So Someone Has Been Threatening Your Life?: A Guide for the Stalked
Stop the Stalkers, part II
Hi. I just got a phone call from a friend. He’s being stalked! I provided that friend with some advice. I am recapping it here for everyone else. Owen Scott Muir, M.D., writes this newsletter. And If this helps friends, patients, and colleagues push back on victimization by stalkers, so much the better.
If you're facing online stalking or death threats, it's crucial to understand how to respond. The severity and frequency of the threats can significantly influence a police report. A single threat may not have the same impact as continuous ones, and explicit threats carry more weight than vague insinuations. I have gotten that “Tarisoff phone call”—where a colleague informs me of a danger to my life. It is not fun. Happy birthday to me!1
Understanding what constitutes a “real threat” is critical. For instance, "I'm going to kill you" is an explicit death threat. What kind of crime is this?
This could be, legally in N.Y., “Menacing”: