A formal complaint has been filed with the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of a 14-year-old former North Texas student who was thrust into the national spotlight when his homemade clock was mistaken for a bomb, leading to his arrest.
Ahmed Mohamed was handcuffed and taken away from MacArthur High School in Irving on Sept. 14 after teachers and police said a clock he assembled and brought to school was confused with a "hoax bomb."
Irving city watchdog Anthony Bond filed a complaint Tuesday against the Irving Police Department and Irving Independent School District over Ahmed's detainment.
Bond said Ahmed's civil rights were violated when he was taken to the city jail and questioned without contacting his parents or another legal representative.
The investigation was dropped Sept. 16 when authorities determined the boy meant no harm and that the device was a clock, not a "hoax bomb." Ahmed's attorney retrieved the clock from police last Friday, the Associated Press reports.
After his arrest, Ahmed said he wanted to show the clock to his first-period engineering teacher.
"The reason I took it was to show my teachers how I build stuff, and I can build stuff," Mohamed told NBC 5 on Sept. 15, while at home serving a three-day suspension from school.
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Ahmed never returned to the Irving school after his suspension. Instead, he and his family will move to Qatar, where Ahmed plans to attend the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development and join the QF Young Innovators Program.
As for his impending move to the Middle East, Ahmed said the following in his family's written statement:
"Qatar was a cool place to visit. I loved the city of Doha because it's so modern. I saw so many amazing schools there, many of them campuses of famous American universities. The teachers were great. I think I will learn a lot and have fun too."
