Sonic boom hampers police headquarters

As the space shuttle Discovery cruised over Manatee County on its way to the landing strip at Kennedy Space Center, it caused a sonic boom that could be heard from Sarasota County to Tampa Bay.

Aside from rattling some windows and some nerves, it may have had unintended consequences at Sarasota Police Headquarters.

Shortly after the boom was heard, the elevators stopped working properly, the parking garage gate would not open to allow people inside and employee card readers would not open doors on the first floor.

Officers and civilian employees were taking the stairs in the six-floor building.

One was overheard telling another officer: “These stairs haven’t been used this much in months.”

And when referring to the fact that the garage door wouldn't open, some employees were jokingly calling the headquarters building “The Hotel California.”

The famous Eagles’ song contains the lyrics: “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.”

A technician is working on the problems, but there's no estimate on when they may be corrected.

Contact Robin Roy at [email protected].