A man faces several charges for allegedly yelling racial slurs at a woman while wielding an ax during an incident in Colchester before subsequently threatening to bomb a state police barracks and kill multiple troopers once he is free from custody, state police said.
Joseph Surwill, 57, of Colchester, was arrested on charges of intimidation based on bigotry or bias, second-degree breach of peace, first-degree threatening, interfering with an officer or resisting and failure to comply with fingerprinting requirements, according to Connecticut State Police. He was held in lieu of $100,000 bond and was expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Norwich Superior Court.
State police said troopers received the report of a disturbance at about 2:48 p.m. Monday in the area of Harrington Court in Colchester. Police were initially told a male involved was holding an ice pick and had left the area in a red vehicle.
The complainant told police she was walking from her nearby residence to a local business when she encountered a man she knew who was identified as Surwill, according to state police. The woman said the parking lot of the business where she was heading is adjacent to Surwill’s property, though she said she never stepped onto his property, state police said.
As the woman was walking toward the business, she said Surwill exited his residence and picked up an ax, which he then held horizontally against her body to push her backwards, state police said. As he was doing this, the woman said Surwill was yelling to get off his property and using profanities and racial slurs, according to state police.
The woman did not report any injuries.
State police said they were able to locate a witness who corroborated the complainant’s allegations. An ax was also located at the scene and seized.
State police shortly thereafter were able to locate Surwill at a business on Old Hartford Road in Colchester. He was taken into custody and transported to Troop K’s barracks.
According to state police, Surwill was uncooperative during the booking process and, while in custody, he allegedly threatened to bomb Troop K and kill troopers once he was released.
State police noted that the Connecticut State Police Hate Crimes Unit has been notified of the incident.
