Florida policeman arrested for threat against Bush
28.08.2004
11.45am
MIAMI - A Florida trainee police officer was arrested on Friday for making a threat to kill US President George W Bush before a visit by Bush to Tampa last month, prosecutors said.
Joseph Chiejina Mazagwu, a 35-year-old Tampa resident, was indicted on Thursday on charges of making a threat against the president and making a false statement to a federal agent, the US Attorney's Office in Tampa said.
According to the indictment, Mazagwu made a threat to harm and kill the president on July 15. Bush visited the city the following day.
Mazagwu made remarks to a clerk at a Tampa business and the clerk reported the comments to another police officer the next day, said Laura McElroy, a spokeswoman for the Tampa police department. Police and the Secret Service began investigating.
Mazagwu had completed police academy and had a badge and a gun but was doing field training with a supervising officer. Whether he had made the remarks or not, as a rookie he would not have been involved in presidential security when Bush visited, McElroy said.
Mazagwu was suspended after the incident and is in the process of being fired, she said. He is also charged with making a false statement to a Secret Service agent on July 19. If convicted, he faces five years in prison and a fine of US$250,000 ($388,621) on each count.
- REUTERS
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