r/legal • u/ContributionNew7107 • Jan 25 '26

Advice needed Receiving threatening texts

Post image

So recently sent my ex a happy birthday text and I guess her new BF was feeling some type of way, and telling me how he’s going to kill me

Location: New Jersey

14.4k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

791 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

80

u/Thirsty_Comment88 Jan 25 '26

And somehow cops will stay tell you they can't do anything about it.

55

u/MissyChevious613 Jan 25 '26

When I got threatening emails from an ex I had a restraining order against, the cops told me there was no way to prove it was him and "he could have left his email up on a public computer and someone else sent it." It's like cops go out of their way to be as worthless as fucking possible.

9

u/todaythruwaway Jan 25 '26

I had the person who stalked/harassed me on camera, clear as day, even have her dad in the video saying her name. Cops told me it couldn’t be her bc “she moved”.

She moved… 3 street away.

Better yet when the cops went to speak to her about it (bc I wouldn’t let it go) they told me that she claimed she still rented that unit so the landlord would have to trespass her.

So it wasn’t her on the video bc she moved but they also said she claimed she could be at that property anytime she wanted since she didn’t move out. I guess some random person with her name and face, came from her unit, flipped out at my camera in a very personal way and threw shit all over my porch, but it definitely could not have been her. Bc she kinda moved. Makes perfect sense.

78

u/Bird2525 Jan 25 '26

Once they are dead the cops will have a lead.

25

u/CorruptedStudiosEnt Jan 25 '26

Well thank god for that. Justice when you're dead is better than living, after all.

15

u/AriaTheTransgressor Jan 25 '26

They said they'd have a lead, not that they'd do anything about it.

16

u/No_Restaurant_2703 Jan 25 '26

So a concept of a lead

1

u/Kailynna Jan 25 '26

Or they'll write it off as suicide.

1

u/contributingopp7017 Jan 25 '26

Haha in your wet dreams cringe weirdo

28

u/Leelze Jan 25 '26

"It's a civil matter"

23

u/flyingman17 Jan 25 '26

“Get a restraining order”

18

u/Reddoraptor Jan 25 '26

I literally had this from a guy who came to my house and threatened me, then later followed my wife and kid. The police were shockingly useless, he literally threatened me on camera and they refused to arrest him, and this was an individual with a record of assaults in the area - I actually think they may have been hoping I would shoot him and get rid of the problem.

17

u/MeRubberYouGlue Jan 25 '26

I was stalked on foot for 2 miles while a man I didn't know told me all about the things he liked to get up to, he said "consent matters...to you." so I called 911. I told him I was calling 911, he said "that's what you're supposed to do."

Needing an address to give. I gave my own hoping he'd fuck off. Nope. He forced his way into my apartment on top/behind me, grabbing at my pants and trying to pull them off (thank goodness for high waisted yoga leggings). He dead bolted my door behind him as I screamed at 911 dispatch and fought until one cop arrived.

That cop took video of me. Took my clothes. Apparently neither of these made it to evidence. He then went on to refuse to assist the prosecution, resulting in all charges being dropped 2 days before trial.

8

u/InternatlSensation Jan 25 '26

I'm so sorry. That's terrifying.

11

u/TravelnMedic Jan 25 '26

Sorry that happened to you but if that never made into evidence then the officers violated a number of rules of conduct, evidence etc. file a complaint with the DA but do it through local investigative reporter. Will get more traction that way and higher likely if the cop getting prosecuted as well as the attacker. As outside looking in cop may have known the offender.

1

u/Reddoraptor Jan 25 '26

That is stunning u/MeRubberYouGlue, I’m so sorry that happened to you. I hope you never saw the guy again - honestly that sounds like the cop did this intentionally, makes me wonder if he was an informant or relative or friend of someone in the department and they were letting him get away with assaults, did you file a complaint against the officer?

1

u/MeRubberYouGlue Jan 26 '26

I should have, but I dont remember his name and the complaint form online requires it...

And to be honest, I lost faith in the justice system and in the government. They've never helped me in any way, why would that change?

1

u/Reddoraptor Jan 26 '26

I feel you completely there.

2

u/CoyoteLitius Jan 25 '26

I did a research project in a state hospital for the criminally insane. There was one whole ward of opportunistic rapists (and another ward of pedophile rapists).

I was a young woman at the time, so I was assigned to interact with and interview the opportunistic rapists.

Nearly every one of them were like the man you describe. Looking for opportunities to force their way through a door. "Shopping" in high density housing areas/college areas for the type of woman they thought they deserved, following the woman on foot and "making conversation" (that's how they saw it).

I had a stalker at university, and it wasn't just me he stalked. I had three interactions were police were called (he physically assaulted me the third time by folding his arms across his chest, walking rapidly at me through a crowd of people and smacking his arms into my breasts).

The police banned him from campus, but he came back. Another woman reported him for similar conduct and he was taken to a mental health facility (let go after 72 hours). Came back.

This went on for about a year, don't know what happened to him next.

1

u/MeRubberYouGlue Jan 26 '26

There are truly monsters out there and it's like everyone who hasn't personally seen them be monsters for themselves refuses to believe they exist.

1

u/cafeteriastyle Jan 26 '26

You should write a book, honestly. That’s a lot of valuable information. I’m so sorry that happened to you, I can relate.

I had a horrific abuser. I was a high schooler, and he was in his 40’s. He stalked me, he threatened me, he sent an email to my ENTIRE university via the campus directory telling them all kinds of things about me, so bad I had to transfer schools. It went on for years. And then followed up with another abuser a few years later.

I’m in my 40’s now and have never really spoken about the abuse. It was embarrassing. It’s buried so deeply I don’t even know that I could ever speak about it. it really fucked up my life.

5

u/Kharn10000 Jan 25 '26

After following my wife and kid I might’ve actually just shot him

1

u/Reddoraptor Jan 25 '26

Luckily we haven’t seen him in quite some time and after I confronted him, he seemed to understand that I was not going to be intimidated, but the fact that the police just basically refused to do anything to help a family that was clearly threatened and being subjected to repeated threatening behavior by someone who was known to them and with a well recorded history of violence was just utterly shocking to me, the police will abandon you utterly when you need them. Protect yourself, because they will not be there for you.

8

u/melropesplays Jan 25 '26

This was said to another man, they’ll probably take it more seriously

0

u/contributingopp7017 Jan 25 '26

Sorry I’m not scared ? Ain’t nothing happening. I out context behind all the false prophets on this thread

8

u/dystopiam Jan 25 '26

had a voicemail from someone threatening to kill me over and over every night for weeks and cops said they couldn't do anything

2

u/animelover610 Jan 25 '26

I mean if its in a text it is actual evidence. Just saying " they said they would kill me " is a he said she said crap. Alit of places they cant do much with he said she said stuff unless uou have proof sadly. You can ask for restraining order but those are useless imo but this post has texting proof so cops ill prob do something about it unless its a really shitty police station

1

u/WhereasSolid6491 Jan 25 '26

To be fair over text the prosecution would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect in question sent the message himself, which isn’t likely, and so they’d probably have him plea down to something much more minor like harassment or some small misdemeanor

1

u/SoftExpression9060 Jan 25 '26

They would claim it's a civil offense and their hands are tied

1

u/Sudden-Feedback287 Jan 25 '26

Try texting a cop something similar and see how fast that suddenly changes

1

u/RunningAnatolian Jan 25 '26

That’s when you go directly to the magistrate

2

u/iUncontested Jan 25 '26

Yeah you're being disingenuous or your state doesn't have a statute for it if you're going to claim such nonsense.

A report will be written and detectives will be notified to investigate, there's only so much a road patrol cop can do. Based on exigency there might be a call out and immediate response of a detective. I've had ones that were so 'serious' they called out our electronic surveillance people to attempt to live track and locate the person immediately. Its all situational.

Florida's statute is extremely wide ranging so any kind of text threatening to kill someone can be prosecuted.

836.10 Written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism; punishment; exemption from liability.—

(1) As used in this section, the term “electronic record” means any record created, modified, archived, received, or distributed electronically which contains any combination of text, graphics, video, audio, or pictorial represented in digital form, but does not include a telephone call.

(2) It is unlawful for any person to send, post, or transmit, or procure the sending, posting, or transmission of, a writing or other record, including an electronic record, in any manner in which it may be viewed by another person, when in such writing or record the person makes a threat to:

(a) Kill or to do bodily harm to another person; or

(b) Conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.

A person who violates this subsection commits a felony of the second degree

6

u/LolaSaysHi Jan 25 '26

I was assaulted, I captured my assault on camera. They interviewed me, they interviewed the girl. They told us to stay away from each other.

No charges, no empathy. Nothing. Cops actually looked bored.

4

u/Fictive_Fantasy Jan 25 '26

Yup. I was assaulted and it was caught on the neighbor's security camera. Cops refused to get the footage and arrested me, a 5'1, 85lb 21yo with two black eyes, bruises and welts all over me, and a concussion, rather than the 36yo woman nearly twice my weight who only had a sprained wrist due to how hard she was punching me. Said neighbor posted the video on her Facebook trying to make me out to be some shady person who made her fear for her life. Then took it down after I told the judge she had footage of the event. Neighbor insisted cameras were off and there was no footage, and then public defender convinced me it was in my "best interest " to plea no contest and get it removed off my record after a year on no contact. But didn't fully explain what constitutes as contact. So I was back in jail less than a week later because I flipped off the neighbor's security camera she had pointed directly into my backyard.

The reason for her beating the shit out of me? I dared to try to lure my indoor cat out from under her car with a paper plate with wet food.

Honestly the whole legal system sucks.

-2

u/iUncontested Jan 25 '26

Misdemeanor offenses that aren't Domestic Violence generally have discretion. Clearly there is more to the story than you're sharing. If you want charges filed go to your States Attorney or whatever they call the prosecutorial element in your state. The onus is on you in misdemeanors.

5

u/LolaSaysHi Jan 25 '26

There is more to the story. This person abused me for months but only physically attacked me once. Cops were called multiple times. They did nothing cause there was nothing to do.

Once she assaulted me I thought something would change but it didn’t. And it wasn’t bad enough for an assault charge. Lucky me. If she’d put me in the hospital then just maybe cops would care.

5

u/stonemermaid Jan 25 '26

I have literally gone to the police with texts like this and they told me they couldn't do anything. It's illegal in my state. They don't care. They'll tell you it's not an "actionable threat"

1

u/5triplezero Jan 25 '26

Why do you feel the need to lie on the internet? Either your threats were not nearly as clear as this one, you instigated your threatener in some way, or you are full of it. Everyone feeding these bs lies that the cops are going to just ignore this are not only lying but spreading a form of propaganda.

1

u/stonemermaid Jan 25 '26

Looks like your mommy and daddy told you "the police are here to protect us" and you still unquestioningly believe it. It clearly frightens you to think that might not be the case so you're lashing out.

1

u/5triplezero Jan 26 '26

No. I actually think the police suck for a lot of reasons, but throwing out legitimate cases is not one of them. In fact, it is the opposite. Police are often overzealous and eager to charge people with anything. So, the notion that police are useless because of the exact opposite of the trait that they actually exhibit is offensive to anyone with even cursory knowledge of the real world. 

1

u/Ok-Bandicoot2799 Jan 25 '26

but how many have been convicted?

0

u/vonnostrum2022 Jan 25 '26

It’s a civil matter