Agencies Close Berlin Park To Investigate Packages Ultimately Deemed Harmless

Agencies Close Berlin Park To Investigate Packages Ultimately Deemed Harmless
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BERLIN – Multiple agencies investigated suspicious packages found in a Berlin park yesterday, concluding eventually they were makeshift weights used for exercising.

Stephen Decatur Park was closed for about three hours Thursday to allow the Berlin Police Department (BPD), Berlin Fire Company, Ocean City Bomb Squad and the Worcester County Fire Marshal’s Office to evaluate suspicious containers found by public works crews while cutting grass.

Arriving officers interviewed the town employees who reported finding two “steel military ammunition cans” at the park that were not easily moved due to their weight.

“The Berlin Police Department contacted the Worcester County Fire Marshal office who responded to the scene,” according to a press release from the BPD.  “The decision was made due to an abundance of caution to have the cans x-rayed before any responder would investigate further.  The Ocean City Bomb Squad responded and assessed the situation. A robot was utilized to access the two suspicious containers.  The two cans were scanned with a portable x-ray device. The results of the scans prompted further investigation by bomb squad personnel protected by a blast resistive suit.”

The probe ultimately resulted in the determination the two containers were full of a clay soil and were being used in strength training exercises in the park. It was concluded the containers were inadvertently left behind. The park was closed from 12:53 p.m. Thursday to 3:32 p.m., according to town officials.

About The Author: Steven Green

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The writer has been with The Dispatch in various capacities since 1995, including serving as editor and publisher since 2004. His previous titles were managing editor, staff writer, sports editor, sales account manager and copy editor. Growing up in Salisbury before moving to Berlin, Green graduated from Worcester Preparatory School in 1993 and graduated from Loyola University Baltimore in 1997 with degrees in Communications (journalism concentration) and Political Science.