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Police respond to burglary false alarm at Frisco’s Bank of the West

Alli Langley
alangley@summitdaily.com

Just after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30, a Bank of the West employee called for help.

The Frisco bank was on lockdown and a suspicious person was somewhere in the building, she told a dispatcher.

According to the incident report from the Summit County Communications Center, the employee hid behind a desk and reported hearing noises but not seeing anyone.



“Smells like a man,” she told the dispatcher, according to the report.

Officers from the Frisco, Dillon and Silverthorne police departments responded within three minutes, as did deputies with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.



About eight minutes later, a gray-haired man in a leather jacket and jeans came down the stairs outside the bank building.

Cass Dombrowski, 62, of Frisco, was leaving his law firm above the bank and didn’t think much of the flashing lights while walking to his car, but the officers weren’t sure whether he was a suspect.

“The cops, according to him, drew their guns on him,” said Judy Dombrowski, 59, Cass’ wife.

She said officers told him to put his hands above his head and kneel, and they checked his pockets and driver’s license before letting him go.

“It was freezing last night,” she said, describing the low temperature as being below zero degrees. “It’s just not something that you expect to happen when you’re walking out of work.”

The officers scanned the building and checked out several more people inside before clearing the building at 5:33 p.m. They declared the situation a false alarm at 5:55 p.m., the report said.

Bank employees declined to comment on the incident, citing company policy.


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