OSSINING, N.Y. – A police officer in the State of New York was arrested after she reportedly sent herself menacing text messages and then blamed colleagues, according to the Westchester District Attorney’s Office.
Officer Emily Hirshowitz with the Ossining Police Department complained for months about receiving alarming text messages from her colleagues. She was taken into custody after investigators alleged she’d been the one sending them all along. Last Wednesday she was charged with three counts of first-degree filing a false instrument, a felony, and four counts of third-degree falsely reporting an incident, according to the Westchester Journal News.
The series of events began in May of 2022 when Hirshowitz filed a report with the DA’s office, saying she was receiving anonymous threatening text messages from multiple numbers. She claimed that “a fellow police officer or multiple police officers at my department are involved,” according to court documents obtained by the outlet, Yahoo News reported.
Emily Hirshowitz was charged at the Westchester District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday with falsely reporting an incident. (Ossining Police Department – Facebook)
Hirshowitz persistently pursued her allegations against fellow officers in July and then again in August when she gave investigators screenshots showing long expletive-filled messages urging her to commit suicide and calling her “useless,” a “dumb [expletive],” and a “reject,” the New York Post reported.
Law enforcement officials became alarmed by the alleged messages due to the “increasingly threatening content.” As a result, they also reached out to the district attorney’s office to investigate further.
However, on August 12, Hirshowitz said she wanted to drop the complaint.
Nevertheless, Chief Kevin Sylvester was understandably concerned, and called for a department-wide meeting to discuss the alleged disturbing messages.
(Ossining Police Department – Facebook)
As the inquiry unfolded, investigators began to believe the threatening messages were actually produced by Hirshowitz. In October they obtained a search warrant for her phone records and other electronic accounts.
The evidence quickly pointed to Hirshowitz as the culprit to her own menacing messages as they derived from several of her accounts. Hence, investigators concluded she had likely sent them to herself, according to prosecutors.
Hirshowitz was suspended with pay once she was officially charged with the crimes, the Post reported.
However, there was also another wrinkle in the investigation that appears unclear. The criminal complaint noted that somebody known to the prosecutor’s office appeared to have sent three of the text messages, although the person was not identified.
Louis Rinaldi resigned from the Ossining Police Department in the spring regarding a separate disciplinary matter. Rinaldi’s name has come up as a possible accomplice to Hirshowitz.
Hirshowitz has been employed by the Ossining Police Department since 2016. She previously served for two years in New Rochelle, according to Fox News.
Officer Emily Hirshowitz when she joined the department in 2016. (Ossining Police Department – Facebook)
“There’s a lot of mystery and confusion surrounding the allegations in this case and we’ll evaluate as we learn more,” said her attorney, Paul DerOhannesian.
Hirshowitz was released from custody following her arrest last week and is scheduled to appear in White Plains City Court on July 12, according to DerOhannesian.
