Bomb at Oregon Bank Kills Cop, Technician
These guys win the “Dumbest Act by a Cop” award!
WOODBURN, Ore. - A bank employee found a bomb in the bushes outside — and officers responding to the threat inexplicably took the device into the building. It exploded, killing a local police officer and a state bomb disposal technician and critically injuring the police chief of Woodburn, in Oregon’s agricultural heartland. A bank employee was also slightly injured. Asked why officers took the bomb into the bank, Lt. Gregg Hastings, spokesman for the Oregon State Police, said Saturday: “That we don’t know.” But with a bomber apparently on the loose, authorities had more pressing things to worry about. They had no suspects and no motive in Friday’s bombing.
“That person is dangerous and needs to be found as soon as possible,” Hastings said. Federal authorities said they were offering a $35,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.The explosion around 5:30 p.m. Friday followed a bomb threat call to a nearby Wells Fargo branch bank. But the police said their investigation led next door to the West Coast Bank, where the bomb was found.Bank President and CEO Robert Sznewajs said the bank manager found the device Friday in a survey of the grounds undertaken after an employee got a call about the Wells Fargo incident and law enforcement officers had made a check. Hastings declined to describe the bomb in detail but indicated it was powerful. The inside of the bank was extensively damaged, state police said, and a female employee was treated at Salem Hospital and released. Another bank employee was uninjured.Police said late Friday that a Woodburn police officer had died. The State Police said Saturday that one of their bomb technicians had also died at the scene.
First and foremost, why would anyone in his right mind move an item that may be a bomb in the first place. They had a large city where a bomb sniffing dog or robot could have been obtained to check out the package. Then it is brought inside the bank where other persons were put at risk. It blows my mind why an explosives technician would be so irresponsible.
This was a tragedy that did not have to happen if the officials involved had followed protocol and used plain old common sense. Now everyone is enraged about the deaths and injuries from the bombing. If you say I am blaming the victim, you are right. There are some people who should not be in law enforcement. These cops are an example of those who should not be.
