Death Threat Against FHP Trooper - FHP Not Willing To Invest

Chip,

Please file a complaint with the IG's office.

Office of the Chief Inspector General
Room 2103 - The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Phone: (850) 717-9264
Fax: (850) 921-0817
E-Mail: cig@eog.myflorida.com

Chip, unfortunately FHP higher ups hate LEO Affairs and would prevent troopers from posting on this forum if they could.

[chipdeblock]

Thanks to everyone following this thread and for your support on this issue. It's nice to know that the vast majority of you "Get It".

I don't think we should direct the blame on Captain Jacqueline Freeman at this point. There was definitely some ball dropping on this and I have yet to hear a good excuse...and let's face it, there simply isn't one. However, it is possible that Captain Freeman took appropriate action and that someone else screwed up. I was told she did not include contact information with the complaint, but I cannot verify this without doing a public records request. If this is true it would be a disappointing mistake, but a good investigator would not have missed a beat and would have contacted us anyway.

I'm not inclined to contact the IG's office at this point, but I do feel compelled to give FHP a chance to show they can COMPLETE THIS INVESTIGATION IN A TIMELY MANNER and to FIX THE PROBLEM OF DROPPING THE BALL so that it does not happen again. My point of contact is Major Joe Lopez with BCII and I have already written him with a request to be kept up-to-date with the investigation. I don't expect them to run things by me as they happen, but I would like to know what happens. I am prepared to do public record requests if I need to and rest assured I will keep you informed here. Today BCII should have had a subpoena cut to the ISP that owns the IP address in order to identify the suspect. I expect an arrest warrant or an arrest within a week. If there is any hesitation in prosecuting this criminal (if he is identified), I will post it here along with the full text of the threat so the media and public can be aware of how this played out.

Thanks again for your support!

IF the facts are accurate, there was a verified threat, and FREEMAN failed to IMMEDIATELY contact superiors, IMO, she should have immediately been placed on non-paid leave pending termination without pension. Her reported alleged behavior in this situation would not seem to be new to anecdotal reports of her historical employment behavior pattern. Also, the FBI, FDLE, and the Governor's office should have been immediately notified by the ED of the alleged threat.

Yeap, but God forbids if you are the tws and don't notify the brass about a dog taking a shit on i 75, you get a D#

Thanks Chip for your support, we the Troops appreciate you looking after us. Once again GHQ has been exposed.

[Matt Puckett]

Chip, A big thank you to you and your moderators for taking this threat seriously. I hope this person is caught.

I don't say this nearly enough, but I really appreciate the professionalism by the you and moderators.

Im not one to post on this forum very often but this incident doesn't surprise me at all. Some of the comments about the agency not caring about the welfare of its employees but quick to follow up on complaints against the employees is spot on. It may sound like a few disgruntled employees but in this case it really is true. If a complaint comes in about a trooper supervisors go crazy from the top on down until the matter is resolved. If there is an issue with an employee that is feeling threatened or something similar supervision basically blows it off or directs the employee to contact local law enforcement. And I say that as a supervisor.

If you read the above posts I am sure you had the same thought as I did. Captain Jacqueline Freeman. I knew at that point where it went in the dumpster. She is completely inept.

Since the threat was put out over the internet, doesn't that put it in the Fed's jurisdiction. You might have more of a responce contacting the appropriate federal agency. It seems like it it kind of outside FHP expertise, that may be a possible cause for the poor responce that you have gotten from them so far. They may not know how to handle a matter like this.

[chipdeblock]

I have an update:

I have been in contact with sources at FHP and they are diligently working this case. As of yet they have been unable to secure authorization for a subpoena from a local circuit or from federal authorities. They are continuing to exhaust all means in an effort to obtain a subpoena. Although perhaps slow to react, I am satisfied that they are working their butts off at this point.

Since there seems to be an issue with getting the subpoena, I believe that is where we need to focus. Thus, I will follow through with my promise to publish the threat we received:

-----PLEASE SEE THREAT BELOW-----

Submitted on 2014/02/17 at 2:36 pm

This ****ing pig needs to be SHOT. WE should bound his arms and legs and allow a line of people to open fire on his ass.

Better yet bind his arms and legs and feed him to hungry wolves.

This dispicable peice of trash needs to DIE.

-----PLEASE SEE THREAT ABOVE-----

The specific trooper this threat was directed at was identified because the author was responding to a news article about him. Identifiable leads as to the author of this post were omitted intentionally. The trooper's identity is not important (I am assured that he knows about the threat), but what is of importance is the fact that he has received other similar threats. I will explain below.

Threats Against Public Servants are covered under FSS 838.021 and in this case subsection (3)(b) makes it a 3rd Degree Felony. In addition, because this threat was made electronically and via the Cyber realm, FSS 784.048(3) also makes it a 3rd Degree Felony if the offender has done it more than once. I am informed that there are a number of VERY SIMILAR threats to this trooper that have been appearing on message boards and/or blogs leading me to suspect they might be repeat offenses (thus, 784.048 would come into play). More evidence needs to be gathered, but that of course would entail obtaining a subpoena (not a wiretap, not a search warrant, not an arrest...just a subpoena). I will attempt to identify and post which judicial district(s) are refusing to cooperate.

In the meantime, how do other jurisdictions handle these crimes? You don't have to go far to see:

02/17/14 - St. Petersburg Man Arrested For Threatening Life Of Pinellas Park Police Officer On Facebook
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publics...cebook/2165999

06/08/12 - White Supremacists Threaten State Attorney, Judge And FBI Agent On Websites Resulting In Federal Investigation
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...errorism-cases

Related Links:

F.S.S. 838.021
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/.../0838.021.html

F.S.S. 784.048
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/.../0784.048.html