provided in division (c)(3), inducing panic is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
      (3)   If a violation of this section results in physical harm to any person, inducing panic is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law. If a violation of this section results in economic harm of $1,000 or more, inducing panic is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law. If the public place involved in a violation of division (a)(1) is a school or an institution of higher education, inducing panic 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, inducing panic 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:
      (1)   "Biological agent" has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2917.33.
      (2)   "Economic harm" means any of the following:
         A.   All direct, incidental and consequential pecuniary harm suffered by a victim as a result of the criminal conduct. "Economic harm" as described in this division includes but is not limited to all of the following:
            1.   All wages, salaries or other compensation lost as a result of the criminal conduct;
            2.   The cost of all wages, salaries or other compensation paid to employees for time those employees are prevented from working as a result of the criminal conduct;
            3.   The overhead costs incurred from the time that a business is shut down as a result of the criminal conduct;
            4.   The loss of value to tangible or intangible property that was damaged as a result of the criminal conduct.
         B.   All costs incurred by the State or any political subdivision as a result of, or in making any response to, the criminal conduct that constituted the violation of this section or Ohio R.C. 2917.32, or any substantially equivalent municipal ordinance, including but not limited to all costs so incurred by any law enforcement officers, firefighters, rescue personnel, or emergency medical services personnel of the State or the political subdivision.
      (3)   "Emergency medical services personnel" has the same meaning as in Ohio R.C. 2133.21.
      (4)   "Institution of higher education" means any of the following:
         A.   A State university or college as defined in Ohio R.C. 3345.12(A)(1), community college, State community college, university branch, or technical college;
         B.   A private, nonprofit college, university or other post-secondary institution located in this state that possesses a certificate of authorization issued by the Chancellor of Higher Education pursuant to R.C. Chapter 1713;
         C.   A post-secondary institution with a certificate of registration issued by the State Board of Career Colleges and Schools pursuant to Ohio R.C. Chapter 3332.
      (5)   “School.” Any school operated by a board of education or any school for which the Director of Education and Workforce prescribes minimum standards under R.C. § 3301.07, whether or not any instruction, extracurricular activities or training provided by the school is being conducted at the time a violation of this section is committed.
      (6)   "Weapon of mass destruction" means any of the following:
         A.   Any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious physical harm through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals, or other precursors;
         B.   Any weapon involving a disease organism or biological agent;
         C.   Any weapon that is designed to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life;
         D.   Any of the following, except to the extent that the item or device in question is expressly excepted from the definition of "destructive device" pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(4) and regulations issued under that section:
            1.   Any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas bomb, grenade, rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces, missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce, mine, or similar device;
            2.   Any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any item or device into any item or device described in division D.1. of this definition and from which an item or device described in that division may be readily assembled.
(ORC 2917.31)
648.08 MAKING FALSE ALARMS.
   (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.
      (4)   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 impede the operation of a critical infrastructure facility.
   (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:
      (1)   "Critical infrastructure facility." Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 2911.21.
      (2)   "Economic harm" and "weapon of mass destruction." Have the same meaning as in R.C. § 2917.31.
(ORC 2917.32)
648.09 INCITING TO VIOLENCE.
   (a)   No person shall knowingly engage in conduct designed to urge or incite another to commit any offense of violence when either of the following apply:
      (1)   The conduct takes place under circumstances that create a clear and present danger that any offense of violence will be committed.
      (2)   The conduct proximately results in the commission of any offense of violence.
   (b)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of inciting to violence. If the offense of violence that the other person is being urged or incited to commit is a misdemeanor, inciting to violence is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offense of violence that the other person is being urged or incited to commit is a felony, inciting to violence is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate State law.
(ORC 2917.01)
648.10 NOISE-PRODUCING INSTRUMENTS AND SOUND-AMPLIFYING DEVICES.
   (a)   No person shall generate or permit to be generated unreasonable noise or loud sound which is likely to cause inconvenience or annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities, by means of a radio, phonograph, television, tape or disc player, loudspeaker or any other sound- amplifying device, or by means of any horn, drum, piano or other musical or percussion instrument.
   (b)   It is prima-facie unlawful for a person to generate or permit to be generated sound by the devices or instruments described in division (a) of this section in the following circumstances:
      (1)   On private property between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. of the following day in a predominantly residential area, regardless of an existing nonconforming use of variance, where the sound is audible more than 80 feet from the property line of the property on which the source of the sound is located;
      (2)   On a street or highway or in the public right-of-way where the sound is audible 100 feet from the device generating the sound.
   (c)   No person, being the owner of a premises, a person in possession of a premises, or a person in control of a premises by reason of employment, agency or otherwise, whether such ownership, possession or control is exclusive or joint, shall permit a violation of this section.
   (d)   Warning or alarm devices licensed under Chapter 1062 of these Codified Ordinances are exempt from the prohibitions of this section.
   (e)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of generating unreasonable noise, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(Ord. 13-2001. Passed 4-5-01.)
648.11 IMPEDING PUBLIC PASSAGE OF AN EMERGENCY SERVICE RESPONDER.
   (a)   No person, without privilege to do so, shall recklessly obstruct any highway, street, sidewalk, or any other public passage in such a manner as to render the highway, street, sidewalk, or passage impassable without unreasonable inconvenience or hazard if both of the following apply:
      (1)   The obstruction prevents an emergency vehicle from accessing a highway or street, prevents an emergency service responder from responding to an emergency, or prevents an emergency vehicle or an emergency service responder from having access to an exit from an emergency.
      (2)   Upon receipt of a request or order from an emergency service responder to remove or cease the obstruction, the person refuses to remove or cease the obstruction.
   (b)   Division (a) of this section does not limit or affect the application of R.C. § 2921.31 or any other section of the Ohio Revised Code. Any conduct that is a violation of division (a) of this section and that also is a violation of R.C. § 2921.31 or any other section of the Ohio Revised Code may be prosecuted under this section, the other section of the Ohio Revised Code, or both sections.
   (c)   Whoever violates this section is guilty of unlawfully impeding public passage of an emergency service responder, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
   (d)   As used in this section, “emergency service responder” has the same meaning as in R.C. § 2903.13.
(R.C. § 2917.14)