Posted on 08/31/2004 11:34:06 AM PDT by dead
Tampa, Florida - A police officer who mouthed off while picking up his uniform at the cleaners has been indicted on a charge of threatening President George W Bush for allegedly saying he would shoot him and his father if someone gave him the bullets.
Joseph Mazagwu, 35, surrendered on Friday on charges of threatening the president and lying to investigators. The rookie officer has been suspended from the force and could lose his job.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. He had no comment after his first court appearance and was released on $25 000 bail. The prosecutor said there was no evidence Mazagwu pursued the threat.
His lawyer, Deeann Athan, said the charge stemmed from "a huge misunderstanding".
On July 15, a day before Bush visited Tampa, Mazagwu was picking up his dry cleaning when the owner asked if he would be part of the president's security detail.
The 11-year US Army veteran and Nigerian native answered that he would not work it under any circumstances and criticised the war in Iraq and US policies in Africa.
Assistant US Attorney Robert O'Neill alleged that Mazagwu said words to the effect: "The president needs to be shot. His father needs to be shot. If someone gave me bullets, I would do that."
The cleaner reported the remarks to another Tampa officer on the day of Bush's visit, police spokesperson Laura McElroy said.
Edited by Tisha Steyn
Call me reactionary but I'm guessin Joseph Mazagwu is muslim.
Whether or not he tried to take any action to carry out that threat, as an 11 yr US Army veteran, not to mention being a police officer, he certainly knew making a threat of violence against the President and a former President would land you in serious trouble.
He just wants to impress Jody Foster.
"The president needs to be shot. His father needs to be shot. If someone gave me bullets, I would do that."
Anybody else wonder why a cop in Tampa doesn't have bullets already. What is this guy, Barney Fife? If so, the guy could be connected to John Edwards.
Since when has any precinct in the United States allowed non-citizens to become cops?
HATE........I can remember when the Libs preached LOVE.
In Tampa about a year ago a group of Libs made the papers for saying Sec of Defense Rmmy should be put against a wall and shot. There is a stage production in NYC right now about killing the President and the libs got some clow who wrote a novel about klling the Prez by name. LOVE you too....
You bet. Many cases have gone to trial with such witness testimony. Also, considering the charge that this guy lied to federal investigators, it sounds like he was given a departmental polygraph test and failed spectacularly.
Send this police officer to the general population of a prison, and tell the other prisoners, he is an ex-cop.
Yes, but note what they love: power, socialism, terrorists and anti-American hate groups.
They're like a caricature of a James Bond villian...only without the adorable kitty.
Is there proof of US Army veteran???? Sure does not sound like any veteran I know.
Yep....guerillas in our midst....
Clearly a terrorist. Classify him as an enemy combatant and send him to GITMO indefinitely.
RE: "Not clear if the guy is a US citizen yet or not... "
Generally, you become a citizen after completing service in the military.
Nope. The mere verbalization is enough to warrant a visit by the Secret Service. That the subject has demonstrable means of carrying out the threat (this guy could operate under the color of authority and did carry a sidearm) only served to escalate the matter.
And since he works for the police department, he was likely grilled by his bosses, the feds, and then told to submit to a polygraph or face dismissal. From the looks of things, he failed the polygraph in a large way, hence the additional charge of lying to a federal agent.
Failing a police lie detector test is not a crime.
I never said it was. What is a crime is making false statements to a federal agent.
Lie detector evidence usually isn't even admissable in a court of law.
So? It is ample enough to pass a grand jury and result in formal charges. That's as far as we are right now.
If the testimony of single witness can be used to prosecute a police officer (or any citizen) of making threats against the president, that leaves the door open for people with a gripe to make alot of unfounded allegations.
As I stated earlier in this message, it's not just the words this guy may have uttered, but that he had the capacity to function under color of authority and possessed a sidearm (and de facto permission to carry concealed when off-duty), thus giving him the ability to carry out said threat.
There is also the potential for basic misunderstandings.
Kinda hard to "misunderstand" someone who says he'd kill the President if he got the bullets. The charges of lying to an investigator might indicate that the officer initially denied making a threat and then later admitted it. He was probably just having a bad day - and then it got a whole lot worse.
Call for Mr. Alec Baldwin...call for Mr. Baldwin. Please use the white courtesy phone...
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