'Going to kill everyone:' Hartford man accused of threatening officers, city employees

HARTFORD -- A Hartford man was jailed on "terrorist threat" charges -- accused of phoning Hartford police and making threats to "kill everyone at the police department." More threats were made when officers showed up at the man's home, police said.

According to police, early Tuesday, April 16, between about 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m., multiple phone calls came in to the Hartford Police Department's Emergency Communications Center's non-emergency lines from a caller who did not provide any information. His voice was muffled and difficult to understand, but dispatchers did hear the caller using profanity and making disjointed threats against Hartford City Hall. In the final call, police said the caller stated, "I’m going to kill everyone at the police department, so you better,” before hanging up.

Police checked City Hall before it opened Wednesday -- with help from the Washington County Sheriff's Office and Wisconsin State Patrol. Nothing suspicious was found. City employees were advised to report anything unusual to police immediately.

Officers obtained the caller's phone number and identified the suspect. Police said the 20-year-old Hartford man was known to officers from previous encounters and had a history of violence and possessing weapons.

On Wednesday afternoon, police responded to his home near downtown Hartford. Police said initially, he denied any involvement in this incident, but when confronted with the findings of the investigation, police said he admitted to making the calls "while under the influence of a controlled substance."

When he was arrested, police said he "made very graphic and details threats to kill officers and their families." A search revealed he was armed with a six-inch knife, concealed in his jacket.

The man was jailed on charges of making terrorist threats, threats against police officers and unlawful use of a phone.