Yesterday, there was a standoff involving a NYC-bound Greyhound bus in Portsmouth, NH after there were concerns there was a bomb on the bus. But, according to NECN, it was sparked by a "Burundi national whose" cellphone conversation was misunderstood by another passenger. "He refused to leave the bus and prolonged the standoff because he was scared."
Portsmouth Police Chief David Ferland told WMUR, "I do not know the reasons why he was nervous with police. He comes from a different country. We are trained to understand that people react differently. They have different backgrounds. They have different experiences with police officers. I would be speculating as to why he was -- I would categorize it as -- scared to come off that bus." The Burundi national, who was convinced by a family member to leave the bus, was not charged.
However, two people were arrested: 68-year-old John Smolens, of Maine, had refused to get off the bus during the evacuation and was eventually Tasered (twice) by police, and 29-year-old Calvin Segar, of Brooklyn, who gave a fake identity for fear that there were warrants out on him. The affidavit said, "Mr. Segar admitted he lied about his identification because he felt he was wanted by police for "riding my bike on the sidewalk...playing dice in the street...not paying a fine for when the police arrested me for smoking a blunt."
