Police in Danbury said a man who told officers he and his family were kidnapped at gunpoint in the parking lot of a grocery store last month made it all up.
The man told police that he was forced to drive to a bank and withdraw money, but investigators later determined that the incident never happened.
Officers were called to Newtown Road on Sept. 10 after getting a report of a robbery and kidnapping. When police arrived to the area, they met with a family who said a man approached their vehicle with a gun in the parking lot of Stop and Shop.
According to police, the victim reported that the man ordered them to unlock the car and got in the back driver's seat. Once there, the man reportedly ordered a victim to drive to the Bank of America on Main Street and withdraw $500. The man told police that he complied, and the thief got away with the money.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
Authorities later determined that the man falsely reported the whole thing.
"While we are pleased that no robbery took place, we are saddened and disturbed that someone would make up such a story," Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour said in a statement. "False complaints like this cause fear in the community, and unnecessarily tie up valuable police resources."
The man who lied to authorities turned himself into police. He is being charged with falsifying a police report and is being held on a $10,000 bond.
Local
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
