Threat Assessment + Executive Protection
Death Threat
The Problem
The morning after a major holiday weekend, a former client called. We provided security risk assessment services for her company a few years earlier, but this was a personal matter. “My ex-husband tried to force himself into my home last night,” she said. “He said he was going to kill me and my family.” She explained that police officers had responded and arrested him for violating her restraining order. “But I’m sure that he’s going to post bail, and I’m terrified that he’s going to come after us again,” she said. “He has bipolar disorder, and I think he’s off his meds.” Within minutes, our threat assessment team was on the line with judicial authorities. The client’s concern was justified. The ex-husband had spent the night in jail, without his antipsychotic medication. He was a judge’s signature away from posting bail. With time running short, we needed to foreclose the subject’s release and secure protection for our client and her family.
The Solution
Our threat assessment team took immediate action on multiple fronts. Working directly with law enforcement and corrections officials, we identified and interviewed one of the subject’s siblings. This individual provided additional insights into the ex-husband’s psychiatric disorder and his resistance to treatment. The sibling confided that just a day earlier, the subject had ranted about confronting his ex-wife. We discovered that the subject had used his sibling’s computer to search for “how to identify and kill undercover police officers.” Our physical security specialists conducted residential security assessments for the client and her parents. At the same time, our senior threat assessors liaised with local judicial officials, disclosing what the team had learned from the subject’s sibling. The judge immediately raised the subject’s bail to $2 million, which bought us precious time.
The Results
The extended incarceration likely saved one or more lives. After we assigned armed protection for our client and her family, we discovered that the ex-husband had offered to pay a fellow inmate to murder his wife and her family. We obtained a court-ordered mental health treatment at a forensic psychiatric institution where the subject is being treated. We continue to support our client with case management and protection.