Que?
Is that more fair, or less fair?
Is an apple more or less fair than a hippopotomus? That would make just about as much sense. The only common factor here is that both parties were billed for the police department's time.
In one case a woman who deliberately lied and made false statements causing a man hunt was billed for the man hunt.
In the other case two men who put up signs were billed because the police decided their signs were bombs and shut down the city.
I can see what you're getting at. You're trying to imply that the marketing group decided "hey, let's put up things that look like bombs, it'll get us publicity" is that it? No one is that stupid. And I've seen several pictures of these things. None of them look like bombs or have protruding wires. Now, what we're hearing is that all of these things are the same. Meaning they were all manufactured to be more or less identical. So if one of these things had protruding wires and batteries sticking out logic dictates that it was altered, perhaps by someone doing violence upon it.
THIS would explain why it was not reported for two weeks. Someone probably threw a rock at one of the things and busted it a bit, revealing scary stuff inside. Then some other idiot calls the cops. Either that or someone simply imagined that there were wires and bomb like stuff on it.
Either way, there's no intention here. And if there's no intent the only thing they can get these guys for is maybe a misdemeanor vandalism gig, and believe me they will, because these vindictive pricks will never do what they should: admit they were wrong and apologize.