>>...the mark of a rank amateur.

Everyone was an amateur at one point... why pick on the officer?  I give lots of credit to the NYPD for getting an officer trained in bee handling.

>>Another clue was that he wore a full bee suit...

In the attached photo the veil is off though. :)

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:V-shOPX1NyoJ:www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp%3Fstid%3D1%26aid%3D82056+honey+bee+swarm+Bronx&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

So does that make the officer a pro now?  Hardly.  You can get a swarm of AHB up north, too.  AHB can be defensive even in a swarm cluster.  

Also, this could have been a colony in the wall and the bees may have been a bee beard around the entrance.  Police are trained not to take unnecessary chances on the beat and they should take proper precautions with what is perceived as docile swarms.  

>>...no attempt made to do any "public relations" and/or reassure the civilians that the bees were not a public safety issue.

Didn't you don a veil for the Fox News camera recently?  That surely did not send a reassuring message to the uninformed public. :o)

>>I played nice for the TV camera... but what I was thinking was "What a buffoon this guy was to make such a sloppy job..."

Sounds like hypocrisy to me.  What I was thinking as I read the story: ''What if this swarm had issued from a nearby managed hive in the Bronx Zoo?  I hope a beekeeper negligent in swarm prevetion/control did not cause the unsuspecting public unnecessary alarm...''  Would harm good public relations.  It would be interesting to ask officer Palankas if there was a marked queen... :))

Waldemar

****************************************************
* General Information About BEE-L is available at: *
* http://www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/default.htm   *
****************************************************