Calhoun County, AL – On December 9th, 2022, at approximately 6:00 pm a man later identified as, Douglas Allen Simpson, 55, entered the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office main building and demanded to speak with Sheriff Matthew Wade. Simpson appeared to be agitated and raised concerns with the staff working at the front desk. Sheriff Wade said, “That is when he stated that he had a bomb and then produced a device.”
All County staff immediately evacuated from the dispatch center and the front desk area and deputies were called in to assist. According to Sheriff Wade there are “procedures in place for this type of emergency and there was no disruption to the dispatching services for the patrol deputies or investigators.”
Deputies arrived on scene and were able to safely take Simpson into custody without further incident. Upon further inspection of the device, it was determined that it was not dangerous, nor did it contain any explosive materials. During the investigation it was determined that Simpson suffers from emotional problems which may have caused this type of behavior. Simpson was escorted to the jail side of the building and charged with Obstructing Government Operations and assigned a bond of $300.00. Sheriff Wade explained, “Due to the possible mental illness being one of the factors we did not feel the need to charge him with additional charges.
No one was injured during the incident.
