'Depressed ex-NY cop threatened to kill Obama to grab attention,' family claims

New York, Nov 27 (ANI): The family members of an ex-New York cop who has been busted for threatening to kill US President Barack Obama, has defended him saying that it was just a "way of getting attention".

The New York Daily News quoted a federal affidavit as saying that Secret Service agents had arrested Michael Stephen Bowden, who used to work for the NYPD and the FDNY, after he told a nurse on November 16 during a check-up at a South Carolina clinic that he wanted to shoot the president.

The depressed 78-year-old man, who also served in the U.S. Navy, had made the threat when asked if he had suicidal thoughts.

"Yes, I would like to shoot the President, then myself," he had said.

However, his son has claimed that he is suffering from depression and a heart condition, and that he would never hurt anyone.

"It was his way of getting attention. He figured if he went over the top, he would get the help he needed. He thought that would get the biggest rise, the most bang for the buck," his son, Kerry Bowden said.

But "Would he do it? No," he added.

He further stated that his father has been suffering from depression since April, but during his monthly check-ups at the clinic, staff ignored signs that he was suicidal.

Bowden was an NYPD officer for three years before transferring to the FDNY in 1959. He worked in the now defunct Engine 41 in the south Bronx till 1975, when he retired on disability as a captain after suffering a heart attack during a fire, his family claimed. (ANI)