Man who threatened Sparta graduation ceremony sought
Suspect said he planned to die by ‘suicide by cop’
A man who threatened to kill estranged family members at a high school graduation Friday night in Sparta, resulting in the cancellation of graduation ceremonies, was being sought Saturday night by Sparta police.
Benjamin “Ben” Sidie, 44, should be considered armed and dangerous, according to a post on the Sparta Police Department Facebook page.
His last known address is in Osceola, Iowa, and he reportedly works in the Des Moines area, according to the post.
People who see him are asked not to approach him but call 911, and anyone who knows where he is should call Sparta police at (608) 269-6333 or (608) 269-8712.
The Sparta Police Department said it was working with law enforcement in Wisconsin, other states and the FBI to locate Sidie. He is not believed to be in Wisconsin.
He “threatened to die by suicide by cop. And he was going to do it at the graduation,” Sparta Police Sgt. Jason Pipkin said.
Sidie is known to have access to firearms, according to police. Most of the threats were made by text message.
“While the suspect is believed to have been in a different state when he made the threats, he was within driving distance of Sparta and could have been here in time for the ceremony,” Pipkin said.
In a statement, the Sparta School District said the graduation will be rescheduled as soon as the threats have been resolved.
The threats occurred over a period of several days, according to police.
“This whole situation is frustrating, concerning, and especially disappointing for the graduates and their families,” Pipkin said.
“Whether you agree or disagree with the decision to postpone the ceremony, take a moment and consider if the suspect had followed through with his threats and we knew ahead of time it was going to happen at the graduation ceremony,” Pipkin said.
Police said they believed it was safe to continue with graduation parties.
It’s too early to say when the graduation will be rescheduled, Sparta School Board President James Rasmussen said.
“There’s going to have to be some notification. We want to accommodate everybody we possibly can,” he said.
“I don’t know how you could just have it the next day.”
The threats come at a time when schools nationwide have a heightened awareness of violence.
Friday, a student in an Indiana middle school classroom opened fire with a handgun, critically wounding another student and injuring a teacher who stopped the attack.
A May 18 attack at Santa Fe High School, in Texas, was the deadliest school shooting since a former student was arrested in the killing of 17 people at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day.
In April, a Springfield, Missouri, high school student was charged with making a terrorist threat after he warned classmates not to show up for graduation, while making a motion imitating a handgun.
For years there have been threats aimed at graduations, including one in 2016 at a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, high school that allegedly referenced the 1999 Columbine High School shootings in which 15 people were killed, including the two gunmen.
School officials have to take the threats seriously, Rasmussen said.
“Obviously in the current climate, but any time there is something like this going on, the safety of the students and the general public are going to be the priority. We acted appropriately,” he said.