N.J. Man Says He Was Jeered At For Pointing Out Suspicious Bag On Bus

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A bus passenger from New Jersey tried to do the right thing and report a suspicious unattended bag on board to police.

But as CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported, the response he got from his fellow passengers was not what you might think.

We've all seen the signs saying, "If you see something, say something."

"Since 9/11, I keep my eyes open," said John Heinlein of North Bergen, New Jersey.

And that was exactly what Heinlein did when he saw a suspicious passenger leave a large bag behind on a bus trip from South Carolina to New York this month.

He called police.

"And they're like, 'Yeah, what do you want me to do about it?'" he said. "And I'm like: 'Wait a minute, what? There's a bag on the bus and the guy's not on the bus. I want the bag off the bus.'"

But fearing delays, Heinlein said the other passengers turned on him – heckling the 47-year-old construction worker.

"Now everybody's saying they got a bomb, and the guy says, 'Oh, tap your heels together three times and we're going to blow up!'" he said.

Heinlein said the General Bus Company driver even threatened to fight him.

After several 911 calls, Heinlein said finally, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police pulled the bus over at the Holland Tunnel. For about 20 minutes, they used bomb sniffing dogs.

The suspicious bag had no explosives in it -- just illegal untaxed cigarettes.

Still, people who spoke to CBS2 outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal thought Heinlein did the right thing.

"I think the entire bus was out of line on jumping on the bandwagon," said Lara Richli of Manhattan.

"I would have called police," said Levan Blackwell of Manhattan.

Heinlein's message is, "Take 20 minutes out of your life to make sure if you see something say something."

He said he would do it all over again.

New Jersey State Police said they are looking into how Heinlein's 911 calls were handled during the bus trip.