'Clock kid' sues Texas town for $15 million

By Joshua Axelrod, Joshua Axelrod

Published December 20, 2015

The "clock kid" from Texas who was wrongly arrested when a homemade clock he brought to school was mistaken for a bomb is now seeking damages for the incident that put him and his family in the national spotlight.

A lawyer representing Ahmed Mohamed sent two letters, one to the school and one to the Irving, Texas city hall, demanding a total of $15 million and apologies from the school district, Mayor Beth Van Duyne and Police Chief Larry Boyd to avoid a civil rights lawsuit.

The letter said that on Sept. 14, Mohamed's teacher mistook his clock for a bomb and called the police, who arrested him before realizing the young engineering enthusiast's device was not dangerous.

"Throughout the on-campus detention and interrogation — which was recorded on the iPhone of the one female officer present during the interrogation – Ahmed constantly was pressured to sign a written statement admitting that he intended to bring a 'hoax bomb' to school," the letter reads.