It is not clear how the Oklahoma City Police Department discovered the alleged threats to kill police officers. However, officers did discover the man’s posts, and put his picture on the department’s Facebook page after obtaining a warrant for his arrest. Just hours after his picture was posted, police took the man into custody at an apartment complex on the city’s southwest side.
The post, which supposedly showed the man holding a gun and expressing a desire to kill police officers, is no longer on his social media page. Police are on high alert for these kinds of posts since the man who is accused of killing two New York police officers did the same thing prior to carrying out his threats. That event — admittedly a tragedy — may be causing law enforcement officers to be overly reactionary to any behavior that may be considered aggressive.
In any event, the accused man is guaranteed the presumption of innocence regarding the charges he faces. Prosecutors will be tasked with attempting to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. For his part, the man is afforded the opportunity, alongside his defense counsel, to scrutinize and challenge the evidence prosecutors intend to present in court and to pursue an outcome that is in his own best interests.
Source: news9.com, “Oklahoma City Police Arrest Man For Making Online Threats“, Evan Anderson, Dec. 23, 2014
