“We remind all community members to always be vigilant.” – Worcester Polytechnic Institute Police Chief Cheryl A. Martunas quoted in Police say WPI food worker threatened to attack school with bombs, shotgun [via telegram.com]
“We remind all community members to always be vigilant.” – Worcester Polytechnic Institute Police Chief Cheryl A. Martunas quoted in Police say WPI food worker threatened to attack school with bombs, shotgun [via telegram.com]
He stopped because he realized it was wrong to attack a GFZ.
I read that as the threat arrived via telegram.
Now that would have been awesome.
Stories such as this are destructive. It is telling people with mental problems to not tell anyone because they may be caught. It tells them to keep their plans to themselves so they can do the evil deeds they are planning. They should have simply detained the troubled individual and done what was necessary and not make it public.
While I understand your sentiment, it makes me super uncomfortable whenever governments “do what is necessary and not make it public”…
Don’t therapists tell every client the confidentiality policy (which is a matter of law) as part of legally determined SOP? It’s not like it is a secret that they will tell the police if you say you are going to kill someone.
I figure if she’s willing to divulge her plan to her therapist, then she’s not convinced of committing it just yet and she knows she needs help in coping with the situation at work constructively.
Some people may avoid mentioning it to their therapist, for fear of being prosecuted and their plan thwarted, but those people are probably more serious about it, anyway. You aren’t going to trick some homicidal maniac into keeping quiet by censoring stories like this. They’re going to do what they’re going to do regardless.
Reading the cited news report from telegram.com, it turns out the Campus Police Chief did nothing but issue the quoted statement because the suspect told her therapist of her desire to do serious harm within the University Food Service Unit and the therapist advised the Police, who detained and questioned the suspect and determined she was a danger to the University and told the CPC who issued the quoted advisory. Looks like everyone did their job.
I agree. Had she gone through with it, the antis would be clamoring for confiscation of firearms, while people like me would be screaming for locking up the loonies as soon as they reveal themselves.
Yeah, for ONCE the existing “system” worked as designed!
It works all the time. You just never hear about it except for maybe this ONE time. Liberal interpretation of this law = tyranny. Conservative application of this law = incompetence…… Its a careful balancing act “the system people” have to play.
Good point! Agreed! The lies of omission are as bad as the outright spurious fabrications we endure at the hands of the biased News Media, as well as the politicians on both the left and the right.
It only took her therapist four days to report it. There is no mention of any shotgun found or bomb making paraphernalia or even a remote knowledge of how to assemble one. I think the school is just happy to fire the nut ball without fear of an eeo complaint.
Yeah, I agree. Sounds like Lefty politics conjured up through workplace issues. Obviously a young woman seeing psych. Counselor. Woman’s probably a schizophrenic *(most Liberals are)* To me it sounds like an over-reaction, and an excuse by her employers
to sacrifice a mentally ill person. Making the worker into a criminal and unemployed. Hell, I work with a man whose mentally disabled, and has schizophrenia. He’s supposed to be protected by state and federal law from workplace discrimination. I kind of agree, they all deserve a chance. Yes, this guy is wrestling with serious problems, and he can easily go “off-the -rails.” With a potential to become violent. He’s already under heavy meds use. He’s also “classified F4–a prohibited person from firearms ownership. ” *(But , can still drive.?)* And in most states, this woman would have been barred from legal firearms ownership. So, my guess she “went-off-her -meds.” Most likely a psychiatric mix of “Anti-psychotic drugs, anti-depressants, and anti- anxiety meditations- *(Relatives in medicine..)*. Some of these meds cause insomnia and sleep deprivation. So, yeah…some draw backs to treatment. These Politcians threw her under the bus because of an outburst.
She looks like a “home economics” teacher from high school. I have no idea why a college needs a police “force,” but it’s kind of scary to think they are headed by a typical mid-west home ec. teacher – on top of everything else. Why, if you don’t behave, she won’t let you bake cookies with the rest of the class!!
Sure, send her a query about campus carry !
Even small colleges can have seasonal influxes of thousands of young adults, which would overwhelm/burden the city police forces and make their responding to residents calls much slower. The campus police force deals with the drunk and disorderly sort of calls from their school property to leave the city police/county sheriff able to respond to other crimes.
Yup, 23000 kids at UMass Amherst alone. WPI is a wonderful school, my oldest is headed there next year.
Mall Cop and the # on her “has never done anything” BS resume don’t add up; 8.5yr + 12yr= 20.5yr (of 23yr). No mention of an actually cop job so she spent 2.5yr patrolling at Macy’s or similar.
Cheryl A. Martunas has been appointed director of public safety and chief of police at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). A strong advocate of community policing, Martunas has 23 years of law enforcement experience, including 19 years in a campus setting. After serving the past eight and a half years as director of public safety and chief of police at Quinsigamond Community College, this new post is something of a homecoming for Martunas, who spent the first 12 years of her career as an officer and sergeant with the WPI Campus Police Department.
Police chiefs aren’t really cops, anyway, they’re bureaucrats. I’d say she looks like the very archetype of that role.
Also, if a college has to have a police force, isn’t it better that it’s headed up by a casserole-baking mom type than some ‘roided-out mall-ninja wannabe with SWAT fantasies?
Stinkeye, I can tell you’ve never taken high school “home economics.” The lady who taught the class I took was as sadistic and mean as it gets… but she looked like an angel so nobody really believed me when I complained. Looks can be deceiving. 🙂
TTAG needs to delete all the bots, and figure out how to block them…
hey, not so fast – after all, her bio blurb says she’s on the “Statewide Anti-Terrorism Task Force”
Interesting, I hadn’t heard about this yet. I was an undergrad at WPI in 1982 when Cheryl was hired as the first female campus police officer. She sure looked a lot different then–slender, long black hair, drove a black 1980 TransAm–certainly not a “home economics teacher.” As I recall she had a good rapport with the students. Worst issues the campus cops had to deal with were of the usual college variety–rowdy frat parties, underage drinking, kids passed out on the quad, and the requisite amount of drugs. Nobody threatened to blow up the place despite there being plenty of available materials and students and staff with enough know-how to do it (Robert Goddard got his start at WPI). The only bomb the food service staff dropped on us was enough overcooked pasta to tie up the digestive tract for a week.
WPI was a pretty conservative campus back then, before MA went 100% libtard. We had as invited speakers William F. Buckley and G. Gordon Liddy among others (wouldn’t likely see that today). A lot of students were on ROTC scholarship. And we had an indoor shooting range in the gym basement.
Ah, the good ole days…
And on the other side of the country, the college student that did a revenge killing of his girlfriend and others at a party outside Seattle – with all of the attendant “gotta do something” op-ed pieces in the Seattle Times – comes this tidbit:
“Prosecutors allege Allen Ivanov told at least two friends through texts and social media that he had recently purchased a firearm and planned to shoot his ex-girlfriend and others.” Also apparently said he was going to kill a lot of people at a party. And did anyone say anything? Of course not. It’s the gun’s fault, after all.
Colleges need police forces ’cause there’s lots of criminals on campus-especially large left schools. As far as her looking like a home ec teacher-Meg Whitman ran for president(and the senate) ,ran a major corporation(into the ground) and now is voting Hillary and she is QUITE unimpressive looking. But I get your point Mama Liberty…