Threats, a shootout and a U.S. marshal dead
Tucson man, 26, held in slaying of peace officer; ‘The nation lost a hero last night’
Police had hoped the ominous threats from Ryan P. Schlesinger to Tucson police officers, which had started more than a year ago, would stop once they arrested him on Thursday night.
The mission was to apprehend the 26-year-old Tucson man on a warrant charging him with stalking police.
Schlesinger was believed to have mental-health problems and a grudge against police because they confiscated his gun in 2017, court records say.
But the episode took a deadly turn when Schlesinger shot and killed Deputy U.S. Marshal Chase White, 41, a threeyear veteran, during a shootout, police say.
The killing, which is the third fatal shooting of a peace officer this year in Arizona, happened at 5:30 p.m. outside Schlesinger’s home, which is in front of a park and a nearby school.
Federal prosecutors have charged Schlesinger with killing a federal officer. He could face the death penalty or life in prison, said Betsy Strange, the acting U.S. attorney for Arizona.
The Federal Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Schlesinger, didn’t return a phone call from
seeking comment Friday. The fatal shooting was a tragic reminder to law-enforcement agencies across Arizona and the nation of the potential dangers officers face when making an arrest.
“It’s a dangerous job, but Chase was devoted to making his community and this nation safer. His sacrifice will not be forgotten,” said David J. Anderson, acting deputy director of the U.S. Marshals Service, in a statement. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends, and our law enforcement community. The nation lost a hero last night.”
U.S. Marshal David Gonzales of Arizona, at a press conference on Friday in Tucson, didn’t disclose any new details of what led to the shooting or how Schlesinger got a hold of the gun police say he used to kill White.
However, Gonzales and other agents and officers from the FBI, Tucson police, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all expressed their condolences at the press conference to the family of White, who had a wife and four children. “The shock, pain and numbness that comes with the loss of a fellow deputy marshal is overwhelming,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said White was the 50th law-enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty nationwide this year.
In Arizona, White is the third peace officer killed in the line of duty in 2018. The other two were:
Trooper Tyler Edenhofer of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, who was shot dead July 25 along Interstate 10 west of Phoenix.
Nogales police Officer Jesus “Chuy” Cordova, who was fatally shot April 27 while investigating a carjacking.
According to a criminal complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court of Arizona in Tucson, several officers had started to walk into a house where Schlesinger was living when the man began shooting at them, striking White multiple times and initiating a shootout with the other officers.
After the shootout, Schlesinger barricaded himself in the house before he subsequently surrendered, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona said.
White was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Victoria Peterson, 49, on Friday morning was raking leaves that fell from a tree next to her trailer home near where the shooting happened. She said that shortly before the shooting, she heard a lot of yelling and some shots.
“I’m sorry for the family,” said Peterson, adding that she has relatives who are police officers.
David Ayon, 18, who also lives nearby, said Friday morning that he had seen Schlesinger at the park years before. He described him as being “nice” but said “he had a vibe that you didn’t want to be around.”
Schlesinger’s grudge stemmed from Tucson police seizing a gun from him in August 2017, when the police responded to an incident involving Schlesinger, according to the criminal complaint.
Schlesinger had pointed a gun at Tucson police, and officers used a Taser on him and confiscated the gun, the document says.
Schlesinger’s threats against Tucson police officers began sometime after that incident and escalated from there.
“The point here is that y’all need to think deep and hard about how far you’re willing to take this,” he warned in one email against Tucson police, the complaint says. “Ask yourself, what are you willing to sacrifice because if my property is not returned to me, having a police cruiser repoed will be the least of your concerns.”
In August, Sgt. Jason Winsky testified in a court hearing before Justice of the Peace Paula Aboud to get a harassment injunction against Schlesinger.
“About a year and a half ago, we started a relationship with Mr. Schlesinger with regard to threats to people at Pima Community College. My team took over the investigation, investigating both the threats and his mental-health status,” Winksy said.
He added: “Throughout last year, Mr. Schlesinger has sent a variety of emails and voicemails: ‘You never should have crossed me. You are done in this town. I will make your life miserable.’ ”
In July, August and September, according to the criminal complaint, the man showed up at the Tucson Police Department and the homes of officers’ parents.
On Nov. 22, Schlesinger filed an online complaint with Tucson police, saying that a specific Tucson police officer was on his list to arrest, according to the criminal complaint.
“I would highly recommend that the TPD arrest the criminals listed in my report so I don’t have to,” Schlesinger said. “I don’t think anybody wants this turning into a shootout at that O.K. Corral.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said White was raised in central Illinois and began his police career as investigator for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before he became a deputy for the U.S. Marshals Service in 2015.
The office also said that White was on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from 2000 to 2007. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was based at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas.