A New York police officer is facing multiple charges for allegedly lying about threatening text messages she received. The Westchester District Attorney's Office said that Ossining police officer Emily Hirshowitz filed a complaint last May, alleging that fellow officers were sending her harassing and threatening messages to her personal phone.
As investigators looked into her claims, she continued to provide them with screenshots of new messages, which included calls for her to commit suicide. The messages sparked outrage, as local leaders held several meetings to discuss the incident.
However, after reviewing her iPhone and iCloud account, investigators discovered that Hirshowitz was likely responsible for the messages. They found that several numbers used to send the messages were registered to Hirshowitz.
They did note that another person who was known to the district attorney's office was connected to at least three of the messages. That person was not named, as investigators said they did not have enough evidence to file criminal charges.
Hirshowitz was taken into custody and charged with three felony counts of first-degree filing a false instrument and four counts of third-degree falsely reporting an incident.
She has been suspended with pay.