Police: Series of Misunderstandings Leads to Bank Robbery Scare

A series of misunderstandings led a bank teller to activate a silent alarm at a Main Street Chase on Tuesday, resulting in a large police response until things were sorted out.

The chain of events started at 1 p.m., when a 38-year-old Port Chester man walked into the and handed a teller a withdrawal slip. The man had mistakenly written $7 on the slip instead of $700, and in the corner of the slip "he request certain denominations which added up to $700," Lt. James Ladeairous said.

When the teller handed the man $7 and he began arguing with her, she activated a silent alarm, mistaking the extra numbers on the withdrawal slip with a demand for more cash.

"He goes into the bank all the time and all the tellers know him, but it happened to be a new teller," Ladeairous said.

The man walked out, unaware of the silent alarm, and police descended on the bank along with units and a K9 from other agencies.

After taking statements from the teller and witnesses, police realized there had been a misunderstanding. Detectives were familiar with the bank customer, who is a longtime Port Chester resident, and took a statement from him.

After all was said and done, the misunderstandings were cleared up, no charges were filed, and the customer got his $700. Police say they don't mind the mix-up.

"It's better to be safe than sorry," Ladeairous said.

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