And the "suspicious package" always turns out to be somebody's dirty laundry, uneaten lunch or some other harmless thing. In this case the alleged bomb which was going to destroy downtown Phoenix as we know it was "two camping grills, a box, and a bag".
I was on the light rail last night and the train didn't stop at the Phoenix Central Station because of this dumb ass publicity event the cops created for themselves.
Don't think of it as a false alarm, think of it as a way the police can justify their jobs and make themselves look like f*cking heroes saving us from imaginary crimes.
As H. L. Mencken said:
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."And they do this bullsh*t all the time in an attempt to justify pay raises.
Who knows maybe Valley Metro CEO Stephen R. Banta created this mess to take the heat away from his $2,000 lunches, $500 hotel rooms, and quitting bonus of over a quarter million dollars.
Suspicious package at Phoenix light-rail station deemed safe
Allie Bice and Lucas Robbins, The Republic | azcentral.com 9:33 p.m. MST December 8, 2015
After about a two-hour delay, trains began running again at a light-rail station in downtown Phoenix after police determined a suspicious package was safe.
A Phoenix Police Municipal Security guard found the package on a light-rail platform at Central Avenue and Van Buren Street at about 5:25 p.m.
Riders were rerouted, streets were shut down and Arizona State University called out shuttles to transport students needing to get from downtown to campuses in Tempe and Glendale.
Phoenix resident Julian Gutierrez was riding the light rail when the package was found and said police were waiting outside when the train arrived at the Central and Van Buren station.
"As soon as the doors opened up, cops started rushing the doors and told us to stay on the train," Gutierrez said.
The Phoenix Police bomb squad used a robot to fire high-powered water charges at the package, creating "loud bangs," said Sgt. Vincent Lewis, a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department.
The items appear to have been two camping grills, a box, and a bag, Lewis said.
Lewis also said one person was detained for interfering with the police investigation of the package, but did not provide details about the incident.
Shortly before 8 p.m., police determined the package was not a threat and light-rail trains were allowed to operate again.
Not long after, streets reopened in the area of Second to Central avenues and Adams to Taylor streets.