Bomb squad’s take on yesterday’s false alarm
Officials say they don’t believe object was put there as a hoax or threat
The suspicious object was in Texarkana, but it was the El Dorado, Ark., Police Department Bomb Squad that got the first up-close look. In the end, there was no danger, but this is how it all played out.
“What made it suspicious was the location. It was up there by a state law enforcement center,” said EPD’s Capt. Michael Leveritt. “It was in the shrubs outside the building.”
At around 9 a.m. Monday, Texarkana police were notified of a suspicious package found in the shrubs on the northeast side of Bi-State Justice Building. The Bi-State Justice Building houses law enforcement and court operations for Texarkana, Arkansas; Texarkana, Texas; and the Bowie County, Texas Sheriff’s Office.
El Dorado police were immediately informed and Leveritt and Sgt. Jarod Primm of the Bomb Squad responded. They arrived in Texarkana at about 11:45 a.m.
“Basically, it was a paper sack that had cylinder-shaped containers covered with aluminum foil on the ends,” Leveritt said. Some reports described wires coming out of the package.
After a briefing, Leveritt said
he and Primm opted to use an automated robot to check out the package. The robot, which has a camera attached and a prehensile arm, allowed them to take a closer look at the package without getting too close.
“Based on those results, we could see that there was nothing hazardous that we could see and basically once we determined that, we gathered it up and we’ll dispose of it,” Leveritt said.
With the robot’s help, they were able to determine that the package did not appear to be a threat. At that point, they donned a bomb suits (Explosive Ordinance Disposal suits), approached the package and were able to place it in a secure container.
Leveritt said they were only on the scene for about an hour before the scene was secured. At around 4 p.m., he and Primm were headed back to El Dorado to open the package and dispose of it.
“We have different (disposal) methods that we use,” Leveritt said, adding that he could not go into detail about EPD’s bomb disposal procedures.
The EPD Bomb Squad is responsible for bomb disposal for all of Arkansas south of Fordyce. Leveritt said there are only six bomb squads in the state, which is why the EPD covers such a wide region.
“There’s only six squads in the state and we’re all kind of regional,” Leveritt said. “We all assist each other when needed, but each squad is assigned to a territory, so to speak—a regional area. So we were the closest.”
EPD’s job will be complete once the package has been dismantled and disposed of. Leveritt said he did not think the package was left as a threat or a hoax.
“I don’t think it was designed as a hoax or anything … I think it’s just the container that these items were placed in wasn’t normal,” Leveritt said. “I don’t think it was put there to get this kind of reaction.”
He also commended the Texarkana police for taking the incident seriously; while this incident had a neutral outcome, Leveritt stressed that it’s important to always exercise caution when there is a bomb threat.
“They did the right thing because it was suspicious. They didn’t know; they called us,” Leveritt said. “I always encourage they exercise on the side of caution, because it’s unknown until we determine it’s safe.”