SBA Was Not Amused by CAIR’s Response to Akayed Ullah Bombing Investigation
The Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA), which represents some 13,000 active and retired New York Police Department (NYPD) police sergeants, had a little message for the family of the alleged New York City Port Authority bomber, Akayed Ullah.
This was in response to Ullah’s parents acting outraged. They complained through Albert Fox Cahn of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that the investigating police officers had acted harshly.
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In response, a rather fuming SBA tweeted the following:
Family of Port Authority bombing suspect is 'outraged' at investigators' tactics https://t.co/hYowxNdjCw via @nypmetro. Outrage?? Let me get this correct your son walks in a public place wearing a bomb and your outrage at the behavior of the police…too bad get over it!!!
— SBA (@SBANYPD) December 12, 2017
Conservative radio host Buck Sexton also made the following sarcastic tweet.
“Sorry our son tried to blow up a lot of you on your way to work today, but the cops were kinda rude to us after that and we want answers” https://t.co/2nEN4czLx9
— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) December 12, 2017
Still, there are two things that NYPD investigators will have already learned about Ullah by now. He and his family are in possession of an extra-large sized serving of chutzpah.
Ullah allegedly strapped a homemade pipe bomb to himself and detonated it on December 11 at rush hour in the tunnel connecting the New York Port Authority and the busy bus terminal near Times Square.
So far, the NYPD said that, while Ullah had watched some Islamic State (ISIS) propaganda online, there’s no evidence of him having any direct ties to the group.
Blame Trump?
On Facebook, Akayed Ullah attributed his bombing attempt to President Donald Trump.
Police in Bangladesh have been investigating Ullah’s links and questioning his wife. The last time Ullah visited Bangladesh was last September. He has a child and a wife still living there, while he is a legal immigrant to the United States as part of a special family F-4 Visa. It grants preferential status to family members of relatives who are U.S. citizens.
In its response to CAIR, the SBA further downplayed the organization’s complaint. It noted that CAIR is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, no less. (Source:”Outrage as family of failed suicide bomber complain THEY have been mistreated by law enforcement following his botched suicide attack that could have killed hundreds,” Mail Online, December 12, 2017.)
For those who don’t know, the Muslim Brotherhood has been declared illegal in most Arab countries. Its leadership in Egypt is under arrest, many of whom face charges of terrorism. It was a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood which murdered Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat in 1981.
But Ullah’s links to any major terrorist organization remain unclear. So far, Ullah’s record in Bangladesh has not produced any criminal or militant links. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has been the target of a number of attacks targeting local figures (who have challenged some fundamentalists’ beliefs) and foreigners alike.
In the summer of 2016, there was an especially brutal attack at a restaurant frequented by Europeans that left at least 20 dead. This has provoked the government of Bangladesh to take terrorism seriously. They appear to be working closely with the NYPD to help uncover the background of New York’s third terrorism episode of 2017.
