Dateline: EnglandPolice in Swindon have apologized for disturbing neighbors after they used their police sirens to settle an important debate. The North Swindon Police were giving a “People Who Help Us” talk to students at Haydonleigh Primary School when staff and students told officers they had been debating whether the sirens on police cars make a “woo-woo” sound or a “nee-nah” sound. “That’s why we ended up setting off the sirens quite a bit,” PCSO Emma Harryman of the North Swindon Police told the BBC. In the end, students at Haydonleigh put it to a vote and decided “woo-woo” was the closest description of the police siren. Despite settling the age-old question, the police department did issue an apology for all those who “may have been disturbed by our sirens” on its Facebook page. The department also praised the “thoughtful” students and said officers “especially liked the suggestion that we should have police rhinos.”Dateline: GeorgiaPolice in the town of Roswell say a couple of burglary suspects chose a poor place to run and hide from officers—the police station. Roswell Police say three men are suspected in the burglary of a local drug store. An officer on patrol heard an alarm coming from the Wender and Roberts Pharmacy around 3:30am on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 16. The officer spotted three men wearing masks and gloves run from the business. One was quickly taken into custody, but two others ran from the scene. Authorities used a police dog to track the two fleeing suspects. The dog led them to the rear gate of the Roswell Police Department. The two men were apprehended and taken inside. Dateline: New JerseyAccording to The Times of Trenton, a 36-year-old man called in a fake bomb threat because he was too busy to go to court. Jermaine McCain was apprehend on Tuesday, Sept. 22, following a high-speed chase throughout Bucks County, Pa., that included crashes in Bensalem and Penndel. The Thursday before, McCain allegedly called 911 in Trenton and threatened to detonate an explosive at the Mercer County Criminal Courthouse. A detective familiar with the incident told The Times, the suspect later explained that he was not up to going to court, because he “had things to do.” Sheriff’s investigators linked McCain to the fake threat and found him evading law enforcement in Bucks County where the chase ensued. McCain is now being held at the Bucks County Jail in Doylestown, Pa., on charges of making a false public alarm, placing a 911 call without actual emergency and flight from justice.Dateline: New HampshireA motorist was so adamant about not getting his car towed that he set it on fire. Manchester Police Sgt. Chris Biron told The New Hampshire Union Leader officers were sent to an address around 7:43pm on Sunday, Sept. 20, to investigate a report of arson. Biron said the owner of an apartment building had called Dan’s City Towing to have an illegally parked car removed. After the car had been placed on a tow truck and lifted, the owner of the vehicle, identified as 40-year-old Shad Badeau, showed up. In order to prevent his car from being towed, Badeau set it on fire. The tow truck driver unhitched the burning vehicle and dropped it, at which time Badeau extinguished the blaze. Police and fire personnel arrived shortly thereafter. Badeau was arrested on a charge of arson. Police say additional charges are possible.Dateline: FloridaA South Florida college campus was placed on high alert after a “serial foot-sniffer” was spotted in the school library. The Florida International University Police Department told reporters the man had been crawling underneath tables at the FIU Library in an apparent bid to inhale the aroma of female students’ feet. The FIU Police Department said in a statement that it “takes these reports seriously and continues to investigate the matter.” The foot fetishist was photographed in mid-sniff by a student, and the picture was released to the public on Monday, Sept. 14. The man was described as being in his later 40s or early 50s, about 200 pounds and around 5-feet tall. He is bald with short, gray hair and a goatee. He was last seen driving a scooter. By Wednesday, Sept. 16, 52-year-old Eddy Juan, a registered sex offender with a rap sheet dating back to 1992, was taken into custody. He was arrested after a short scooter chase with Miami-Dade police officers. Juan is now charged with violation of sexual offender registration, fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, aggravated assault and resisting without violence.
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
