Why we like living in Bellingham!

COPTERS! POLICE! SWAT TEAMS!
from the Bellingham Herald May 24, 2007:

"BELLINGHAM -- A major police action turned out to be a case of mistaken identity this morning, when a man reported to be carrying an assault rifle was instead carrying a prosthetic leg to a medical office building.

Police barricaded several blocks near downtown Bellingham after a woman called 911 to report that she saw a man enter the Chestnut Professional Building with what she thought was a rifle.

The building in the 800 block of East Chestnut Street, near the south campus of St. Joseph Hospital, was locked down and police conducted a floor-by-floor search.

When no suspect was found, police evacuated the building and the woman who reported the incident spotted the office worker who had carried the prosthetic leg.

"Everyone did everything right ... they allowed us to do our job," said Deputy Chief David Doll of Bellingham Police Department. "Like we hoped, it turned out go be a good situation today."

The building houses offices for Whatcom Alliance for Healthcare Access, St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and Whatcom Hospice Foundation, among others.

The incident shut down several blocks around the building as officers from Bellingham Police, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, Western Washington University Police and Washington State Patrol responded to the scene. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter patrolled the area to check the building's rooftop.

St. Joseph's patients in the south campus area were moved to a safe location, said Nicci Noteboom, St. Joseph's spokeswoman.

Patients in the south campus area are there for in-patient rehabilitation, out-patient physical therapy and behavioral health services, she added."