Why would knowing that information be of use to you?

This investigation is ongoing, fluid, and filled with more questions than answers at this point. This isn't a television show - cops don't solve things in 60 minutes. These investigations can take months, if not years, before all the evidence that is collected is examined thoroughly. Not giving out information is the detective's best chance of weeding out people who want to take credit for something they didn't do. False leads could severely hamper an investigation. If the suspect screwed up something, giving out info just to satisfy the media and the curious could allow him to correct his mistake. Patience.

I understand how confusing this can be immediately following the events. If I understand the reports, and the media is correct, this is what happened:

Wells Fargo Bank gets a bomb threat and evacuates.
Police arrive and locate a suspicious object.
Police move object into bank next to Wells Fargo Bank.
Device detonates, killing bomb tech, police captain, injures police chief and two bank employees.

I am a retired police sergeant. I understand that I have the luxury of being a "Monday morning quarterback," but this is what cops do so that the next time this scenario occurs, people don't end up the same way. What I have to say will undoubtedly offend some of you who have already posted, and for that I apologize. I am not saying this to criticize any individuals involved, but as a "training aid" (if you will) for any other officers who may one day meet this situation, a critique of the decision-making is absolutely necessary.

I hope to heck the report that the device was moved to "get in out of the rain" was grossly inaccurate, because if it was, that's the first of what seem to be many bad decisions.

I've read an account (or perhaps heard on a TV clip) that the object was x-rayed and determined not to be a bomb. Perhaps I heard that incorrectly, and if I did, I apologize. However, x-raying a suspicious object only reveals certain things, and "not a bomb" isn't one of them. It would either be "conclusive" or "inconclusive" that the object IS a bomb. It would not be used to confirm a negative. If someone decided the x-ray concluded the object was NOT a bomb, that would be another bad decision.

Moving the object at all was another bad decision. Suspicious objects that are deemed inconclusive are detonated in place, usually by a shotgun round from the robot while everyone is at a safe distance. Not detonating or shooting the object where it was originally found was likely another bad decision.

Not evacuating the second bank of all employees BEFORE moving the device seems to be a grossly bad decision, no matter what other decisions, good or bad, were made. There is absolutely no excuse for putting civilians in harm's way.

I know of no good reason why a police chief and a police captain need to stand near the bomb, unless they are ordinance-trained. The expert is the bomb tech. At the time the bomb tech arrives, HE should be in charge. It's his life on the line if the thing goes off, and he's got the technical training in handling and neutralizing, so why are there commanders anywhere NEAR the object? Commanders need to set up command posts and direct the happenings from a safe distance. Generals no longer stand in front of the army before the attack because once they get killed, there's no longer anyone to make decisions. Police commanders direct from the safety of the command post so they don't become "part of the story" and can make decisions with an impassive eye. All police commanders get trained to know that's what they SHOULD do, yet few of them actually follow their training and I fear that is what happened here. With the State Police and the local police on scene, there's no need for a captain and a chief to be with the object but for one harsh reality - they wanted to see the object. I strongly suspect it was their curiosity that got them killed/injured. I've seen this hundreds of times, and done it myself even though I knew it was wrong. We all get the itch. Unfortunately, this itch combined with some apparently bad choices, led to tragic results. For that I'm truly sorry.

I hope the chief survives, and he looks at what happened with an objective critical eye so that the next incident will be done by the book and no one is needlessly injured, which is what I fear happened here. Throughout history, people have already died so that the lessons learned can be written in "the book," with the hope that those sacrificed taught those that survived. Why we continue to deviate from "the book" mystifies me. We cheapen the sacrifices of those who gave their lives to teach us something when we don't pay attention to those lessons.