Cooke Issues Statement About Chemical-Treated Signs

This is a press release from Branford citizen , after threat of being covered in a chemical called "Bird Gel."

After looking on the internet for a way to prevent people from stealing my signs, I ran across Georgia State Representative Brett Harrell's solution on a few sites. I called Rep. Harrell one night at his home to ask how it was done, and he explained the process along with a few anecdotes about its effectiveness. Thinking it was an accepted practice, and worth a try, I ordered the bird gel off of Amazon. (I didn’t use the fox urine). 

When it came in, I was a little concerned about warnings on the label so I called both the manufacturer and Yale-New Haven hospital poison control to see if it was in any way harmful to humans. Both said no and explained that the warnings were just a disclaimer put there to cover all bases. The woman I spoke with at Yale was named Carol and the last thing I asked her after a ten-minute conversation was, “So you’re definitely signing off on the safety of this, Carol?” to which she chuckled and replied “I’m definitely signing off on it.” 

This morning [yesterday], I put about twenty signs around town at locations where people had been stealing them and applied the bird gel around the perimeter as described by Rep.Harrell. Most of the signs were at intersections or crossroads. Other than hoping people would see the gel and leave the signs alone, I really didn’t think a whole lot more about it. 

This afternoon I received a call from Chief Hallorhan [of the Branford Police] saying that a few people were calling about the sticky stuff on the signs. He asked me if I had put it on, I said I did, and then explained the above sequence of events to him. I then went down to see Chief Halloran and Chief Ahern [of the Branford Fire Department] to explain the situation personally and bring them the product information the manufacturer had faxed me a few days earlier. 

The rest of the situation unfolded pretty quickly. I went around town and picked up a number of signs, then stopped by the police station again where I was met by Detective Tobin. He asked me to go get the rest of the signs, to bring in the rest of the bird gel, and to come back in an hour. He then took a statement from me and said it would be submitted to the state’s attorney for review for possible wreckless endangerment charges. 

I do apologize for the concern my actions have caused people, but I sincerely did the best I could to thoroughly research the situation and–other than sticky fingers–meant no harm. If I had not been categorically told by both State Rep. Harrell, the manufacturer, and Yale that the product was perfectly safe, I never would have used it.  

Should you have further questions or concerns, I ask that you call either police or fire headquarters for their assistance. I thank and commend them both for being ever vigilant concerning the health and safety of us all.

Statement by Wayne Cooke