Milwaukee woman gets probation for 'shootout' post on social media after officer's death
A Milwaukee woman was given probation for making threats on social media that she hoped would somehow earn her money in the wake of a police officer's death in the line of duty.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Carolina Stark on Monday also ordered Mary Jane Hinton to undergo a mental health evaluation, complete 15 hours of community service and to stay off Facebook during her probation.
Prosecutors alleged the post by Hinton, 21, had the potential to generate widespread panic from those scouring Facebook in the hours after Milwaukee police Officer Peter Jerving was fatally shot while trying to arrest a robbery suspect.
Hinton pleaded guilty in July to making terrorist threats, a Class I felony.
Stark sentenced Hinton to serve seven months in the Community Reintegration Center, but stayed the confinement term and placed her on probation for 18 months. Hinton faced up to 1½ years behind bars and two years of extended supervision upon release.
According to a criminal complaint, a woman reported browsing social media Feb. 7, 2023, for news about the shooting. She noticed a user had shared a news link from WISN 12 TV with a post that read "Shootout @ district 4 today @ 3PM. Be there or hear ab it!!"
A memorial event to honor Jerving was scheduled that day.
Investigators were able to connect Hinton to the post and tracked her down. During an interview with police, Hinton admitted she created the post and that she did so hoping to monetize the content.
She indicated she has made money in the past using her Facebook page and has earned up to $1,000 for a post.
"The Defendant said it never occurred to her that stating there would be a shootout at a memorial for an officer who was shot and killed less than 8 hours prior to the post would cause people to panic," the complaint said.
When asked why she chose 3 p.m., Hinton reportedly told investigators she believed that was the time of shift change, and there would be more police present.
More: Peter Jerving took a long path to a career in policing. But he was made for it.
"On February 7th I made a bad decision," Hinton wrote in a Nov. 3 letter to the court, adding she had enrolled in special programs to help atone for the threats. "I'm working on becoming a better person, every one makes mistakes; its (sic) all about how you move on with the mistake."
The public mourned in the wake of Jerving's Feb. 6 death. Police say Jerving was attempting to arrest Terrell I. Thompson, a robbery suspect who hours earlier had been sentenced to probation in a misdemeanor hit-and-run case.
Police have said Thompson, 19, of Milwaukee, fired shots from a handgun while fleeing officers. Jerving, 37, was struck, then discharged his weapon. Jerving later died at a hospital, while Thompson died at the scene.
His was the fifth line-of-duty death in the Milwaukee Police Department since 2018.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee woman gets probation for 'shootout' post on social media
