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Park Police Never Knew of Bomb

ATLANTA (AP) -- Since the caller who warned of a bomb in Centennial Olympic Park never stated exactly where it was in the 21-acre park, the threat wasn't relayed to authorities there, the police chief said Sunday.

Instead, the first priority was to secure the pay phone where the call was made, said Police Chief Beverly Harvard, explaining how her department responded to the 911 call early Saturday morning.

Police respond more quickly when they are told the exact location of a bomb, she said.

Harvard said the caller, who telephoned about 20 minutes before the bomb exploded at 1:27 a.m., hung up after merely saying there was a bomb in the park.

Officers patrolling the park were never told of the threat.

A stage hand at the park concert noticed the suspicious package and a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent was moving the crowd back when it exploded. The agent, Tom Davis, said Saturday he had been unaware of the 911 call.

One person was killed and 111 injured in the blast. Sixteen people remained hospitalized Sunday.

Harvard said that when a threat is called in from a pay telephone, officers secure the phone before a bomb squad is dispatched or street officers are notified.

``We are looking at protocol,'' she said, but did not elaborate on whether any changes in the procedure were likely.

``In this instance we received a call that was very general ... the caller stated there was a bomb in the park with no specific location being given at all and basically said you have 30 minutes and hung up,'' Harvard said.

Harvard said the police department has been receiving numerous calls with bomb threats since the Olympics began. The one that came in about 1:07 a.m. Saturday was handled according to normal procedures, she said.

``If a caller calls in and gives specifics as it relates to the location of a device, then certainly that would take precedence,'' she said. ``This call gave no specifics. A different protocol goes into place if there is very specific information given.

``It is dictated by what the caller says. You've got to keep in mind that we receive dozens of these calls,'' she said, adding that bomb threats have increased since Saturday. No further explosive devices have been found.

The FBI Sunday also maintained the incident was handled properly.

``The problem was specificity,'' said FBI spokesman David Tubbs.

Though the Atlanta Olympic organizing committee is not discussing publicly the investigation of the bombing, a top official Sunday offered general praise for the law enforcement response.

``It was a wonderful act of bravery and duty and I commend all of them and the leadership that they had,'' said A.D. Frazier, ACOG chief operating officer.