MOUNT Gambier Police have urged the community to “be alert, but not alarmed” about potential terror threats in the Blue Lake city.
This follows police being called to the Mount Gambier Railway Lands on Sunday following a mistaken report of suspicious behaviour by a Mount Gambier man working out in a weight training vest.
Setio Shanahan – a resident of Mount Gambier for 36 years – was going about his normal Sunday morning exercise routine when the situation unfolded.
While phoning his biological family in Indonesia to show them the beauty of Mount Gambier, an anonymous passer-by had contacted police to report him for “acting strangely on the popular walking trail”.
“I was training in a 50kg weight vest and in the process of walking and showing the wonderful transformation of this beautiful naturalistic place to my family,” Mr Shanahan said.
“I was moving my phone around because I was excited, so maybe to this person I looked like I was scanning the area.”
A short time later, Mr Shanahan noticed a police car doing a lap of the block and eventually stopping adjacent to The Rail.
The police officer approached Mr Shanahan who initially thought he might be returning a set of car keys that he had recently lost.
“He reached over and touched me on my shoulder and said ‘oh this is a weight vest,'” Mr Shanhan said.
“Due to the calmness and professional humanistic touch of the police officer, I just calmly responded ‘yeah, why’s that?'”
He said the officer explained the report that had been made, which left him and his friend quite taken aback.
“I could see that this could have really gone pear-shaped quickly, but I just explained they must have had the wrong perception of me,” he said.
When a second officer approached him from behind, he realised the nature of the report that had been made.
“I was fixated to his jingling handcuffs and the noticed another police car with it’s lights on,” he said.
“Fortunately, both officers handled the situation very well and we were able to laugh it off.”
“It was not until I got back into my car and thought about what would have happened if I lived somewhere else in the world or if those officers were rude and rubbed me up the wrong way.”
On reflection, Mr Shanahan believed the misunderstanding was borne out of the fear associated with the current world we live in.
“There is clearly a lot of anxiety with this new world we have moved into where things can go wrong,” he said.
Despite the mistaken nature of the report, Limestone Coast Police officer in charge Superintendent Phil Hoff thanked members of the community for bringing odd behaviour to their attention.
“This was obviously a little out of the ordinary, but at least we were able to go there and establish there was nothing untoward,” Supt Hoff said.
“The reality is, world events have dictated the way we respond to these kind of reports.”
Supt Hoff reminded the community the current terrorism threat level in Australia is probable.
Credible intelligence, assessed by security agencies, indicates individuals or groups continue to possess the intent and capability to conduct a terrorist attack in Australia.
“However, we live in a very safe city in Mount Gambier and there is no information that a terrorist event is likely anywhere in the Limestone Coast,” Supt Hoff said.
“It does not mean we are excluded from that threat, you only have to look at the recent event in Christchurch, which is also considered a very safe place.”
The public should continue to exercise caution and report any suspicious incidents to the National Security Hotline by calling 1800 123 400.
“Be alert, but not alarmed,” Supt Hoff finished.
