Denver police bomb technicians rushed to the U.S. Mint this morning when a man passing the building left a walkie-talkie that security guards mistook for bomb.
The unidentified man and a friend were handcuffed and detained while a bomb technician in a green protective suit and helmet approached the walkie-talkie.
The bomb technician then withdrew as police tested the device by setting off an explosive “disrupter charge.” This verified the device was not a bomb.
“The bomb squad disrupted it. It was not a bomb. It was not an explosive device,” said U.S. Mint spokeswoman Ellen Casey.
The detained man said the walkie-talkie was his and that he’d been passing the Mint after an appointment across the street with a probation officer at the Denver district attorney’s building. He declined to give his name.
Authorities told him there had been a misunderstanding.
The bomb technicians finished their work within about 30 minutes, and Mint officials returned to a staff meeting.
