WAPO was citing an older event:
“In December, a van without license plates parked in Times Square led police to block off part of the area for about two hours. A police robot examined the vehicle.
Clothes, racks and scarves were found inside”
Ah. That makes more sense. I plead late-hour impairment. I thought that was pretty egregious, even for the WaPo. Thanks for the clarificaton.