I don't think they were actually local police. Imagine the problem of domestic terrorism from a government standpoint. Not having a complete database of fingerprints is a gigantic hole in your security apparatus. And unlike most problems, this one has a practical solution.

With a government that lied about the extent to which it was surveilling every person in the USA, and a population that gleefully believed it, I think the chances are pretty slim these events didn't take place, and that we're collectively imagining it.