TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have approved tougher penalties for making false calls to police three months after an officer fatally shot a Wichita man during a deadly hoax emergency call.

The Wichita Eagle reports the bill makes fake calls that result in death a felony comparable to second-degree murder. Any false call for emergency help would be at least a misdemeanor, becoming a felony if the caller uses a fake identity or electronically masks their identity.

The practice is known as "swatting," and occurs when someone makes a call to police with a false story of an ongoing crime in...