In short, I believe officials reacted correctly to a perceived danger; however, bringing charges against the owner was not necessary.
When placing any object capable of containing explosives on someone else's property with a label proclaiming, This is a bomb
it is not unreasonable for someone to take it at face value. It is conceivable that such a threat is truly present. As much as some people appreciate the opportunity to tear authority apart, this is not your battleground, I'm afraid.
However, I think bringing charges against the owner was perhaps too much.
After the matter was investigated and it turned out that there was a reasonable (however previously obscure) explanation, it seems apparent that it obviously wasn't the owner's intention to incite a panic. Personally, I believe it's just a case of poor judgment to place such a sticker on such an object, and that the bike ended up scrapped is no surprise.
Bumbling is an inflammatory and wholly inappropriate description of those who addressed the bomb situation. A law enforcement officer should not have to second guess whether or not a package that could contain a bomb (which is labeled a bomb) is a bomb or not. I also don't expect them to study lists of punk bands anticipating another such event. I am ecstatic that our law enforcement takes threats to our lives seriously.
- R. Schwiebert is a graduate student in mathematics.
Editor's Note: Earlier this week Ohio University dropped the charges against Patrick Hanlin. But because this letter expresses the writer's opinions about OUPD's response to the situation, it still seems relevant. 17
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