Remember Clock Boy? He’s demanding $15 M and an apology

Remember 14-year-old “Clock Boy” Ahmed Mohamed, the Texas teenager arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school that police believed was a bomb? Well, he is now demanding $15 million as a restitution payment and an apology from both the city of Irving and its school district. Mohamed’s lawyer said that if he does not receive both within 60 days, he will file a lawsuit.

Clock Boy’s chronicle began in September when the teachers who suspected his clock was a bomb called authorities. Police arrived at school, handcuffed Mohamed, and questioned him, causing the entire situation to go viral; and his father stated he was victimized because he is Muslim.

The media attention resulted in him receiving an invitation from President Obama to visit the White House, where he saw great support from politicians and technology leaders, including tweets from Google, Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Hilary Clinton, and MIT.

But after his short-lived fame, Mohamed felt shamed and damaged from his arrest — or so his lawyers claim. The letters he and his lawyer drafted, which were published by Dallas TV station WFAA, describe the events in detail from the supplies he used to build the clock to the teachers he proudly showed.

Mohamed’s lawyer argues his Fourth Amendment rights were violated and that police manipulated him by trying to force a confession to a “hoax bomb” violation. He claims that officials “castigated” Mohamed in public with an appearance by Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne on the Glenn Beck show.

The letter reads:

“From the time Ahmed was escorted out of class and into the interrogation room, he was treated by ALL of the adults responsible for his safety as though he had no rights at all. This whole chain of events was an extraordinary rendition in miniature, in which Ahmed was treated as though he had no rights at all, despite his American citizenship.”

The letters state that he suffered severe damages in the aftermath, including his treatment on the Glenn Beck show, online harassment, and having his name “forever associated with arguably the most contentious and divisive socio-political issue of our time… Ahmed's reputation in the global community is permanently scarred.” 

The letter to the Irving Independent School District demands $5 million in damages, while the one to the city of Irving calls for $10 million.

“The numbers are huge, and we admit that,” Mohamed’s family attorney Kelly Hollingsworth said. “But the damages caused against this young man and his family are incalculable.” 

Source: Ars Technica