Cops arrest men they say were filming bridge (Detroit)

The Detroit Free Press ^ | April 21, 2003 | BY BEN SCHMITT

[Portnoy]

Two Dearborn men were arrested late Sunday after police said they caught them videotaping the Ambassador Bridge and found two quarter-sticks of dynamite and several shotgun shells in their car.

Patrol officers from the Third (Vernor) Precinct spotted the men during a routine patrol about 10 p.m., said Officer Bernadette Najor, a police spokeswoman. The men, who weren't identified, were taken into custody and were being questioned by the FBI, Najor said.

"Even though the homeland security level has been lowered, we're still patrolling our borders, and we're not taking any chances with our city," Najor said. The men were arrested on Vernor Street at 25th Street, but traffic on the bridge was not affected, according to reports on the bridge's official Web site.

Two private security guards, one with a gun drawn, approached a Free Press photographer near the bridge shortly after the arrests. One ordered him out of the area, saying there had been a bomb threat and "we're on edge tonight."

Police were holding the Arab-American men, ages 26 and 30, on a charge of possessing a dangerous weapon, a felony, because officers found a collapsible baton inside the car, a 2001 Cadillac. The baton is similar to the type carried by police.

Police were still evaluating whether further charges should be brought against the men for carrying the dynamite. Najor said two quarter-sticks of dynamite is a very small amount. A quarter-stick of dynamite has enough power to destroy a watermelon and has been banned since 1966, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The men had photographs of immigration papers, which were turned over to the FBI. Najor said they also had a hand-held audio tape recorder with the video camera. Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said he was unaware of Sunday's arrests, but cautioned that people should not guess the intentions of the men.

"We should not rush to judgment. We should learn more facts first," he said. "Let's give the investigators time to proceed. I urge people not to jump the gun." The Ambassador Bridge is the nation's busiest international border crossing, with about 10 million vehicle crossing every year. The bridge handles about 25 percent of all trade traffic between the United States and Canada.

The 9,200-foot-long bridge was opened in November 1929, just 21 days before Wall Street collapsed and the Great Depression began

[Portnoy]

Just last month, three 20-something Dearborn-ites were questioned because they were parked in front of the Detroit Water Treatment plant "reminiscing" about High School at 3 am in the morning, with a laptop.

Now this...

[OpusatFR]

"We should not rush to judgment. We should learn more facts first.."

Since when is carrying dynamite in your vehicle a new accessory? GM or Ford making extreme road rage kits under the back seat an option or something?

[Stopislamnow]

Dearbornistan alert!

[steplock]

"A quarter-stick of dynamite has enough power to destroy a watermelon "

This sounds like they had some of those "dreaded fireworks" called "AshCans"! NOT dynamite. Now since the leftists liberals banned all the fireworks from most cities,I suppose what they really want to do is ban the 4th of July altogether??

[Kenton]

Another name for those "quarter-pound sticks of dynamite" is the "M-100", a bigger version of the M-80 jumbo firecracker we all grew up blowing out fingers off with... ;)

[Growler]

Back in the 70's we used to buy what the locals called "M-80's" but what were in fact quarter sticks of dynamite with 3 second fuses. They would blow small craters in blacktop - or your hand clear off. But a few quarter sticks aren't going to bring a bridge down.

And why are the shotgun shells even mentioned? Heck, I have a full box of 3" #6 shells in my truck right now (its Spring Gobbler season in VA).

[RaceBannon]

major bump

[RaceBannon]

heads up

[ewing]

Yes, by all means the religion of pieces followers were celebrating the victory over Iraq by exploding dynamite..

[Cultural Jihad]

Two Dearborn men were arrested late Sunday after police said they caught them videotaping the Ambassador Bridge and found two quarter-sticks of dynamite and several shotgun shells in their car.

Exile these '1st and 2nd Amendment supporters' to Hollywood, where sedition and terrorism are protected rights!

[BSunday]

"We should not rush to judgment. We should learn more facts wait until they blow something up first,"

[LurkedLongEnough]

Arab-American men, ages 26 and 30...

Next words out of their attorneys' mouths: "I would like to bring charges against the Detroit Free Press for 'racial profiling' of my client..."

They could do this in New Jersey, could they do it in Michigan?

[dead]

I'm glad they're following up on this, but the "quarter sticks of dynamite" thing is meant to sound really scary, though it's not.

I can tell you, from my experiences as a delinquint 15-year-old, that a "quarter stick of dynamite" won't even blow apart a mailbox, let alone take down a bridge.

[doug from upland]

It was an innocent mistake. They thought the sticks of dynamite were road flares.

[Search4Truth]

The terrorists are gearing up for an attack right before the election, in order to get their allies the Left back in power.

[truenospinzone]

You can buy a "quarter-stick of dynamite" at any roadside fireworks stand in the country. Fifty of them wouldn't be enough to bring down a large bridge. And shotgun shells? Sorry, but so far this sounds a lot like "manure plus gasoline in your garage = bomb-making materials". I know it's easier to jump to conclusions than to slow down and actually look at the situation, but let's try to be a little patient here before we start screaming "Jihad!".

[Colorado Doug]

I can tell you, from my experiences as a delinquint 15-year-old, that a "quarter stick of dynamite" won't even blow apart a mailbox, let alone take down a bridge.

Dynamite is rarely used by itself. More often, dynamite is used as a booster to initiate anfo or some other blast agent. The small quantity should not be discounted for this reason. Without dynamite or some other energetic booster, anfo will just burn. I doubt that the dynamite found was just left over from their celebration of Eid. There are different kinds of "dynamite" also. Some mixtures can produce velocities of 30,000 plus feet per second and a "quarter stick" can produce quite a wallop.

[PatrioticAmerican]

" two quarter-sticks of dynamite "

As though that would doom a bridge.

[libertysdaughter]

Dearbornistan? LOL :D

[libertysdaughter]

In Michigan, near Detroit? :P You're kidding, right? 'Course Detroit currently looks just like Baghdad AFTER the Coalition came through. Maybe those Dearbornites were just lost.