Johnson County bomb squad sees increase in calls

IOWA CITY - A spate of calls in recent weeks has kept the Johnson County Metro Bomb Squad busy.

Doug Roling, an Iowa City police officer and member of the bomb squad since 2007, said the team has responded to two suspicious packages, two unattended bags and at least three bomb threats in the last month or so. Roling said the team typically averages 10 to 12 calls a year.

'This year will be an exceptional year,” he said.

Made up of representatives from Johnson County's law enforcement agencies, including the University of Iowa's three explosive detection K9s, the bomb squad responds to reports of suspicious packages, bomb threats and other calls that require their expertise. Two of their calls in August brought them to the University of Iowa campus for suspicious packages. On Aug. 17, the team responded to the Main Library for a suspicious package that turned out to be an empty suitcase.

A week later, the team was called when a backpack was left in the Jessup Hall office suite of the University of Iowa president. The incident prompted a lockdown on the first day of classes.

Roling said while these incidents often turn out to be nothing, they have to treat every call and every suspicious package like it's a dangerous device.

'We're required to respond in a manner in which we train for safety reasons,” he said. 'We would be putting ourselves in danger should it happen to be (an explosive).”

While there has been an uptick in calls lately, Roling said that's likely just a coincidence. That calls have ramped up at the beginning of the UI semester is not surprising either, Roling said.

'I think, historically, you'd see more calls this time of year,” he said. 'It's because the population of the city has grown (with the return of students).”

Roling said about 50 percent of their calls are from people who are legitimately concerned about an unattended or suspicious package and the rest are people perpetrating a hoax.

'The folks that are deliberately doing this are having some instability ... rather than purposely trying to harm people,” he said.

The bomb squad will continue to be busy throughout the fall. The team performs sweeps of Kinnick Stadium before each University of Iowa home football game.