A TikTok posted by a California Veteran claims that a dispute with another vet triggered a house call from two armed police officers and a therapist. The video went viral with over 2 million views. You can watch the full video below:

Editor’s note: This reporting is not in any way, shape, or form indicating the Veterans of Foreign Wars, as a whole, was responsible for this interaction. Claims made in the video have not been substantiated beyond what the responding officers are recorded saying.

@iamloganmi In Orange County, veterans help veterans by sending armed police to each others door… Thanks Dana Point VFW Post 9934 Commander Rick Jauregui!♬ original sound – Logan M. Isaac, HoSM

The man whose voice is heard in the video, Logan Isaac, posted a follow up saying the responding unit did “an excellent job” but asserts that they “were sent under false pretenses.”

Preceding the visit from the psychiatric Emergency Response Team (ERT), Isaac allegedly had a non-physical altercation with the Commander of a local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post.

Isaac claims that the disagreement stemmed from ideological differences. He also said that the VFW commander created a hostile environment and was disparaging towards Isaac’s literary endeavors.

According to Isaac, his wife sent an email to the local VFW Commander asserting that his comments to her husband were “really inappropriate.” The commander then forwarded the email to law enforcement who dispatched the ERT to Isaac’s home.

The VFW Post with which Isaac is in dispute has not made a statement on their website, or Facebook, since the video was posted.

Mental health in America

Many Americans would agree the state of mental health care in our country can be improved. However, many veterans have voiced immediate concern about the way potential crises are currently being handled.

Law enforcement officers are often put in difficult situations, serving as the first point of contact with an individual in suspected of being a danger to themselves or others. Unfortunately, some people have weaponized this in an act sometimes called “swatting.” This is where someone creates an intentional deception with the purpose of sending a police or psychiatric emergency service response team to another person’s home. This crime has resulted in several innocent deaths.

Catch up: VA proposes changes to disability ratings for mental disorders, and other conditions

An Army veteran, who spoke to Pop Smoke Media under the guarantee of anonymity, claimed they was recently the victim of “swatting.”

The anonymous veteran told us that a jaded former lover pretended to be them while sending threats in a chat message to the Department of Veterans affairs. The anonymous vet also claims that this resulted in an emergency response unit being sent to their house. Although they were able to de-escalate the situation, they were shocked by being put in such a potentially dangerous situation.

Pop Smoke was able to verify the claim, concluding that the event did likely happen as described. Furthermore, the person accused of orchestrating the confrontation was subsequently wanted for criminal misconduct.

These hoaxes have become so frequent that in September 2019, the Seattle Police Department formed an Swatting Mitigation Advisory Committee to advise the public on how to “protect themselves from swatting.”

4 Sailors lost to suicide at Naval Station Norfolk in one month