Small drone prompts evacuation at Paterson federal building, officials say

Noah Cohen

PATERSON — A small drone was found on the roof of the Robert A. Roe federal building Wednesday, leading to a brief evacuation of the facility, officials said

Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said the agency’s bomb squad responded to the building around 5 p.m.

“I want to commend the members of the sheriff’s office for spotting the toy drone,” Berdnik said. “The toy was deemed safe by the sheriff’s bomb squad and the building was deemed safe to occupy.”

The remote control drone was “very small,” said Robert Sperling, spokesman for the Federal Protective Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that handles security at federal facilities.

The building was cleared for no longer than 30 minutes as a precaution, the spokesman added.

Authorities stressed that the small drone posed no threat.

Sperling said it was too early to say if any charges were possible in connection with the incident.

http://www.nj.com/passaic-county/index.ssf/2015/12/toy_prompts_evacuation_at_paterson_federal_buildin.html