By Tom Blakey

Transcript Staff Writer

Norman police said Thursday that an off-duty officer “should be commended” for his actions after a chance encounter with Joel Henry Hinrichs III at Ellison Feed and Seed last Thursday — two days before Hinrichs died after a bomb he allegedly built exploded as he sat on a bench about 100 yards from a packed Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Norman Police Lt. J.D. Younger, at an afternoon press conference arranged by police at city hall, said the unnamed officer became alerted because of the “suspicious context of the conversation” between Hinrichs and the store manager.

“He was asking the store manager about different types of fertilizer stocked by the store, and specifically, the amount of ammonium nitrate that each contained,” Younger said. The conversation concluded with the store manager refusing to sell any fertilizer to Hinrichs.

The officer followed Hinrichs outside the store, wrote down his vehicle’s tag number, called a police dispatcher and asked for the registration information.

Later that evening when the officer came on duty, he talked to a bomb squad officer about the incident and agreed to submit a written report to the police investigative bureau Monday, Younger said.

“Unfortunately, the incident that occurred Saturday was before the information could be forwarded to the investigative bureau by the officer,” he said.

When asked whether the officer could have done something to prevent the explosion, Younger said: “I think we’re fortunate to have an employee go that far. We don’t know what would have happened if the officer hadn’t been there.”

Ammonium nitrate was the primary ingredient in the 1995 Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing that killed 168 people.

Younger said there was “no indication of an immediate or imminent threat” when the officer encountered Hinrichs last Thursday.

“I think it’s important to note that it’s not a criminal activity to purchase ammonium nitrate fertilizer,” he said.

Younger said if Hinrichs had not died Saturday, the officer would have submitted a written report that eventually would have reached federal authorities.

The investigation into Saturday’s bombing is continuing, Younger said. The FBI is the lead investigative agency, he said.

Tom Blakey