• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • Do you know your emotional intelligence?
      Addressing racism in the workplace
      Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
      Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
      Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Addressing racism in the workplace
        Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
        Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
        Leaders — the good, the bad and the horrible
    • Editor’s Picks
      • The future is here
        A winding road
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        “Hold my beer”
    • On the Job
      • A winding road
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        I brought home a dog
        Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
        Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
    • Labor
      • LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
        Racing with a purpose
        Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
        Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
        Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
    • Tech
      • The future is here
        How local police departments can combat cybercrime
        Your website is your front desk
        Telegram investigations
        Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
    • Training
      • Using critical thinking to crack the case
        Navigating cultural and language barriers
        Why you should pocket carry
        The future is here
        Training for tomorrow
    • Policy
      • Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
        California makes police misconduct records publicly available
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        No degree, no badge?
        Mobs on wheels
    • Health/Wellness
      • When knowing isn’t enough
        The mindfulness practice of conscious awareness to enhance resilience
        “Hold my beer”
        When empathy backfires
        Navigating retirement
    • Community
      • A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
        Turning over a new leaf
        Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
        An unexpected reunion
    • Offbeat
      • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
        Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
    • We Remember
      • Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        Team Romeo
        National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
        What’s with the white chairs?
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • A winding road
      Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
      I brought home a dog
      Six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist organizations
      Police chief: Officers likely prevented further violence in Minnesota...
  • Labor
    • LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
      Racing with a purpose
      Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
      Small Texas town left without a police force after firing its last...
      Port Authority Police Department welcomes 71 new officers
  • Tech
    • The future is here
      How local police departments can combat cybercrime
      Your website is your front desk
      Telegram investigations
      Florida sheriff’s office deploys cutting-edge forensic tool to...
  • Training
    • Using critical thinking to crack the case
      Navigating cultural and language barriers
      Why you should pocket carry
      The future is here
      Training for tomorrow
  • Policy
    • Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
      California makes police misconduct records publicly available
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      No degree, no badge?
      Mobs on wheels
  • Health/Wellness
    • When knowing isn’t enough
      The mindfulness practice of conscious awareness to enhance resilience
      “Hold my beer”
      When empathy backfires
      Navigating retirement
  • Community
    • A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
      Turning over a new leaf
      Bridging the Gap Between Cops and Kids
      An unexpected reunion
  • Offbeat
    • Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
      Durango, Colorado, police hop into action after unusual 9-1-1 call
  • We Remember
    • Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      Team Romeo
      National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
      What’s with the white chairs?
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

Offbeat

Pennsylvania police break up “exorcism” over wood in Home Depot lumber aisle

APB Team Published July 10, 2021 @ 4:00 pm PDT

Dickson City Police Department

A viral post by the Dickson City Police Department has left people shaking their heads in confusion after police wrote that they apparently stopped an exorcism in the store on June 21.

The words “Home Depot” and “exorcism” are two not normally heard in the same sentence. The Pennsylvania-based department claimed in a daily crime blotter post that what they encountered in the hardware store was indeed an exorcism – over the wood.

The department’s Facebook post gained attention due to its bizarre nature, and has been shared over 850 times.

Dickson City Police Department

Apparently, police were called to the store at around 3:30 p.m. to deal with “disorderly people.”

When they arrived, they saw “two individuals having an exorcism in the lumber aisle for the dead trees.”

The two exorcists were both dressed in black, according to the Dickson City Police Chief William Bilinski. Bilinski told the Scranton Times-Tribune that the men were “chanting and moaning” and “it looked like they were trying to do an exorcism.”

Another officer told the Philly Voice, “There were two people hanging out in the lumber department doing their little exorcism thing. Some people at the store started picking up that something was happening that was not necessarily normal. Police were called to the store and they were escorted out of the building. It was a séance type of thing for the dead,” he said.

The officer added that the “exorcists” will not be charged.

Staff at the store declined to comment, and authorities did not say what the men thought they were doing or why the wood may have been possessed or demonic.

Commenters to the post were clearly confused, with one suggesting that the police intended to say the men were “having an exercise” and not an exorcism.

“THE POWER DRILL OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU,” wrote another jokingly.

“How does a wood exorcism happen in 2021 and not a single person in Home Depot videoed this for our entertainment. I need answers,” another commenter wrote.

Categories: Offbeat Tags: Police, Law Enforcement, Home Depot, exorcism, dead trees, Dickson City

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • When knowing isn’t enough
  • Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
  • Team Romeo
  • Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Announces July 2025 Officers of the Month
  • California makes police misconduct records publicly available
  • A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
  • Using critical thinking to crack the case
  • Navigating cultural and language barriers
  • NLEOMF to Honor Law Enforcement During Police Weekend

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The future is here

The future is here

August 21, 2025

A winding road

A winding road

August 20, 2025

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

August 17, 2025

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

August 11, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.