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Denver Bomb Squad Takes Out Toy Robot
An anonymous reader writes "A robot met its end near Coors Field tonight when the Denver Police Department Bomb Squad detonated the 'suspicious object,' bringing to an end the hours-long standoff between police and the approximately eight-inch tall toy. From the article: "'Are you serious?' asked Denver resident Justin Kent, 26, when police stopped him from proceeding down 20th Street. Kent said that he lived just past the closed area, but was told he would have to go around via Park Avenue.'"
The terrorists have won.
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
and was flipping everyone off?
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
Great, they shot Zerg from Toy Story.
If it's possibly an explosive device tied to a bridge support, why would it be a good idea for the police to detonate it?
I can just see the police standing behind their open car doors with guns drawn while the negotiator takes out the bullhorn and says "What are your demands? Do you come in peace?"
Spending on anti-terrorism morbidly outstrips spending on terrorism. They fly a couple of planes into a buildings and the third largest country in the world spend over a trillion dollars on war and counter terrorism. As an added bonus, they get to laugh at our ridiculous countermeasures like fondling (or viewing nude) every man, woman, and child who commits suspicious activities like "boarding a plane".
"It was cemented in. That's odd," [Denver Police Spokesman Matt] Murray said.
That is odd. It probably should justify the involvement of the police.
However,
Murray said that a citizen called police at 3:27 p.m. to report the presence of the plastic white toy robot cemented to the base of a pillar supporting a footbridge near the intersection of 20th and Wazee streets.
How did the citizen know it was cemented in? Did he manipulate it enough to know it couldn't be removed? And if he did, how did that affect the likelihood that the object was a danger to anyone? And would the police have cared if someone hadn't been freaked-out by it?
Doesnt the bomb squad have on of those briefcase sized substance analysers like they do at airports to detect explosives? p>
Yeah, that sounds like as much fun!
When they claim that the robot was a hoax bomb attempt, instead of admitting that the cops were too stupid to tell the difference between a toy and a bomb.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
exactly how many "bombs" have been stopped this way? and exactly how many items get "left" places every day.
sorry but this security theater is getting way over done.. i understand playing devils advocate - but as far as i'm concerned the populous has turned to sheep..
the the bombs blow.. let them crash planes.. i'm still far more likely to die every day because the guy next to me is driving a 2 ton truck and to busy texting to notice he isn't in his lane any more.
people live - people die.. get over it.. if you just go about your life and let them just keep trying.. eventually it won't be worth it to them, and even if they don't stop - it doesn't matter..
there is no amount of things you can do that will stop people from doing what they set them selves out to do.
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
It's the only way to be sure.
Dude, if you have the ok to blow shit up, you blow shit up!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I'm surprised the Denver cops think a fairly normal looking toy is strange looking and suspicious. This kind of stupidity seems to usually be Boston cops.
I'm betting it was just some guerrilla art, look for more small toys to be cemented around town.
At 8" it wouldn't have had enough explosives from that positioning to do any real damage to that bridge support even if it was solid tritonal.
Can anyone out there identify that toy from the photo? I'm betting it's hollow plastic and at least partially articulated.
On a side note, I wonder if they're going to start profiling teddy bears next...
The problem with trivializing the bomb squad's action is the next suspicious object may not be a innocent little toy.
This was probably a prank, but it could also be a test to see what security measures are in place (probing).
Sure, it could have been a bomb...
And that car parked on the side of the street could be a bomb. And that McDonald's bag could be a bomb. And that half-eaten apple could be a bomb. And that guy on a big with a backpack could be carrying a bomb. Just about anything could be a bomb.
Are you suggesting that we call the bomb squad for anything and everything that looks even vaguely suspicious?
"Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
And he is us. - pogo
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I'm waiting for the day when some nutjob fashions a piece of doggie-poo looking substance out of brown-painted C4 with an embedded motion-sensitive detonator.
There, I've said it. Let everyone be scared of any stray pile of poop laying on a city sidewalk. Perhaps then, when we try to ban dogs completely, people may wake up and see that it's just not worth going through life terrified of everything.
Ugh.
I think the fact that the plastic toy was cemented to the base of a pillar supporting a footbridge was what made it suspicious.
FTA: "It was cemented in. That's odd," Murray said. Murray said that suspicious objects do not automatically warrant a call to the bomb squad if patrol officers are able to determine that there is no threat. He said that the robot was strange enough to warrant precautionary measures. In the end, it proved harmless.
Yes, I read that.
And my question still stands.
Are you suggesting that we call the bomb squad for anything and everything that looks even vaguely suspicious?
Some kid gets bored and superglues his sister's lunchbox to a wall, are we going to call the bomb squad?
Some artist gets creative and sticks some kind of magnetic LCD to something, are we going to call the bomb squad?
Some guy forgets his luggage on the side of the road as he rushes to make a flight on time, are we going to call the bomb squad?
There's all sorts of odd and suspicious stuff around us. Generally speaking, it isn't a bomb. It could be... But it isn't, usually. Are we just going to err on the side of caution and call the bomb squad every time something looks slightly out of place?
"Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
That's the point of 'asymmetric warfare'. We lose if we overreact, and overreacting is our nature. We got played. Hard.
But really, can you see this speech getting you elected to office:
"Sure, a lot of good folks died on 9/11, but we have to be strong. 9/11 is bait, we have to be sure not to walk into the trap, because we have so much more to lose than they can ever hope of gaining. Some are calling for war. War will cost trillions of dollars and thousands more American lives. I've authorized a small team of operatives to act on capturing the perpetrators dead or alive, and I've activated a special diplomatic corps to curry favor with host countries for allowing our teams to work on their soil. First we're going to ask politely, then we'll bribe them, and if that doesn't work, we'll threaten embargo and international action, and finally, we'll use our superior skill and technology to just go ahead and get the job done as cleanly as possible without permission. Hopefully it doesn't come to that."
"Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie." -Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
Of course it does. You introduced hyperbole into the discussion and assume everybody is sheep and no preliminary checks are done prior to sending out a bomb squad. Based on your assumptions you decided that the best course of action is inaction.
I made no such suggestion. I stated that if we start trivializing judgment calls made by police in the field, we risk letting a real bomb detonate without detection. I never said we should treat every piece of litter as a potential bomb. You introduced that hypothesis in order to make it easier for you to argue that security concerns are being overblown.
If he does it in his own home then no. If he did it in an alleyway with little to no foot traffic then no. If he did it in at a high traffic area and no one saw him do it and someone felt concerned enough to call the police then maybe yes. If he did it to a supporting structure of a footbridge then yes.
Wow you brought up a single very public incident in 2007 by the Boston police department. Congratulations! Now how many similar events happened since?
Happens all the time and there's a TSA agent nearby to make that judgment call.
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