But Seriously...

Per your article:

"When he showed his tech teacher, the teacher didn’t say much more than you’d better keep it hidden throughout the rest of the school day. When the alarm went off in English class, the teacher took a look, confiscated it, and told Ahmed it looked like a bomb."

So he tried to show his teacher what it was and I am assuming here - but when you want to show someone something, an explanation of what it was usually comes with it. She told him to keep it hidden for the rest of the day. When the alarm on the clock went off, she then took a look, said it looked like a bomb and then... CONFISCATED IT. You do not confiscate anything that you truly believe is a bomb. You would immediately call the police for a bomb squad and evacuate the school as quickly as possible

So at best, after the initial assessment by the engineering teacher the clock was thought of a suspicious object that may not have been appropriate to bring to school. Extrapolating from the lack of bomb threat protocol, it was not thought of as an actual dangerous object. At that time the administration should have contacted his parents to bring it home, or keep it in an office until the end of the school day to take home as it was already confiscated by them.

I'm with you in the thought that the school administration and the police acted egregiously. But in my experience in life, people with power usually treat people with no power poorly if they are allowed to get away with it. If Ahmed Mohamed is still named Ahmed Mohamed, and is still Muslim but happens to be the son of a local judge, politician or if his family has more money than the Waltons - this most likely would have been handled differently by the school and police administration.

Police Chief Boyd in Irving, TX was made aware by CNN that his police officers detained and interrogated a minor without parental supervision and he simply replied that he wasn't aware that situation took place and that no investigation will be needed. Then the police department spokesperson confirmed that Ahmed was interrogated without parental supervision, but he should have been more forthcoming. So our police force in this specific incident admitted to breaking laws that they are supposed to uphold and is expected to be treated with impunity.

 

I hope you get that drink.

What you wrote is not what I was implying. My point about his father, was that if his father has enough concern with home politics to return to run for president, then I felt certain they have had intelligent political discussions, and that this brilliant clock builder is likely smart enough to know that his device could be controversial.

These two things together. I don't have any idea if the police screwed up. It seems like they did, and it seems like that at a minimum, they handled the situation poorly. But, from what I understand, the police weren't the first ones to ask him to explain the device. I will not yield that the kid had some culpability in how this played out, and it sure seems like he could've helped by being more forthcoming. It didn't happen like this "GAH! He's got a bomb! Get the police. Surely they are only two seconds from here."

This was not a situation where some random adult was stopped in a parking lot and hassled for potentially having a bomb. He is a 14 year old kid, at an institution that regularly comes under all sorts of criticism, while trying to deal with real threats of shootings, fights, drugs and gang influence. Many schools have several pages in a handbook for dress code requirements because T-shirt logos can be objectionable. So, he has to follow stricter rules and discipline, and should be aware of submitting to authoritative questioning. In my opinion.

I have no idea what cocaine looks like, other than what I've seen on TV. That's not something I've been exposed to. If I were a teacher, and I saw a student on the grammar school playground with a Ziploc bag full of white powder, and if I asked him, "hey, what you got there?" and he says, "What? What do you mean? It's just a bag." And, if I probed him further and said, "well, it looks like it could be drugs. Can you explain what's going on?" And, he responds with, "I don't see the problem. It's just a bag." Well, I think I would take him to the Principal's office.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean. I wasn't implying any sort of conspiracy. And, of course there was basis for assumption. That's the way assumptions work - you take the info you have, and speculate on the rest.

 

The police most certainly screwed up by questioning him without his parents. Under no circumstances in this country should a child be questioned without parental supervision. Period.

Per the article that Misanthropic shared - http://www.independentsentinel.com/when-a-clock-looks-like-a-bomb-its-islamophobia/

He initially tried to show his teacher the clock but was told to put it away for the rest of the day. I assume that when he tried to show her, he would have explained to her what it was and how it was built, etc. Again, assumption. When the alarm beeped on the clock, she then took a look and told him it looked like a bomb and confiscated it. Yup, she confiscated it, if she honestly thought that there was 1% chance that it was an actual bomb vs something that LOOKS like a bomb she would have immediately followed bomb threat protocols. At least I hope she would. Afterwards he told her and the school administration that it was just a clock, they weren't satisfied with his answer. But at this time when someone tells a 14 year old that he just brought something like a bomb to school, he might have been too scared and nervous to properly explain himself. He was just accused of bringing a bomb to school. Shit I'm old and if someone told me that the insides of my MacBook looked like a bomb at an airport - I'd be like OMG but it's just a MacBook while trying my hardest to get my lawyer. But just extrapolating from the lack of bomb threat protocol, they thought it was a suspicious but not dangerous object at best. At that time, per Revengeofthenerds whom is a school administrator in Texas the proper protocol to follow would have been this:

"The first time a teacher or authority figure had a question regarding the device, they should have first asked the child. If they were not satisfied with the answer and/or wanted to verify out of an abundance of caution, they should have gone to the administration of the school. The administration should then have confiscated the device and notified the child's parents. Regardless of what the child's parents said, they had the authority to and should have either A) kept it in their office until the end of the school day and told the child to take it home, or if they did not feel comfortable with the device at school B) told the parents to pick it up or send someone authorized to pick it up. Generally-speaking, regarding items of safety, the parents have one hour from first contact to go to the school. IF the school felt that the device posed an immediate danger to the safety of the staff and students, they could have notified the police, but under those circumstances they should have first notified the parents they were calling the authorities and given them an opportunity to retrieve the device first."

They did not do that.

 

I don't know much about suitcase bombs, but one thing I do know. Those that build them ALWAYS label the explosive or lethal gas, so it's easily identifiable. I know that Wile E. Coyote always gets his from ACME, and it's labeled clearly.

I realize this thread has gotten to the point where we're not allowed to express opinions anymore, but it looks more like a bomb than a clock to me. Actually, I should say, it looks more like a Hollywood bomb, than a real life clock, to me.

And, I'll add this, too. If it's so completely innocent and clockesque, why don't you build a pencil case clock exactly like this kid did? Then, set it right next to your shoes the next time you go through airport security. I'm sure it won't get you pulled aside, since it so obviously looks like a clock. If they're confused at all, you simply tell them it's just a clock, and they'll send you right on through.

 

One thing I keep seeing come up is that he didn't explain what it was very well to anyone beyond "It's a clock". I'm curious if any articles written have yet mentioned whether he could explain it better? None of the (minimal) articles I have read have mentioned whether he was born in the US, is English his primary language? Does he have the capability to explain himself better or understand what is being asked?

 

Guys, guys. I think we're all missing the biggest point. All of these people involved, teachers and LEO alike, are possibly the biggest heroes of the past few months. This happened in Texas and nobody was shot in the face. We are progressing as a society. And that is commendable.

 

Wait, so the engineering teacher saw that? And did not immediately realize it was anything but a bomb? Sounds like a really shitty teacher to me.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: "public schools"

 

To clarify - He showed it to the engineering teacher, who said it looked nice and he shouldn't show it to any other teacher. Then he was in english class and it beeped in his bag and it was the english teacher who thought it looked like a bomb.

 

You may be right. I don't know what that little bag thing is, as I mentioned, it looks like a rosin bag to me. And, obviously, the 9V battery is missing when that picture was taken, so if there was anything in that open space on the left, it may have been removed, too. Because, if there actually was anything that looked like explosives, wouldn't the cops remove it when checking? I wasn't there, so I'm just speculating.

Did they ask him, "What is this?" and he said, "It's a clock."? Or, did they ask him, "Is this a bomb?" and he said, "It's a clock." Did they follow up by saying, "Ahmed, this is serious, can you tell me yes or no, is this a bomb?" and he said, "It's a clock." Again, I wasn't there, so I don't know, but in my opinion, there are ways he could've answered their questions to help diffuse (lol) the situation.

Ah, well, I didn't realize the teachers or administrators handcuffed him. I thought the cops had done that when they got there. So, yes, that was dumb of the school to do that, although they (not the cops, the school) certainly have a right to question him without his parents being there.

 

It's Texas what are possible repercussions? Civil suit? School principal forced to resign? Public apology from the police chief?

Chances are they will wait for it to blow over since the average American has the attention span of a gnat. Anyone remember Cecil the lion?

 

Anyone have a link to where he was handcuffed while being questioned? This came up on another board.

 

Yes the teachers could have questioned him without his parents being there. But when the police are already present, the school administrators do not have the right to question the student without parental supervision.

"In an interview late Wednesday with MSNBC's Chris Hayes, Ahmed said he was pulled out of class at MacArthur High School by his principal and five police officers and taken to a room where he was questioned for about an hour and a half.

He said he asked the adults if he could call his parents.

"They told me 'No, you can't call your parents,'" Ahmed said. "'You're in the middle of an interrogation at the moment.' They asked me a couple of times, 'Is it a bomb?' and I answered a couple of times, 'It's a clock.'"

So hopefully now that it's abundantly clear that the police was already present by the time the school administration pulled the student in for questioning, you can understand why a 14 year old child might have been scared enough to not be able to articulate in depth.

That interrogation should not have taken place under any circumstances and the adults in the room knew that.

 

In addition to that, they admitted to knowing pretty much immediately that it wasn't a bomb but kept on fucking with him anyway.

 

The first report I read didn't have it that way, so that changes the story a bit. However, I am not familiar with the Texas Family Code or Laws. I know in some states that the police are forbidden from asking questions of a minor without parent present, with the exception of at a public school. In those cases, the police may question a minor, if the school official permits it, unless a prior written request denying this is on file with the school.

I guess that I am old and cynical and every time I ever read any story, there is always more to it, finding out later that the person involved was not as innocent as they were letting on. And, I totally get what you're saying about a scared 14 year old. But also, when I read

I think, why didn't he just say "no, it's not a bomb" instead of "it's a clock."?

 

Because it was a clock. He wasn't required to prove his innocence. They were required to prove his guilt.

I think, why didn't he say, "It's a clock you assholes. You prove it is something other than a clock and charge me with it or get the fuck out of my face."?

 

Maybe my understanding of the English language is poor, but I was not aware that clock is a synonym for bomb. Our culture does not even casually equate clock with bomb via colloquial slang.

So if I am not mistaken and the word clock is not synonymous with the word bomb, then most people can infer that when Ahmed told the police/school administration that the device was just a clock, he was also non-verbally confirming that the device is not a bomb.

tl;dr:

clock ≠ bomb

 

But it's not the school's job to prove anything. They aren't the judge and jury when it comes to criminal matters. Hell, even the police are *supposed* to just arrest on probable cause or whatever and take the person to a jail then, potentially, court where all that is decided. There, simply, was no "charging" to be done.

As I stated before, according to the proper protocols, licensing, and common sense within the field in Texas schools, what they were supposed to do was confiscate the item in question and call his parents to pick it up. The school had the right to tell him not to bring it back to school if they were worried about it causing a scene (clearly they weren't worried about it being an active danger, otherwise they would have evacuated or put the school on lockdown). That's it. That's the extent of their abilities in this situation. If he did bring it back, then and only then could they have suspended him for not following the student code of conduct.