Call a Cop Series

The Mixed Messages of the Obama Administration

FBI “If you see something; say something.” Not Quite!

Ron Martinelli, Ph.D., CMI-V

Copyright 12-10-15

How many times have you heard President Obama, FBI Director James B. Comey, or Department of Homeland Security administrators instruct us, “If you see something; say something?”

How do Americans reconcile the Obama administration’s direction to report suspicious and possibly terrorist-related activity; with U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s announcement this week that she has directed her Justice Department to commence an investigation on Irving, TX MacArthur High School officials’ decision to report the activities of 14 year old Ahmed “Clock Boy” Mohamed in bringing to school what they reasonably believed was a suspicious device that they thought might be a bomb. The strangely assembled device found inside a briefcase was described by the teen as a “clock.”

Ninth grader Mohamed, who is a Muslim, said that he had hoped that his teachers would be impressed with his construction abilities. However, school officials who had previously received an FBI “If you see something; say something” training bulletin apparently saw things differently when they saw the device and appropriately called police to report the device on campus. On September 14^th, when the Irving PD officers responded, they detained, interviewed, arrested Mohamed and took him to a juvenile detention center. Police later dropped charges against the youth.

While some have said that the officers’ response was “over the top,” more information on the circumstances might provide better context. Experts and critics who have looked at the workings of the “clock” have opined that it appears to have been constructed more as a “bomb hoax” than a device to tell time. They point out that “clocks” are not found secured inside briefcases; the circuitry for a digital clock would not look as this device does; and the devices transformer would certainly not be set to run off of a 120 volt line.

Is it any coincidence that Ahmed’s father Mohammed Elhassan Mohamed, 50, attempted on two occasions to become the President of Sudan? How about the fact that he runs the Arabic language National Reform Party that has forwarded 9-11 conspiracy theories on their Facebook site? How about the fact that the Mohamed family quickly moved to Qatar after this incident and has now sued the school for $15 million alleging discrimination? Cops hate coincidents. Sure sounds like a set-up to me.

School officials and Irving PD Chief Larry Boyd jointly state that Mohamed was not singled out for religious reasons. Chief Boyd states that his officers’ actions “would have been the same” under any circumstances. The chief correctly acknowledged that we live in an age where you just cannot bring a device like that to school. Chief Boyd also correctly points out, “Of course (what) we’ve seen across our country, and horrific things happen, so we have to error on the side of caution.”

In light of recent terrorist incidents in New York, Boston, Dallas and last week in San Bernardino, CA, I whole heartedly agree with Chief Boyd and the Irving, TX school officials. America has entered a new era where oceans no longer protect us and the specter of extremist jihadist terrorists are here to stay. They are no longer among us – they are us. Our President and his incompetent, politically correct law enforcement and State Department administrators have put us squarely in their gun sights.

On one hand; Americans are directed to say something if we see something. On the other hand; those who chose to say something and report suspicious activity are treated like they are “racists” or anti-Muslim if Muslims are involved. To make matters much worse, Attorney General Lynch, almost certainly under direction of her boss the President, is now intimidating school districts with a federal investigation if they report suspicious activities by Muslims. This is a curious use of FBI manpower, since FBI Director Comey has already informed America that his investigative resources are stretched so thin that they can’t even thoroughly investigate the over 1,000 Muslim extremists the Bureau suspects of on-going terrorist activity.

The bottom line is what are Americans to think; and how should we process the mixed messages of the Obama administration with respect to reporting suspicious activity that might be terrorist related if the focus of our suspicions happen to be Muslims?

One example of the tragic results of the understandable confusion of the Obama administration’s mixed message lies in the most recent experience in San Bernardino. In this instance, a neighbor of Muslim extremists and terrorist killers Syed Rizwan Farook and wife Tashfeen Malik observed definitely suspicious behavior for an extended period of time at their residence in Redlands, CA. However, the neighbor did not report the now known terrorist’s activities for fear of being accused of “racial profiling.” Now this poor woman must live the rest of her life with the guilt that her reports might have saved the lives of those who were violently murdered.

As Americans, we need to ask ourselves, “Is this the America the one I want to live in where I am so concerned or governmentally intimidated by a “PC” and incompetent federal bureaucracy who can’t protect me that it might cost me and my family members our lives?”

As a retired cop, allow me to provide you with some humble advice. If you are a real American and care about your country, your life and the lives of your friends and family; you shouldn’t give a damn about what the “PC” crowd says. If you see something; say something anonymously. Let the police professionals make the determinations of reasonable suspicion to detain; or probable cause to obtain search warrants and/or arrest suspected terrorists. That’s what we pay cops and the feds to do.

This President and his awkward administration have amply demonstrated to us all that they have absolutely no inclination to do so. They have practiced some much media deflection and direction that my head is spinning. Let’s work together to get ahead of this terrorist threat. Remember that the best person to protect you is you.

Be safe out there!

 About the Author

Ron Martinelli, Ph.D., CMI-V, is a nationally renowned forensic criminologist who directs the nation’s only Forensic Death Investigations & Independent Review Team. He is a retired police detective. His law enforcement/forensic social media site is www.DrRonMartinelli.com