Many young Bostonians think city overreacted

updated 8:10 p.m. ET Feb. 1, 2007

BOSTON - In nine cities across the country, blinking electronic signs displaying a profane, boxy-looking cartoon character caused barely a stir.

But in Boston, the signs — some with protruding wires — sent a wave of panic across the city, bringing out bomb squads and prompting officials to shut down highways, bridges and part of the Charles River.

Something that may have been amusing in other cities was not funny to authorities here, the city that served as the base for the hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. Officials defended their reaction Thursday even as two men charged in the case, and some residents, mocked the response as overblown.

Young Bostonians familiar with the unconventional marketing tactics used by many companies tended to see the city’s reaction as unmitigated hysteria.

Tracy O’Connor, 34, a retail manager, called the police response “silly and insane,” contrasting it with that in other cities where no one reported concerns about the devices — an advertising gimmick for the Cartoon Network show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

“We’re the laughingstock,” she said.

Public safety officials and a large segment of Boston’s older generation condemned the publicity campaign as unthinkable in today’s post-9/11 world.

Official defends reaction
“Just a little over a mile away from the placement of the first device, a group of terrorists boarded airplanes and launched an attack on New York City,” police Commissioner Edward Davis said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“The city clearly did not overreact. Had we taken any other steps, we would have been endangering the public,” he said.

Davis said that as calls were coming in about the electronic signs in rapid succession Wednesday afternoon, police also received reports of two devices that resembled pipe bombs and had a confirmed report of a man walking down the hallways of New England Medical Center making a rambling speech about “God getting us today” and “This would be a sorry day.”

Davis, who took his job in December, said he didn’t know of any calls coming in to the Boston 911 line.

Officials found 38 blinking electronic signs on bridges, a subway station, a hospital, Fenway Park and other high-profile spots in and around the city.

In New York, officers went to the various locations and found only two of the devices — both attached to a highway overpass. Police said it did not appear any landmarks such as the subway, Empire State Building or Brooklyn Bridge were targeted.

“People can be smug and say all you have to do is look at this and know this is not an explosive device, but the truth of the matter is that you can’t tell what it is until it’s disrupted,” Davis said.

Officials have vowed to hold responsible Turner Broadcasting Inc., the parent company of the Cartoon Network, which airs the series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball.

Two men who authorities say were paid to place the devices around the city pleaded not guilty Thursday to placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct. Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, were released on $2,500 cash bond — apparently amused by the situation, even though they face up to five years in prison.

They met reporters and TV cameras and launched into a nonsensical discussion of hairstyles of the 1970s. As they walked off, Berdovsky gave a more serious comment.

“We need some time to really sort things out and, you know, figure out our response to this situation in other ways than talking about hair,” Berdovsky said.

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