Posted on 09/13/2007 11:47:26 AM PDT by SeafoodGumbo
BLAIRSTOWN, N.J. -- A man whose name is on a terrorism watch list and suspected of taking photos of a bridge between Pennsylvania and New Jersey was questioned and released after authorities determined he did nothing wrong.
The man had pulled over to the side of the road on Monday, the day before the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. State police responded to a call reporting that a man who appeared to be Middle Eastern was photographing the Interstate 80 bridge over the Delaware River.
New Jersey State Police Capt. Al Della Fave said the man, whose identity was not released, did not have a camera and was simply looking at the bridge while his wife fed their infant child.
"He said he was looking for a safe place to pull over so his wife could feed the baby," Della Fave said. "The trooper asked him, 'What about the pictures you were taking?' He said, 'What do you mean? I wasn't taking any pictures."'
The trooper contacted state and federal authorities, who quickly determined that the man's name appears on a terrorism watch list. Neither Della Fave nor Roger Shatzkin, a spokesman for the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security, could say why the man's name was on the list.
The trooper asked for and received permission to search the man's car. No camera was found in the car or the surrounding area, and the man was permitted to go on his way, police said.
"Just because someone's name is on a watch list doesn't mean you can arrest them if they're not doing anything wrong," Della Fave said.
Coincidence? In New Jersey, I’d say not.
this was already posted....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1895364/posts
Keep this in perspective:
1. On any given summer day several hundred if not well over a thousand boaters/rafters/tubers float under this bridge. And they can all be carrying cameras. Even video cameras, how dare they.
2. There are several scenic viewpoints and parking lots and a trail system in the area.
3. There is a public hiking (and possibly horse?)trail that goes directly under the bridge.
4. The structural drawings of the Del Gap bridge has been public record for decades, it’s used in engineering texts as an example.
5. A google image search for the bridge brings all the pictures anyone would need.
6. Local and State police are NOT immigration law enforcement unless the person is being held on other charges.
7. The Del Water Gap National Recreation area gets millions of visitors a year, many from immigrant gateway cities in the area, the visitor population is very diverse. I’ve been fishing there and surrounded by Polish, Central American, and Korean fishermen, all at the same time.
Anyone especially alarmed by this should be either being paid to be alarmed (terrorism law enforcement) , or is over reacting.
Thread from yesterday before all details came to light.
I live about 20 miles from there.
Feed the baby what? A bottle? Something that would not be safe in a moving vehicle?
Several months ago I was behind a Home Depot in Scottsdale, AZ when I noticed a man next to a car with out-of-state plates taking photos with his cell phone of the adjacent freeway, over pass, and the back of the building. I notified the HD receiver, who confronted the man. I joined him in time to see the man’s “ID’— some sort of company ID, which showed an Arabic name. The man was of middle eastern ancestry and had an accent. He claimed to be scouting microwave antenna locations.
I notified the FBI and gave them the license number. They were quite interested.
The point is: did the cops check his cell phone?
Since 9/11/01, it is not "if we get attacked again", it is "when they attack us again".
I'd prefer the attack did not happen, but we all know they will not stop until they are wiped off the planet or we all bow to their sharia law.
Prolly just Eddie Rendell trying to figure out where he’s gonna put the toll booth.
There is already a toll booth there.
Hi! Hunterdon or Warren County?
“He said he was looking for a safe place to pull over so his wife could feed the baby,”
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Yeah right. I guess the public rest area not even a mile east of this bridge and which can be reached from either the west or east bound lanes of 80 wasn’t safe enough.
Warren.
Exactly.
Not the way I fed my babies. Of course at one time it was perfectly legal and appropriate for a mother to feed her baby while her husband drove, but no more.
I get your point, but....
A farmer buyer large amounts of fertilizer is not suspicious. A young Arab man who is not a farmer buying fertilizer is.
Being on a watch list means...you should be watched.
Also, if this guy is on a terror-watch list, I'm glad he was questioned.
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