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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/16/homemade-clock-ahmed-mohamed-texas-officials-we-were-right
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| We were right to arrest and handcuff boy over homemade clock, officials say | We were right to arrest and handcuff boy over homemade clock, officials say |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| School officials and police in Texas maintain they made the right decision when they handcuffed, arrested and interrogated a 14-year-old student who brought a homemade clock to school. | School officials and police in Texas maintain they made the right decision when they handcuffed, arrested and interrogated a 14-year-old student who brought a homemade clock to school. |
| Related: Texas schoolboy handcuffed for bringing homemade clock to school | Related: Texas schoolboy handcuffed for bringing homemade clock to school |
| Ahmed Mohamed, an engineering enthusiast, brought the clock to MacArthur high school in Irving, Texas, on Monday to show one of his teachers. Hours later, he was handcuffed and arrested by school resource officers as part of “standard procedure” after being summoned to a school office to explain the device. | Ahmed Mohamed, an engineering enthusiast, brought the clock to MacArthur high school in Irving, Texas, on Monday to show one of his teachers. Hours later, he was handcuffed and arrested by school resource officers as part of “standard procedure” after being summoned to a school office to explain the device. |
| Mohamed was taken to police headquarters, where he was interrogated about his intentions with the device and his own surname and was not allowed to call his father, according to media reports. | Mohamed was taken to police headquarters, where he was interrogated about his intentions with the device and his own surname and was not allowed to call his father, according to media reports. |
| A social media uproar supporting Mohamed ensued soon after, as people questioned whether he would have been arrested had he not been been Muslim. | A social media uproar supporting Mohamed ensued soon after, as people questioned whether he would have been arrested had he not been been Muslim. |
| High-profile politicians, such as President Obama and the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, also expressed support for Mohamed and his homemade engineering project. | High-profile politicians, such as President Obama and the Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, also expressed support for Mohamed and his homemade engineering project. |
| Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great. | Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great. |
| On Wednesday, an Irving independent school district spokeswoman, Lesley Weaver, defended the school’s decision to arrest Mohamed under Texas’s “hoax bomb” statute after an English teacher reported the “suspicious” device to administrators. | On Wednesday, an Irving independent school district spokeswoman, Lesley Weaver, defended the school’s decision to arrest Mohamed under Texas’s “hoax bomb” statute after an English teacher reported the “suspicious” device to administrators. |
| “We will always take necessary precautions to protect our students and to keep our school community as safe as possible,” Weaver said. | “We will always take necessary precautions to protect our students and to keep our school community as safe as possible,” Weaver said. |
| Weaver also said members of the public appeared upset because they hadn’t seen photos of the “suspicious-looking item in question”. | Weaver also said members of the public appeared upset because they hadn’t seen photos of the “suspicious-looking item in question”. |
| “Perhaps upon release of that photo there may be a little bit different perception about what took place, and people might have a better understanding of how we were doing everything with an abundance of caution to protect all of our students in Irving,” Weaver said. | “Perhaps upon release of that photo there may be a little bit different perception about what took place, and people might have a better understanding of how we were doing everything with an abundance of caution to protect all of our students in Irving,” Weaver said. |
| Image of device from Irving PD. @IStandWithAhmed pic.twitter.com/2MmKaeF6I0 | Image of device from Irving PD. @IStandWithAhmed pic.twitter.com/2MmKaeF6I0 |
| The Irving chief of police, Larry Boyd, seconded Weaver’s belief that photos of the device would clear up the controversy. A photograph of the homemade clock was passed out to reporters, and Boyd said that “it shows that it certainly was suspicious in nature”. | |
| Police said it does not appear that Mohamed ever had any intention of alarming law enforcement or school authorities, a requirement to be charged with a misdemeanor under Texas’s statute, but he was nevertheless arrested for the criminal misdemeanor on Monday. | Police said it does not appear that Mohamed ever had any intention of alarming law enforcement or school authorities, a requirement to be charged with a misdemeanor under Texas’s statute, but he was nevertheless arrested for the criminal misdemeanor on Monday. |
| The school refused to release further details of Mohamed’s arrest citing the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, though nothing under Ferpa bars a district from releasing information on “conduct that posed a significant risk to the safety or well-being of that student, other students, or other members of the school community”, the rationale school officials gave for first arresting Mohamed. | |
| School officials said they were continuing to cooperate with the police investigation. Police said the investigation had been closed. | School officials said they were continuing to cooperate with the police investigation. Police said the investigation had been closed. |