The Orland Park Police Department shut down its lobby and front parking lot for about an hour last week after someone carried a non-functioning military grenade into the building.
Cmdr. John Keating said a brother and sister who had been cleaning out their deceased father's Orland Park home came across the grenade and were seeking assistance from the police on how to get rid of it.
"They drove it to the station here and brought it into the front lobby because they wanted us to dispose of it," he said.
Officers immediately removed the grenade from the lobby and took it outside. Since they were still unsure if it was functioning, they placed the grenade inside the vehicle belonging to the person who brought it in to keep the wind from activating it.
The police department itself was not shut down, but the front parking lot where the car was parked and the visitor's lobby were closed for about an hour until the Cook County Sheriff's Office Bomb Squad arrived, Keating said.
"The bomb squad responded and determined that it was a non-functioning military grenade," he said.
The father of the man who brought the grenade to the police station served in the Army during WWII, Keating said, adding it's not uncommon for veterans to keep nonfunctioning grenades as souvenirs.
The Jan. 24 incident ended well, but Keating said he would advise against transporting any such items as a safety precaution.
"If they do come upon what appears to be a grenade and it's unknown if it's nonfunctioning, I wouldn't recommend them moving it, touching it, or transporting it to the police station."
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