A Palm Beach Gardens man was recently arrested for making threats against the West Palm Beach police force. Investigators allege that Bryan Slater, the 46-year-old accused, posted menacing comments on the department's Facebook page under an alias, making him the subject of a swift and cooperative police operation. Slater's arrest came yesterday after he was involved in a multi-agency investigation with local, state, and federal agencies.
The threats, which surfaced online on June 1, were starkly captured in the words, "All pictured are dead," a comment directed at a group photo of officers posted on the West Palm Beach Police Department's official Facebook page. Slater is charged with making written threats to kill, do bodily harm, or commit acts of mass shooting—a serious charge, considering the offense is a second-degree felony. "We have zero tolerance for any threats made against our law enforcement personnel, whether verbal, written, or online threats. We take it seriously and will be taken seriously and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Deputy Chief Tony Shearer stated, as reported by CBS12. The police have not disclosed if they've had previous interactions with Slater.
Even though Slater's threat did not delve into specifics regarding how the threat would be carried out, the law does not require this level of detail for it to be prosecutable. "He doesn’t have to give a specific threat about how he's going to carry it out," explained Craig Williams, a criminal defense attorney, in a statement observed by CBS12. "Just the fact that he's making a threat to kill somebody that they're going to die in some manner that's enough of a threat to get you charged with a crime and get you convicted.”
Throughout the entire situation, the primary concern has been the safety of West Palm Beach's police personnel. "The safety of our officers and command staff is non-negotiable," Shearer said, according to WPBF. Slater is currently being held at the Palm Beach County Jail, with his bond set at $50,000. The tight-lipped nature of the case speaks to its gravity, with few details made available beyond the arrest. The overall investigation is active, and authorities have yet to release additional information at this time.
