Chris Rock Calls Cops After Man Tries Filming From His Fire Escape

Chris Rock may have fallen victim to one of the oldest prowler plays in the book -- we're told the comedian called the cops to report a peeping Tom with a camera right outside his window.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Chris called 911 Sunday night from his NYC home -- in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan -- to say a guy was lurking just outside of his apartment ... on his freaking fire escape!!!

We're told NYPD raced over, but that when they got there ... the suspect was nowhere to be found, having fled after Chris spotted him. Our sources say the dude jumped down to the ground, only to hop into a white Mercedes ... making a clean getaway. Indeed, it sounds like something straight out of the movies.

The weirdest part -- our sources say Chris reported the man appeared to have a camera, and that he seemed to be attempting to either film or snap pics of CR. At least that's how it came across to Chris, anyway.

Our sources say cops took a report and that the case is under investigation.

While most of the trespassing stories we hear about when it comes to A-list celebs tend to happen in L.A. -- this is just a friendly reminder that these freaky incidents go down in the Big Apple as well. Taylor Swift, unfortunately, knows that phenomenon all too well.