Civilian Air Force police officer at Joint Base Charleston threatened mass casualty event in Fla.
ORLANDO, Fla. Dec 13 2021— A civilian law enforcement officer at Joint Base Charleston was arrested Dec. 7 after threatening to drive his car into a hospital, among other mass killings, in a series of text messages written to another law enforcement officer at the base.
Thomas James Stephan, 30, was charged by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with writing texts threatening to kill, do bodily injury, conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.
Stephan is a civilian member of the 628th Air Base Wing’s security forces squadron, a spokeswoman for Joint Base Charleston said. He is not an enlisted member of the military, she said.
His town of residence and address were not immediately available and was redacted in the available report.
Stephan wrote suicidal text messages in Florida to another police officer at Joint Base Charleston. Stephan threatened to die through suicide-by-cop, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Suicide by cop is when a person deliberately behaves in a threatening manner, with intent to provoke a lethal response by police.
Experts estimate there are approximately 100 suicide-by-cop shootings each year, according to the Police Executive Research Forum. The majority of the cases involve people who are in a mental crisis, the research suggests.
The person Stephan texted repeatedly asked if the two of them could speak over the phone. Stephan replied that he did not want to talk. The person then asked whether Stephan was armed with a weapon.
“Meet me and find out,” Stephan wrote, according to a text chain attached to the affidavit.
Stephan wrote suicide-by-cop cases were difficult for small towns, adding that “They can’t handle it.”
The person replied: “Let’s not put that on them.”
Stephan then told the person to stop contacting him, according to the text chain. Stephan wrote he intended to die by suicide-by-cop and there would be a mass casualty if he were stopped.
“Another text, or message and we make this from one death to a Mass case,” Stephan’s text said. “Do we understand each other? It’s a lot what a car full of fuel can do to a hospital. … By your silence, you understand.”
They continued to text.
Stephan also threatened that he would drive his car into a military base, according to the affidavit.
Law enforcement found Stephan had sent some of these threats outside the Patrick Space Force Base, a U.S. Space Force installation in Brevard County, Fla., the affidavit said. Stephan, however, remained outside of the secured base.
The affidavit said Stephan was later found at an overpass near Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., threatening to jump. He was detained by the Orlando Police Department for evaluation and investigation. Stephan was arrested and booked into the Orange County jail that day.
Stephan was denied bail, officials said. If convicted of the felony offense in Florida, Stephan could face up to 30 years in prison.
postandcourier.com
