I'm Sorry But This Is Ridiculous

Kintarō Hattori · 03-12-2010 11:14am #1

What the hell is the world (ok Americans really) coming too. Just how stupid can things get:

A robot met its end near Coors Field on Wednesday night when the Denver Police Department Bomb Squad detonated the "suspicious object," bringing to an end the hours-long standoff between police and the approximately 8-inch-tall figurine.

Denver police spokesman Matt Murray said a citizen called police at 3:27 p.m. to report the presence of the plastic, white, toy robot, cemented to the base of a pillar supporting a footbridge near 20th and Wazee streets. Police closed 20th Street between Blake Street and Chestnut Place but did let a few people past the police tape to retrieve cars parked in nearby lots.

Nobody was allowed within about 100 yards of the robot.

"Are you serious?" asked Denver resident Justin Kent, 26, when police stopped him from proceeding down 20th Street. Kent said he lived just past the closed area but was told he would have to go around via Park Avenue.

"I can't believe it. This is ridiculous," Kent said.

Traffic piled up at adjacent intersections as rush-hour commuters were forced to detour around the closure.

Some pedestrians, unable to reach their vehicles at a lot adjacent to the robot, decided to wait it out at a bar on 20th Street, asking uniformed officers to let them know when the road reopened.

A bomb-squad robot was sent to examine the troublesome robot. Then a bomb- squad officer, dressed in heavy protective gear, took a turn.

Murray said the bomb squad couldn't be sure whether the robot was safe, so the squad remotely detonated it about 5:30 p.m. to "render it safe." The robot exploded into several chunks.

"It was cemented in. That's odd," Murray said.

Murray said suspicious objects do not automatically warrant a call to the bomb squad if patrol officers are able to determine there is no threat. He said the robot was strange enough to warrant precautionary measures. In the end, it proved harmless.

"A whole lot of nothing," Murray said.

Police reopened 20th Street after they finished cleaning up the remains of the robot.

Murray said police have no leads on who put the robot there or why they did it.

Read more: 8-inch robot brings out bomb squad, wreaks rush-hour havoc - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16755220?source=rss#ixzz172gJxXyq
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16755220?source=rss

I honestly do worry about the direction society is heading in.

danniemcq · 03-12-2010 11:16am

Murray said police have no leads on who put the robot there or why they did it.

damn battery powered robots if only it was still plugged in they'd have plenty of leads

jester77 · 03-12-2010 11:19am

A bomb-squad robot was sent to examine the troublesome robot.

I would love to have heard that conversation!

General Zod · 03-12-2010 11:20am

Ridiculous. It's even spelt right in your article. C-.

bodice ripper · 03-12-2010 11:20am

seems like the ideal way to deal with Street Art, tbh

Raze_them_all · 03-12-2010 11:21am

American's doing something stupid and over the top......thats a new one

Cookie_Monster · 03-12-2010 11:25am

why didn't the cops just shoot it, that's what they normally do right? Or was it not a black robot

Mr Freeze · 03-12-2010 11:25am

In the article that robot looks like its photoshoped into the picture too.

hal9000 · 03-12-2010 11:26am

the dail is looking might suspicious these days, can we blow it up?? you know for safety reasons and all that

Duggy747 · 03-12-2010 11:26am

In this day and age I'd agree with the cops....

.....could've been a Terminator or a Decpeticon for all we know. :pac:

Kintarō Hattori · 03-12-2010 11:28am

General Zod wrote: »

Ridiculous. It's even spelt right in your article. C-.

Silly me.

diarmuid05 · 03-12-2010 11:29am

I wonder who did it? and why?

Seems like an over reaction by the police..... then again it could be someone testing police response times and protocols...

muckwarrior · 03-12-2010 11:32am

Looks like the terrorists have won.

biko · 03-12-2010 11:32am

Keep the people on their toes. Works every time.

Edit, Oh I forgot: Nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven, nine eleven

0verblood · 03-12-2010 11:32am

http://thecheesegrater.co.uk/suspicious-coin/

SV · 03-12-2010 11:34am

diarmuid05 wrote: »

I wonder who did it? and why?

Seems like an over reaction by the police..... then again it could be someone testing police response times and protocols...

It's. a. toy.

diarmuid05 · 03-12-2010 11:37am

Somebody took the time to mix cement and stick the robot in that position....

Practical joke probably.... but it's not something you do without thinking or by accident.

RMD · 03-12-2010 11:37am

Those silly Americans don't know how to live in fear.

I don't remember the Bomb squad being called out here or up in the North everytime they found a suspicious 8 inch tall robot. And we've had a fúck load more bombs to deal with. :pac:

Kimono-Girl · 03-12-2010 11:39am

didn't something similar happen recently with a childs toy left 'suspiciously' near a school????

Funkfield · 03-12-2010 11:41am

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

why didn't the cops just shoot it, that's what they normally do right? Or was it not a black robot

Denver police spokesman Matt Murray said a citizen called police at 3:27 p.m. to report the presence of the plastic, white, toy robot, cemented to the base of a pillar supporting a footbridge near 20th and Wazee streets.

03-12-2010 12:44pm

Johnny Five is Ali -- oh.

AnonymousPrime · 03-12-2010 12:50pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Johnny Five is Ali -- oh.

You bastard, you just beat me to an hilarious post!!!

DirtyBollox · 03-12-2010 1:32pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Some pedestrians, unable to reach their vehicles at a lot adjacent to the robot, decided to wait it out at a bar on 20th Street, asking uniformed officers to let them know when the road reopened.

i think thats the smartest thing any of them did. its what i would have done anyway. but i would have asked the cops to call me when they were about to blow it up so i could laugh at their stupidity.

DrumSteve · 03-12-2010 1:44pm

TBF to the cops what would have happened if it did turn out to be a bomb? Wouldn't be so ridiculous then.

Genghiz Cohen · 03-12-2010 2:11pm

DrumSteve wrote: »

TBF to the cops what would have happened if it did turn out to be a bomb? Wouldn't be so ridiculous then.

Just about to say that.
ETA is known to attaching tripwires to innocent objects.

Kintarō Hattori · 03-12-2010 2:17pm

DrumSteve wrote: »

TBF to the cops what would have happened if it did turn out to be a bomb? Wouldn't be so ridiculous then.

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Just about to say that.
ETA is known to attaching tripwires to innocent objects.

Street smarts- do you have any? What about common sense too?

bodice ripper · 03-12-2010 2:18pm

diarmuid05 wrote: »

Somebody took the time to mix cement and stick the robot in that position....

Practical joke probably.... but it's not something you do without thinking or by accident.

No really, I am certain this was a "street artist". this is the kind of crap they do. Find random ****e, glue it one or two places in town, then stand around the Bernard Shaw with each other talking about their work.

Genghiz Cohen · 03-12-2010 2:22pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Street smarts- do you have any? What about common sense too?

Are you saying that it wasn't a possibility? That the poilce should have fobbed it off?

DrumSteve · 03-12-2010 2:23pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Street smarts- do you have any? What about common sense too?

Nothing to do with street smarts or common sense at all.

it might look innocent but it could potentially be dangerous. Street smarts doesn't come into it.

Again I'm not saying it wasn't an overreaction but lets keep perspective here.

Kintarō Hattori · 03-12-2010 2:23pm

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Are you saying that it wasn't a possibility? That the poilce should have fobbed it off?

I think there has to be a certain level of cop on. While it COULD have been possible it was always likely not to be a bomb- which was the case.

03-12-2010 2:25pm

Unfortunately the cops were in the right here. As previously stated, ETA and under terrorist organisations have been known to use innocent looking objects. I believe that some actually used children's toys and left them around villages?

Kintarō Hattori · 03-12-2010 2:26pm

A lot of folk seem to overreact these days without displaying some restraint, cop-on, common sense, street smarts and so on. Just look at the woman who was hand frisked twice by the TSA while in a wheelchair and in her bra and panties.

Genghiz Cohen · 03-12-2010 2:38pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

A lot of folk seem to overreact these days without displaying some restraint, cop-on, common sense, street smarts and so on. Just look at the woman who was hand frisked twice by the TSA while in a wheelchair and in her bra and panties.

The police were probably following a strict protocol that has been developed over years to prevent loss of life and undue damage.
What would you have done differently?

iamstop · 03-12-2010 2:38pm

When I was living in Chicago they closed down an 'L' station for fear of anthrax. Turned out it was guacamole in the end. :cool:

:pac:

True story bro.

DrumSteve · 03-12-2010 2:45pm

iamstop wrote: »

When I was living in Chicago they closed down an 'L' station for fear of anthrax. Turned out it was guacamole in the end. :cool:

:pac:

True story bro.

Cool story bro.

03-12-2010 2:46pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

A lot of folk seem to overreact these days without displaying some restraint, cop-on, common sense, street smarts and so on. Just look at the woman who was hand frisked twice by the TSA while in a wheelchair and in her bra and panties.

Street smarts and common sense?

They are dealing with terrorists who fly planes into buildings, detonate carbombs in shopping districts, leave bombs in backpacks and packages, detonate children's toys.

Where's the common sense in that?

Yes, they were possibly a bit overboard with that, but there's a bit of a difference here.

muckwarrior · 03-12-2010 2:51pm

DrumSteve wrote: »

it might look innocent but it could potentially be dangerous.

So could a bag, a cardboard box, a parked car, a dustbin, a little old lady...

DrumSteve · 03-12-2010 3:03pm

muckwarrior wrote: »

So could a bag, a cardboard box, a parked car, a dustbin, a little old lady...

Aye a parked car could be dangerous... just ask people in Omagh.

CrazyRabbit · 03-12-2010 3:05pm

Just wait until they take prints and find the owner of the toy. Two years held without charge, tortured daily & then a "Ok, you're only 10 and we're confident you aren't a threat...you can go now".

muckwarrior · 03-12-2010 3:12pm

DrumSteve wrote: »

Aye a parked car could be dangerous... just ask people in Omagh.

Exactly, but we don't close a road and call the bomb squad every time we see a parked car. This is the kind of paranoia that terrorists set out to create. Like I said, when **** like this happens the terrorists have already won. Americans can't even get on a plane any more without being molested.

Genghiz Cohen · 03-12-2010 3:16pm

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

Just wait until they take prints and find the owner of the toy. Two years held without charge, tortured daily & then a "Ok, you're only 10 and we're confident you aren't a threat...you can go now".

I child couldn't have opened the bag of cement without scissors, and he would have needed an adults help. I smell a set-up!

I'm Sorry But This Is Ridiculous

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