Police Notes: May 10

Suspicious package leads to evacuation of shopping center

City of Brookfield police are trying to find out who put a suspicious package in front of a military recruiter's office last week, causing the evacuation of a Bluemound Road shopping center.

Brookfield police responded to The Plaza shopping center, 17135 W. Bluemound Road, about 7:45 p.m. May 5 after a man left a suspicious package outside the door of the U.S. Government Recruiting Office.

Witnesses said the suspect - described as a white man in his 60s or 70s, 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, with a medium build, gray, thinning hair and dressed as a priest - left the box and fled the shopping center. The box was addressed to the commandant of the Marine Corps.

The shopping center was evacuated, as were some other nearby businesses, and the Milwaukee Police Department's bomb squad was called in to investigate.

The bomb squad X-rayed the box, which contained DVDs and pamphlets.

Police are still investigating the incident, and if they find the suspect, he could be charged with disorderly conduct, Brookfield Police Capt. Jim Adlam said.

Brookfield residents report phone scam targeting elderly

A telephone scam targeting senior citizens hasn't duped anybody in the city yet, Brookfield Police Capt. Jim Adlam said.

In the scam, which has become more prevalent in recent weeks, someone calls elderly residents pretending to be a grandson who has gotten into trouble. In some instances, the "grandson" needs money for car repairs or to get out of jail. Most of them say they are calling from somewhere outside the country, like Canada.

Adlam said that, so far, he has not heard of anyone in the city sending money to the fraudulent callers.

Police fielded four reports of such calls in the last week, but, Adlam said, the scam isn't just targeting Brookfield residents.

"That's happening all over," he said.