MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) — Bomb threats to a Wisconsin county sheriff’s office that made an apparent reference to “getting justice” for the convict profiled in the popular Netflix series “Making a Murderer” are the latest in a long string of threats made to the department and its officers since the series went online, officials said Thursday.
Four of the dozens of phone and email threats made to the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department have been referred to the FBI and the Wisconsin Department of Justice because they include specific targets, including individual officers, sheriff’s Inspector Gregg Schetter told The Associated Press.
Law enforcement has asked the more than 100 employees at the sheriff’s department and jail to be vigilant for possible trouble, Schetter said.
“It’s hard for them to know whether their safety is guaranteed,” he said. “It’s been unnerving to say the least.”
The latest threats were made by a male caller Wednesday evening, warning of bombs inside the sheriff’s office building and a vehicle in the parking lot “packed with explosives.” A second, “very similar” threat was received about 20 minutes later, according to Manitowoc police. A search did not turn up anything suspicious.
The caller also mentioned “getting justice for Steven,” something Manitowoc police said was an apparent reference to Steven Avery, the Wisconsin man profiled in the 10-part Netflix series released in December who was convicted of killing photographer Teresa Halbach a decade ago.
The series implies the Manitowoc County sheriff’s deputies planted evidence in the case, a claim authorities have dismissed.
Avery had been wrongfully convicted years earlier in a rape case and served 18 years in prison. He sued Manitowoc County for tens of millions before he and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were convicted in Halbach’s death.
“It’s troubling that people talk about wanting fairness in this case, yet are so quick to make decisions and bring violence into it as a solution,” Schetter said.
Extra patrols have been added around the sheriff’s department, the dispatch center, the jail and courthouse, he said.
“I know it only takes one person to cause harm. I’m afraid for our employees and the citizens in our city and our county,” he said. “I pray that nobody acts out on anything based on a film.”
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While some might hold the sheriff’s office responsible for the fact that millions of people have spent 10 hours of their lives watching a story that could have been adequately told in three, I think that’s the fault of the filmmakers, rather than the sheriff’s office.
That said, after watching, it’s pretty easy to see why people would want to throw bombs in the direction of Manitowoc law enforcement.
As a former court reporter with more than my fair share of first-hand exposure to criminal trials of all stripes, I watched the documentary with skepticism at first, then became rather convinced there was a no holds barred vendetta against Avery. Whether motivated by the need to avoid paying a settlement or simply bad blood all around, the SO made some highly unethical moves following Halbach’s murder. The final judgment regarding the criminality of those moves remains to be seen, but the fact they “found” the keys to the victim’s vehicle on the seventh search of Avery’s trailer, in plain sight, is quite likely the last straw for many viewers regarding the malicious bent of the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office.
I’m sure this entire ordeal has been more than unnerving for the Avery family. The shoe always pinches when it’s on the other foot.