Muslim teenager Ahmed Mohamed was falsely accused of bringing a bomb to school. Photo courtesy of The Independent.
Summary: “Clock Boy” Ahmed Mohamed is suing his former school and the city for $15 million.
Back in September, 14-year-old freshman Ahmed Mohamed brought a homemade clock to his Texas high school to “impress his teachers.” Instead of being impressed, however, the staff of MacArthur High freaked out and called the police, thinking the clock was a bomb. Many people thought the Irving, Texas staff were racist because of their automatic linking of a Muslim with terrorism, and although Ahmed was subsequently revered by the public, even meeting President Barack Obama, we wondered if Ahmed was going to sue.
Turns out, yes, he is, and for the whopping amount of $15 million.
Note to racists, stop being racist. It’s expensive.
The family’s attorney, Kelly Hollingsworth, sent letters to the school district and the city claiming Ahmed’s civil rights were violated. The family also claimed “physical and mental anguish” for being targeted “because of his race, national origin, and religion.”
“Ahmed never threatened anyone, never caused harm to anyone, and never intended to,” the letters said. “The only one who was hurt that day was Ahmed, and the damages he suffered were not because of oversight or incompetence. The school and city officials involved knew what they needed to do to protect Ahmed’s rights. They just decided not to do it.”
The family wants $10 million from Irving city and $5 million from MacArthur High, his former school. After the incident, Ahmed’s family understandably began looking elsewhere for their son’s education.
In addition to the money, Ahmed and his family are seeking an apology from Irving’s mayor, Beth Van Duyne, and the Irving police chief, Larry Boyd.
Ahmed’s lawyer alleged that Ahmed was not read his Miranda rights when he was arrested and those involved tried to cover their mistakes with a media campaign that isolated Ahmed.
“They tried to push responsibility off on the victim — Ahmed. They have even implied publicly that what has come of this has been good for Ahmed, as though the resilience of this fine boy and his fine family somehow excused what they did. It does not, for there is no excuse,” the letters said.
If the Mohamed family does not receive their money or an apology in 60 days, their attorney promises to take civil action.
Irving City officials and the school district spokesperson told CNN they had no comment.
Source: https://www.jdjournal.com/2015/09/18/will-ahmed-bring-suit/
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/23/us/ahmed-mohamed-clock-letters-demand-apologies/