I'm in agreement with Balloon Juice that this should be filed under General Stupidity. I was an ardent hasher when I lived in Jakarta so of course I consider this to be completely ridiculous. If they had been arrested for public drunkeness - well, that would be understandable.
Link: New Haven Register - ‘White powder’ scare cost agencies $50G.
The cost of the public safety response
to Thursday’s "white powder" scare that closed the Ikea store on
Sargent Drive for four hours was more than $50,000, a city spokeswoman
said Monday. The incident drew dozens of New Haven and state police
officers, firefighters, health department workers, FBI agents and other
personnel from New Haven and neighboring communities, as well as
special equipment from the U.S. Postal Service’s Wallingford processing
center, which authorities say is the only place in the state that has
such equipment.
It prompted the evacuation of Ikea at about 5
p.m. and kept it closed until the next morning — but the "white powder"
turned out to be flour used to mark a running trail by local members of
the international Hash House Harriers running club.
The group holds runs with similar trails all over the world, including New York City, Washington, D.C., and Baghdad....
...On Friday,
Mayorga said officials were inclined to seek restitution from the two
"hashers" who were charged with a felony in the case. She said after a
meeting Monday on the case that no determination was made on whether to
seek restitution...
...Dr.
Daniel Salchow, 37, who is an ophthalmologist at Yale-New Haven
Hospital, and his sister, Dorothee Salchow, 31, a lawyer visiting from
Hamburg, Germany, both were charged with first-degree breach of peace,
a felony. Their lawyer, Michael Jefferson, has pointed out that the
charge applies when a defendant intentionally causes alarm or risk by
placing a material such as a hazardous substance in a public place...
