609.78 Emergency telephone calls and communications.
Subdivision 1. Misdemeanor offenses. Whoever does the following is guilty of a misdemeanor:
(1) Refuses to relinquish immediately a coin-operated telephone or a telephone line consisting of two or more stations when informed that the line is needed to make an emergency call for medical or ambulance service or for assistance from a police or fire department or for other service needed in an emergency to avoid serious harm to person or property, and an emergency exists;
(2) Secures a relinquishment of a coin-operated telephone or a telephone line consisting of two or more stations by falsely stating that the line is needed for an emergency;
(3) Publishes telephone directories to be used for telephones or telephone lines and the directories do not contain a copy of this section;
(4) Makes an emergency call for medical or ambulance service, knowing that no medical emergency exists; or
(5) Interrupts, disrupts, impedes, or otherwise interferes with the transmission of a citizen's band radio channel communication the purpose of which is to inform or inquire about a medical emergency or an emergency in which property is or is reasonably believed to be in imminent danger of damage or destruction.
Subd. 2. Interference with a 911 call; gross misdemeanor offense. A person who intentionally interrupts, disrupts, impedes, or otherwise interferes with a 911 call or who prevents or hinders another from placing a 911 call, and whose conduct does not result in a violation of section 609.498, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.
HIST: 1963 c 753 art 1 s 609.78; 1971 c 23 s 79; 1983 c 140 s 1; 1984 c 630 s 1; 1997 c 239 art 3 s 19
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes