DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man who built a bomb in a Des Moines restaurant told officers he did it to prove a point about safety.

Police Sgt. Paul Parizek (puh-REE'-zihk) said Wednesday that 40-year-old Ivory Washington constructed the device Tuesday at Akebono 515 to see whether anyone would stop him. Parizek says Washington told officers his motive "was frustration that people in our society don't care about safety."

Nam Tran owns the restaurant, and he says he saw the man plugging an unknown device into outlets Tuesday. Tran says he thought the man later identified as Washington was charging his phone. Court records say Washington bought items necessary for his bomb and then assembled them at the restaurant.

A bomb squad took the device away. Parizek says it was tested to see whether it would explode. It did.

Court records say Washington is charged with possession of an explosive device. The records don't list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.