Westbrook police evacuated the Air Force recruiting office and neighboring businesses on Larrabee Road due to a bomb scare that proved to be false on Aug. 30.
Capt. Tom Roth of the Westbrook police said a company from Massachusetts that is banned from delivering to U.S. government buildings had called the recruiting office for directions at around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The recruiters weren’t expecting a delivery of office supplies and notified superiors, who told them the company was not authorized to deliver to government buildings. The Air Force told the local recruiters to evacuate the building.
Westbrook police ordered the entire block evacuated, including the nearby muffler shop, because of the possible threat. Police stopped the delivery vehicle across the street at 100 Larrabee Road. “We secured the driver and vehicle, a full response stop,” Roth said. “All signs they trained us for were there.”
Westbrook police notified the FBI, who began an investigation, Roth said, while the Maine State Police responded with a bomb-sniffing dog. Roth said the dog checked the vehicle and the building and found “nothing of concern.” The FBI refused to comment on the incident, although Westbrook Det. Sgt. Steve Lyons said he doubted the agency would conduct any investigation.
“There was no incendiary device or weapon,” said Lyons. “We just had to follow procedures and take precautions.”
Lyons said the delivery was legitimate and carried out by a company subcontracted by Massachusetts-based Eastern Connection, which is on a list banned from delivering to military facilities. According to the company’s website, Eastern Connection provides delivery services along the East Coast from Maine to Virginia. Attempts to reach the company were unsuccessful as of press time.
The driver, who was detained for about 45 minutes, was cooperative, according to Roth. At the same time, the block was evacuated for an hour. “Everyone in the neighboring businesses cooperated,” Roth said.
Roth said the delivery was legitimate and the response was required. “It was a methodical response to a suspicious incident,” Roth said. “It went smoothly and was a good training exercise if nothing else.”
Lyons said it was an uncommon incident in that police don’t usually have to evacuate businesses. He said it was more common immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, when people were nervous during mailings of anthrax. He did say police gets unfounded calls every week, but rarely something that requires action such as Tuesday’s incident.
“Initially after 9/11, we had to do a lot of different things,” said Lyons. “But what happened (Tuesday) was not something routine.”
Westbrook police were assisted at the scene by Westbrook Public Services, which cordoned off the parking lot and the area around the truck. Larrabee Road was not closed.
Staff Writer Robert Lowell contributed to this story
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