Incident Summary:
10/28/1970: Suspected revolutionary leftists bombed a police car parked at the Whitefish Bay Police Station in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, United States. The blast was coordinated to go off during the middle of a shift change, however there were no casualties. Two police cars were damaged in the attack. This incident was believed to be linked to the many bombings in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area during this time period.
Overview
GTD ID:
197010280002
When:
1970-10-28
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Wisconsin
City:
Whitefish Bay
Location Details:
5300 North Marlborough Drive
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Police |
Name of Entity |
Whitefish Bay Police Department |
Specific Description |
Whitefish Bay police car |
Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Explosives |
Time Fuse |
Weapon Details |
Six inch pipe bomb consisting of black power and connected to a pocket watch |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Additional Information |
Authorities were unsure whether the pipe bomb was placed under a pile of leaves or attached under the gas tank of the vehicle. Authorities linked the bomb used in this incident with the attempted bombing at Likeside Laboratories in Milwaukee Wisconsin on September 4th (197009040004). Both bombs were built according to an instruction manual circulated by revolutionaries. The Whitefish Bay Chief of Police believed that this incident might also be linked with bombs discovered at Whitefish Bay State Bank, Honeywell Inc. and the Wisconsin Motor Division (197006290002, 197007000001, and 197008050001). There were other bombings in the Milwaukee area during this time period as well (197012220001, 197007220002, and 197007210004). |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
Left-Wing Militants |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Alex P. Dobish, "Bay Offers $2,500 Reward for Squad Car Bomber," Milwaukee Journal, November 3, 1970. |
Edward S. Kerstein, "Bomb Demolishes Police Car in Bay," Milwaukee Journal, October 28, 1970. |
"2 Bombs Tied to Rebel Manual," Milwaukee Journal, November 2, 1970. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties