Ok lets change this context a bit so your looking at what took place in abstract. Simply put people in a major population center wake up to strange electronic devices placed all over the city in heavy populated area's. I personally have watched ATHF and would not have recognised the figure. The cops getting calls reguarding these devices and being told they are all over the city. Consider that 38 of these were placed overall according to that artical and if any one of them was a bomb considering they were on busy bridges and in subways I don't think it was a over reaction at all.

Its very easy to say after the fact that it was a harmless advertising scheme cooked up by a few students looking to make some extra cash. Honestly they should have contacted the police about it ahead of time instead of just doing this and considering it was bankrolled by Cartoon Network making turner broadcasting pay for is very reasonable. Remember they got a lot of press out of this and the only actual people being charged are those in Massachusetts.

Overall it was a reasonable reaction and if they had found a bomb then they would have been geniuses in foiling a terror plot.