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NYPD Interrogated Tourists In Possession Of Rice Cookers
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 27, 2014
Modified Jul 27, 2014
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 27, 2014
Modified Jul 27, 2014
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The NYPD interrogated two engineering students from Idaho for three hours because they had two rice cookers in their possession.
According to the Post, 21-year-old Ayoub Alawadhi and 20-year-old Mohammad Alotaibi had finished summer classes and were staying at the InterContinental in Midtown yesterday when a doorman noticed two rice cookers in their trunk and called the police.
“They said they found the pressure cookers. I said, ‘Yes, what’s wrong with that?’ ” Alawadhi said, adding that the interrogation was "disgusting" and "weird," and that he assured police that they were using the cookers to make food.
“They said, ‘You haven’t heard about Boston?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And they told me about Boston.”
Pressure cookers were also used in Mumbai in 2006, and by the failed 2010 Times Square bomber.
The NYPD says that both students, who are from Kuwait and study mechanical engineering Boise State, are still "under investigation.
“I am leaving New York because of this,” Alawadhi told the paper. “We were supposed to stay until Tuesday, but we are leaving Sunday because of this.”
Earlier this year when the NYPD disbanded the infamous Demographics Unit, Mayor de Blasio pledged, "Our administration has promised the people of New York a police force that keeps our city safe, but that is also respectful and fair." A few weeks later the Times reported that the department's indiscriminate spying on Muslims continues.
Tagged
Bill Bratton
rice cookers
terrorism
war on terror
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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