It is hard not to think the Florida education system is failing on many levels. Never mind the crazy man who says he runs a church based on hate, the “story” of the day is now about a stuffed animal that quickly became an anti-terror bomb-squad playground exercise.

Authorities blew up a stuffed pony — determined to be a “suspicious device” — after it was found outside a central Florida school. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office reported that the toy was found near the Waterbridge Elementary School Tuesday morning.

No one was allowed in or out of the building while bomb disposal experts destroyed the stuffed animal. It was ultimately deemed “non-threatening.”

No injuries were reported.

Was it possible to determine it to be non-suspicious or were the options limited? I mean was there an inherent bias in the risk model? Did anyone ask teachers and the children next door, for example, if a toy was recognized? Missing? Maybe the security orders went something like this:

• “Warning. This is the police. No one is allowed in or out of the building.”
• School Teacher: “Um, ok, but can you tell us why we are in lock down?”
• “There is a stuffed toy in the playground. We find that to be suspicious.”
• “Sally! How many times have I told you not to forget your toys?”
• “I’m sorry Ma’am that’s a good try but we can not take any more chances here. We are going to deploy a robot, which we have not had a chance to use yet. It will deploy highly toxic and destructive charges. This should only take a couple hours and totally be worth it. Have you ever blown up a stuffed toy? It’s amazing how stuff evaporates, ha ha, like…ahem, this is not for you to see. Please stay in a locked room with the children until our fun, I mean risk, has passed.”

Someone reported hanging wires and that was it for the pony?

I still remember that an innocent man, Jean Charles de Menezes, was shot in the head by UK police after hanging wires were reported from his coat in the London Tube.

That horrible tragedy of poor judgment and excessive use of force led to “new guidelines for dealing with the ‘spontaneous sighting of a suspected suicide bomber'”.

These new police and anti-terror guidelines have actually saved another man’s life, again falsely suspected to be a threat.

A security official said: “He had a very lucky escape. It’s also amazing that the member of the public who spotted him didn’t shout something out and cause a panic on the Tube.”

Interesting that the police commend the public for not over reacting. The pony was not so lucky.

Meanwhile back in Orlando real crimes go unsolved while a stuffed animal in a school playground becomes a test of certainty…

Yup, definitely just a toy pony.