LAYTON, Utah — A police officer was arrested Thursday after his ex-girlfriend reported him for stalking her, including showing up at her home and calling and texting her dozens of times.
Court documents say the victim contacted the Davis County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday to report that her ex-boyfriend, 33-year-old Austin Levi Christofferson, was stalking her.
The woman told deputies that her ex was sitting in his vehicle parked near her apartment when she got home that day. She said she looked at him, raised her arms, mouthed "why are you here?" and then Christofferson drove off.
She said Christofferson had been stalking her since December, but she was hesitant to report him partially due to his status as a police officer, and she also felt mentally and emotionally abused. She also said he threatened that he would shoot himself if they broke up.
Police looked at the text message and phone call history between the two. They found that she told Christofferson on June 29 that their relationship was over. From then until July 2, he texted her 68 times and called her 35 times. She replied to some of the messages, telling him to leave her alone and stop contacting her, according to the arrest report. One message even contained a photograph of the former couple with blood on it, police said.
Then between July 2 and July 12, he allegedly sent her more than 100 text messages and called her 29 times.
The victim also told police that Christofferson showed up at her apartment numerous times, and sometimes in his police vehicle and uniform. On one occasion, she said he showed up at night, banging on her door and looking through her windows. She said she feared for her safety, so she hid on the floor where he could not see her. She also saw him drive past her sister's home once.
Christofferson was arrested and declined to speak with investigators. He was booked on one third-degree felony charge of stalking a former cohabitant. He was ordered by a judge to be held without bail.
The arresting deputies recommended no bail partially due to Christofferson's job as a police officer. They said his "access to weapons and knowledge of criminal procedure ... could further endanger the victim and other law enforcement officers."
Christofferson has been an officer with the Layton City Police Department since 2015, according to the Transparent Utah website.
