Courthouse Annex Suspicious Letter

Ofc. Benjamin Maplethorpe

Friday, May 12, 2017 at 3:41 p.m.

Today at 11:45am, a city employee opened a letter addressed to the court. A white, powdery substance came out of the envelope and onto the employee. Three other employees were also nearby. The employees were sequestered and the office was closed off by Courthouse security and Spokane Police Department. The Spokane Fire Department Hazardous Materials team, United States Postal Inspectors and Federal Bureau of Investigation responded to investigate as well. Technicians from the Hazmat team tested the substance and determined it to be non-hazardous. The substance was preliminarily identified as writing correction fluid. The employees’ conditions were monitored during the incident and developed no symptoms consistent with a hazardous material.

The courthouse annex reopened at approximately 1410 hrs.

The Spokane Police would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding as the situation was worked out

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