Powders and Lotions

[MrJim911]

So how many of you have received calls from citizens reporting suspicious bags of powders or lotions? My PSAP has received several dozen since the latest FBI announcement. Bags of white powder turning out to be sugar or flour. (And in one case cocaine.) One lady called up saying she had a bag from Gerber hanging on her front door and it was leaking a gooey substance. Officer discovered it was apple/cinnamon baby food. Hence the Gerber baby face that was labeled on the outside of the bag. And the leaking was one of many samples in the bag. And of course reports of suspicious persons and vehicles have increased. Got a call from an elderly male subject about a week ago asking why their was a street sweeper parked near his house. (On the street I might add) He thought that would be a great way for a terrorist to spread some chemical weapon. Officer checked, yes it is aparke there and no the driver is not a terrorist. He's waiting until 0700 so he can start up the sweeper. It's the same day of the week they do it all the time. Just a few stories I thought I would share. There are many, many more... It's good I suppose that the citiens are "on the look out" but they can be humorous at times.

[Lupey]

Also have received numerous calls for suspicious packages/powders. Just cleared one. Reported a white powder on the rear entry door of a business. Turned out to be insulation (sp?). One was a package infront of a store that turned out to be fresh baked pastries :D

[Kassideigh]

A few of the sherriffs here have been called to 'Anthrax' being put into drywall! In one case the drywall fell from a truck and a lady called frantically about 'Anthrax' being all over the road and people were trying to kill us by dropping it from planes.


:flame: :burnt:

[Kahuna5150]

My department's policy is this:

Unless a package, or letter has an obvious sign of possibly being dangerous or suspicious, we don't open it. So if someone gets a letter from someone they don't know, but there is no other sign of foul play we tell them, "Open it if you like, if you find something contact us... if you don't want to open it, that's ok also.. just throw it away".

It is amazing how many people call because they don't want to open a letter, but it kills them not to know what's inside. They dont' want to throw it away, but they don't want to open it. They want *YOU* to open it so they can see what's inside with no risk to themselves.

Amazing.

Kahuna