A private security team's request for a K-9 bomb sweep led Bucks County Community College to cancel a sold-out prescreening of the PBS docuseries "Bucks County, USA."

BCCC President and CEO Patrick M. Jones explained the decision in an exclusive interview with the Bucks County Herald, published Wednesday, Sept. 16. Jones said Terry Sasser, head of a private security detail, asked Newtown Township police on Sept. 11 to sweep the campus venues with bomb-detection dogs ahead of the Sept. 15 screening. Sasser said the sweep was needed to protect two nonprofit CEOs who had received death threats.

"Their threat assessment was much higher than we anticipated … way beyond what we normally do," Jones told the Herald.

The college's Sept. 14 announcement had cited unspecified safety concerns but gave no details. Director Robert May told Patch that day that the college "ignored our plea to speak with whoever made this decision."

The production team held the prescreening at an undisclosed location on Sept. 15, with former PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff moderating a panel. The five-part docuseries, directed by Barry Levinson and Robert May, premieres Monday, Sept. 21 on WHYY and PBS stations nationwide.