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At around 8 p.m. last Thursday, the Blacksburg Police Department taped off the area in front of Sharkey’s and the Cellar for about four hours. A suspicious briefcase was spotted sitting on top of a trash can.
According to Blacksburg police Lt. Steve Taylor, a briefcase left on top of a trash can was brought to the attention of police by a citizen.
The intersection in front of The Cellar restaurant was cordoned off as a precautionary measure, he said.
The briefcase was found to be empty, Taylor said, and police have reason to believe “that it was simply discarded.”
A version of this article appeared in the Jun 23 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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i before e, except after c, or when sounded like 'a' as in neighbor or weigh
Also, "The Cellar" might appreciate some consistency in the capitalization of their business name.
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It was on top of a trash can after all. I mean, it doesn't hurt to check to be safe but to take 4 hours to check it when the odds are 1 to a million its a bomb in Blacksburg? Well, I guess summers are slow around here for police anyway.
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A bomb dog had to be brought in. VSP Wytheville has one I believe. That takes time. Every bomb threat or otherwise must be taken seriously. If anything were to happen, the police department would be liable.
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ever heard of sovereign immunity?
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Here is a novel idea: get rid of the dozen druf-sniffing dogs that screw us over by throwing non-violent criminals in prison, and get some bomb dogs instead. Focus on real crimes and real threats. Of course, busting everyone for drugs makes them money and keeping us safe does not. So don't expect them to follow my advice.
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There is no such thing as sovereign immunity. WE are the sovereigns. Do we get immunity? No way. Our servants are the ones who get immunity. So please call it what it is: servant immunity.
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The VTPD have a bomb dog. I don't think that was the delay.
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"the odds are 1 to a million its a bomb in Blacksburg" That is the weakest argument I could imagine. I'm sure the odds were '1 to a million' that April 16 would happen on campus and the administration is still paying the price for not handling it appropriately. I would prefer caution at any time over disregard for safety.
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The briefcase was found to be empty, Taylor said, and police have reason to believe “that it was simply discarded.
-What I mean was given the circumstances (placed on a trash can) the odds were low that it was anything other than trash. Otherwise we should check all trash for bombs. Although I do admit discarding a briefcase at a public trash bin is a little unusual, why would a bomb be placed in the trash unless the goal was to go unnoticed or blow up the trash can. However It would have been even more suspicious(bomb like) if it were placed upright in the middle of the sidewalk, asking for someone to touch it.
No harm done though as long as a lot of tax dollars weren't wasted, better safe than sorry.
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Had a good time watching this all go down from the 2nd floor of the Hokie House. Guy came out in a full 'Hurt Locker'-esque bomb suit to check the briefcase out before carrying it away.
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