Police in upstate New York broke into a parked car to rescue what looked like an unresponsive elderly woman, who passersby feared had frozen to death.
But after smashing the window of the Subaru in Hudson around 8:30 a.m. on Friday, officers were relieved to find the “woman” was actually just an “extremely realistic” life-sized mannequin, reports the Albany Times Union.
The vehicle’s owner later returned and revealed he is a sales manager for a medical training aid manufacturer, and that the oxygen mask-wearing mannequin he’d strapped into the passenger seat is a CPR training device.
Hudson Police Department Chief L. Edward Moore said the vehicle’s unidentified owner wasn’t happy about the damage caused.
“It is my understanding that the owner was incredulous that we took action in this matter,” Moore said in a press release. “He apparently was quite vocal and vulgar to my sergeant.”
No charges have been filed in connection with the case, according to CBS New York. But Moore said he had a message for anyone else thinking of keeping mannequins inside their vehicles overnight.
“Just to clear the record, all citizens of Hudson should be put on notice that if you park your locked vehicle on the street on a sub-zero night with a life-size realistic mannequin seated in it, we will break your window,” he said.