INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers is addressing questions about the protocol followed before Sgt. Terri Sweeting-Mashkow was shot and killed Nov. 21 while serving an eviction notice.
Incident reports obtained by WPTV show the suspect, Michael Halberstam, had a history of aggressive behavior dating back three years.
WATCH: Digging into past calls for Michael Halberstam
The reports show it began in June 2022, when deputies responded to a disturbance at a UPS store. The report says Halberstam — then an employee — attacked a coworker "for no reason." He was fired and trespassed but the case was later cleared.
From January to October this year, deputies were called at least four more times to his Bermuda Bay neighborhood. Each incident involved Halberstam allegedly harassing UPS workers — yelling racial slurs in some cases and threatening to kill a worker in another. One employee also reported three years of cyberstalking, including threats by text message.
"We've reviewed those calls. None of those calls rose to the level of an arrest, of a Baker Act, of a risk protection orders," Flowers said.
At Friday's news conference, Flowers clarified an earlier comment he made that Halberstam "wasn't on their radar." He said deputies had interacted with him on five separate days the month of the shooting — but nothing crossed the threshold for action.
Region Indian River County
Sheriff: 'Thousands of pieces of evidence' being reviewed in shooting
"If somebody came forward with information that would have been at the level for us to make an arrest, to conduct a Baker Act or to get a risk protection order, our team would have done that," Flowers said.
The reports we obtained confirm Sweeting-Mashkow responded at least twice before that final call Nov. 21.
In one report from Nov. 5, the caller told dispatchers she "doesn't feel safe in the home" and said Halberstam had a taser but added he was "non-violent with law enforcement."
"As a matter of fact, in re-watching the [body camera] video today, as they're walking in the house with mom, mom says he's not aggressive. She's telling the deputies there's nothing to worry about. He's my son," Flowers said.
Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan says it's a reminder that even people who don't seem threatening can turn violent.
"There's always 20/20 hindsight," Kaplan said. "This is a perfect example of a textbook scenario that should be used in the police academies."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.