Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > As It Shapes ISIS-Centric Narrative, Orlando Police Reject Freedom of
Information Request for Audio of Nightclub Shooter's 911 Call
________________________________________
As It Shapes ISIS-Centric Narrative, Orlando Police Reject Freedom of
Information Request for Audio of Nightclub Shooter's 911 Call
By Max Blumenthal [1], Sarah Lazare [2] / AlterNet [3]
June 14, 2016
Hours after Omar Mateen opened fire in the LGBTQ Pulse Nightclub in Orlando,
the Orlando Police Department informed the media that Mateen had sworn
allegiance to ISIS in a call to its 911 emergency line. This single detail
became the focus of all the coverage that followed, prompting politicians
from Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump and a parade of pundits to call for
stepped up military efforts and hardline measures against Muslim-American
communities.
As scrutiny of the Orlando Police Department's response to the shooting
spree intensifies and Mateen's profile grows more complex with each new
detail, the department is refusing to release the audio of the killer's
alleged 911 call.
On June 13, AlterNet's Grayzone Project submitted a request under Florida's
public records law for a written transcript and/or an audio recording of any
and all phone calls that Mateen made to Orlando's 911 emergency line on the
date of the Pulse Nightclub mass killing.
Janet Lugo, the records and identification unit supervisor for the Orlando
Police Department, replied on June 14: "The records being requested are
exempt from disclosure at this time. Section 119.071(2)(c)1., Florida
Statutes, exempts from disclosure all active criminal investigative
information."
The statute [4] exempts "all active criminal investigative information" from
disclosure by Florida government agencies.
Michael German, a fellow with the NYU Law School's Brennan Center for
Justice's Liberty and National Security Program, commented to AlterNet that
"it's clear that these law enforcement officials are selectively focusing on
particular aspects of the attack when they speak with the media. For someone
to cite allegiance to multiple terrorist groups that are actually in
conflict with one another certainly does not reflect a deep attachment to
any individual group's ideology or political goal."
According to FBI officials, Mateen previously pledged simultaneous
allegiance to Al Qaeda and Hezbollah, two militant groups fighting on
opposite sides [5] of the Syrian civil war, and whose members have battled
ISIS [6] at various intervals.
The details of Mateen's call to 911 provided to the media by the Orlando
Police department and witnesses to the shooting highlight Mateen's
ideological incoherence. According to an anonymous police official quoted by
the Daily Beast [7], Mateen told police that he was protesting U.S. bombing
"in Iraq and Syria." However, a witness named Patience Carter was quoted by
the Washington Post [8] claiming that Mateen wanted "Americans to stop
bombing his country." Mateen is the son of immigrants from Afghanistan,
where the US is waging a military campaign against the Taliban -- yet
another militant group that is battling ISIS [9].
Despite the array of new details that case Mateen as an erratic figure
consumed with personal and psychological issues with little relevance to
international terror organizations, the mainstream media's narrative of a
hardcore jihadist has remained intact, and thanks largely to law
enforcement's careful management of information. Indeed, the focus on ISIS
has overwhelmed other important factors in the massacre, from lax gun laws
to homegrown homophobia to Mateen's history of domestic violence and
possible struggle with his own sexuality.
The US-ISIS echo chamber
The official narrative of the massacre and the motives behind it was neatly
encapsulated by a New York Times report [10] on June 13:
"Mr. Mateen called 911, beginning a series of calls and conversations with
the police, in which he declared allegiance to the Islamic State, the
terrorist group that has taken over parts of Syria, Iraq and Libya."
"He was cool and calm when he was making those phone calls to us," Chief
[John] Mina said. "We had a team of crisis negotiators that did talk to the
suspect, just trying to get as much information as possible, and they
focused on what they could do to resolve the situation."
Even as the Orlando Police Department refused to release the audio of
Mateen's alleged call to 911, it provided details of the conversation to
journalists. Daily Beast reporter Michael Daly wrote [7] on Monday, "As
paraphrased by the senior law enforcement source, Mateen told the 911
operator that, 'I'm doing this to protest the U.S. bombing in Syria and Iraq
and the killing of women and children. I'm doing this in solidarity with the
Tsarnaev brothers and Moner Abu-Salha.'" (The Tsarnaev brothers carried out
a homemade bomb attack on the Boston Marathon in 2013; the following year,
Abu-Salha became the first US citizen to engage in a suicide attack in
Syria.)
The narrative has filtered down to right-wing tabloid media in predictable
fashion, with the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post running a 10-page
spread on the Pulse Nightclub massacre beneath a banner reading, "ISIS VS.
US." [11]
ISIS-related media outlets have exploited the opportunity to claim credit
for Mateen's attack, echoing US media accounts in what former FBI
counter-terror agent Ali Soufan described [12] as "circular reporting."
A bonanza for militaristic politicians
However bizarre Mateen's conflicting allegiances might have been, the
reports of his support for ISIS provided militaristic politicians from both
parties with an irresistible opportunity.
True to form, Donald Trump exploited the massacre [13] to [13]promote his
proposed ban on Muslims and call for an escalation of U.S. bombings against
ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Hillary Clinton issued a strikingly similar
response, calling for an expansion [14] of the government's terror watch
list and declaring [15], "We should keep the pressure on ramping up the air
campaign [in Syria]."
Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker who appears eager [16] to
be Trump's vice presidential nominee, called for therevival [17] of the
House Un-American Activities Committee. From across the aisle, the former
Democratic representative from Massachusetts and liberal icon Barney Frank
asserted [18] that the Orlando massacre "reinforces the case for significant
surveillance by law enforcement of people who have given some indication of
adoption of these angry Islamic hate views."
FBI pressure to suppress allegations about Mateen's sexuality?
A closer look at the available information about Mateen's personal history
demonstrates a more complex set of possible factors behind his killing
rampage. Mateen did not receive training from any Islamic extremist
organization, however, he was a longtime employee of G4S, a private security
firm and prison provider with a record of human rights abuses that spans
across the globe. Mateen's ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, has detailed [19]
physical and emotional abuse at the killer's hands, referring to him as
"disturbed" saying her family had to rescue her in 2009 after he held her
"hostage."
At least four Pulse patrons told [20] the Orlando Sentinal they had seen
Mateen at the club before on numerous occasions, and Yusufiy has stated [21]
that she believes that Mateen was sexually attracted to men. Meanwhile,
Mateen's father told [22] NBC that his son become "very angry" after seeing
two men kissing.
Shockingly, Yusufiy's current fiance, Marco Dias, told [23] a Brazilian
television station that she was asked by the FBI not to reveal Mateen's
same-sex attraction "to the American media." If true, the revelation
reinforces suspicions that law enforcement is managing the release of
information to shape a politically convenient narrative.
"Police release whatever information they choose through official leaks,"
Jim Naureckas, editor of Extra!, the magazine of Fairness and Accuracy in
Reporting, told AlterNet. "The media then treat official information as the
gold standard of information. This makes them very dependent because, if
reporters don't spin stories the way police want, they can be cut off from
unofficial leaks."
"It's not clear why they are releasing the characterization of the 911 call
and not releasing the call itself," Naureckas continued. "It seems like an
opportunity to pull the strings of media coverage."
Max Blumenthal is a senior editor of the Grayzone Project at AlterNet, and
the award-winning author of Goliath [24] and Republican Gomorrah [25]. His
most recent book is The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza. Follow him
on Twitter at @MaxBlumenthal [26].
Sarah Lazare is a staff writer for AlterNet. A former staff writer for
Common Dreams, she coedited the book About Face: Military Resisters Turn
Against War. Follow her on Twitter at @sarahlazare [27].
Share on Facebook Share
Share on Twitter Tweet
Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [28]
[29]
________________________________________
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/law-enforcement-stonewalls-media-at
tempts-verify-narrative-orlando-shooters-motives
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/max-blumenthal
[2] http://www.alternet.org/authors/sarah-lazare-0
[3] http://alternet.org
[4]
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&S
earch_String=&URL=0300-0399/0365/Sections/0365.171.html
[5] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29498972
[6]
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2015/05/syira-qalamoun-jabhat-al-nu
sra-war-isis-kharijites.html
[7]
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/13/how-the-orlando-killer-omar
-mateen-got-his-guns.html
[8]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/06/14/fbi-director-o
rlando-shooting-probe-also-looks-backward-into-agency-files-on-shooter/?utm_
term=.02dc6ccb05b2
[9]
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/taliban-vs-isis-the-islamic-state-doomed
-afghanistan-13153
[10] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/us/orlando-shooting.html
[11]
http://www.mediaite.com/online/nyc-tabloids-take-two-very-different-approach
es-for-mondays-orlando-massacre-covers/
[12]
https://twitter.com/Ali_H_Soufan/status/742047086871478272?ref_src=twsrc%5Et
fw
[13] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/742464168482201602
[14]
http://www.npr.org/2016/06/13/481853366/in-wake-of-orlando-shooting-clinton-
suggests-broader-terror-watch-lists
[15]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/13/hillary-clin
tons-speech-following-the-orlando-shooting/
[16]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/newt-gingrich-donald-trump-vice-presiden
t_us_573a157ce4b060aa781ae3a4
[17]
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/newt-gingrich-proposes-creating-new-ho
use-unamerican-activities-committee
[18]
http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/06/former_massachusetts_rep_
barne.html
[19]
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/13/orlando-massacre-omar-mateens
-ex-wife-says-he-beat-her-and-held-her-hostage
[20]
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/pulse-orlando-nightclub-shooting/os-orla
ndo-nightclub-omar-mateen-profile-20160613-story.html
[21]
http://gawker.com/multiple-people-say-the-orlando-shooter-was-gay-1781932976
[22]
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/terror-hate-what
-motivated-orlando-nightclub-shooter-n590496
[23]
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/ex-wife-pulse-patrons-omar-mateen-
was-gay-regularly-attended-lgbt-nightclubs
[24]
http://www.amazon.com/Goliath-Life-Loathing-Greater-Israel/dp/1568586345
[25] http://republicangomorrah.com/
[26] http://twitter.com/maxblumenthal
[27] https://twitter.com/sarahlazare
[28] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on As It Shapes
ISIS-Centric Narrative, Orlando Police Reject Freedom of Information Request
for Audio of Nightclub Shooter's 911 Call
[29] http://www.alternet.org/
[30] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > As It Shapes ISIS-Centric Narrative, Orlando Police Reject Freedom of
Information Request for Audio of Nightclub Shooter's 911 Call
As It Shapes ISIS-Centric Narrative, Orlando Police Reject Freedom of
Information Request for Audio of Nightclub Shooter's 911 Call
By Max Blumenthal [1], Sarah Lazare [2] / AlterNet [3]
June 14, 2016
AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to Google+More
AddThis Share optionsShare to Email
Hours after Omar Mateen opened fire in the LGBTQ Pulse Nightclub in Orlando,
the Orlando Police Department informed the media that Mateen had sworn
allegiance to ISIS in a call to its 911 emergency line. This single detail
became the focus of all the coverage that followed, prompting politicians
from Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump and a parade of pundits to call for
stepped up military efforts and hardline measures against Muslim-American
communities.
As scrutiny of the Orlando Police Department's response to the shooting
spree intensifies and Mateen's profile grows more complex with each new
detail, the department is refusing to release the audio of the killer's
alleged 911 call.
On June 13, AlterNet's Grayzone Project submitted a request under Florida's
public records law for a written transcript and/or an audio recording of any
and all phone calls that Mateen made to Orlando's 911 emergency line on the
date of the Pulse Nightclub mass killing.
Janet Lugo, the records and identification unit supervisor for the Orlando
Police Department, replied on June 14: "The records being requested are
exempt from disclosure at this time. Section 119.071(2)(c)1., Florida
Statutes, exempts from disclosure all active criminal investigative
information."
The statute [4] exempts "all active criminal investigative information" from
disclosure by Florida government agencies.
Michael German, a fellow with the NYU Law School's Brennan Center for
Justice's Liberty and National Security Program, commented to AlterNet that
"it's clear that these law enforcement officials are selectively focusing on
particular aspects of the attack when they speak with the media. For someone
to cite allegiance to multiple terrorist groups that are actually in
conflict with one another certainly does not reflect a deep attachment to
any individual group's ideology or political goal."
According to FBI officials, Mateen previously pledged simultaneous
allegiance to Al Qaeda and Hezbollah, two militant groups fighting on
opposite sides [5] of the Syrian civil war, and whose members have battled
ISIS [6] at various intervals.
The details of Mateen's call to 911 provided to the media by the Orlando
Police department and witnesses to the shooting highlight Mateen's
ideological incoherence. According to an anonymous police official quoted by
the Daily Beast [7], Mateen told police that he was protesting U.S. bombing
"in Iraq and Syria." However, a witness named Patience Carter was quoted by
the Washington Post [8] claiming that Mateen wanted "Americans to stop
bombing his country." Mateen is the son of immigrants from Afghanistan,
where the US is waging a military campaign against the Taliban -- yet
another militant group that is battling ISIS [9].
Despite the array of new details that case Mateen as an erratic figure
consumed with personal and psychological issues with little relevance to
international terror organizations, the mainstream media's narrative of a
hardcore jihadist has remained intact, and thanks largely to law
enforcement's careful management of information. Indeed, the focus on ISIS
has overwhelmed other important factors in the massacre, from lax gun laws
to homegrown homophobia to Mateen's history of domestic violence and
possible struggle with his own sexuality.
The US-ISIS echo chamber
The official narrative of the massacre and the motives behind it was neatly
encapsulated by a New York Times report [10] on June 13:
"Mr. Mateen called 911, beginning a series of calls and conversations with
the police, in which he declared allegiance to the Islamic State, the
terrorist group that has taken over parts of Syria, Iraq and Libya."
"He was cool and calm when he was making those phone calls to us," Chief
[John] Mina said. "We had a team of crisis negotiators that did talk to the
suspect, just trying to get as much information as possible, and they
focused on what they could do to resolve the situation."
Even as the Orlando Police Department refused to release the audio of
Mateen's alleged call to 911, it provided details of the conversation to
journalists. Daily Beast reporter Michael Daly wrote [7] on Monday, "As
paraphrased by the senior law enforcement source, Mateen told the 911
operator that, 'I'm doing this to protest the U.S. bombing in Syria and Iraq
and the killing of women and children. I'm doing this in solidarity with the
Tsarnaev brothers and Moner Abu-Salha.'" (The Tsarnaev brothers carried out
a homemade bomb attack on the Boston Marathon in 2013; the following year,
Abu-Salha became the first US citizen to engage in a suicide attack in
Syria.)
The narrative has filtered down to right-wing tabloid media in predictable
fashion, with the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post running a 10-page
spread on the Pulse Nightclub massacre beneath a banner reading, "ISIS VS.
US." [11]
ISIS-related media outlets have exploited the opportunity to claim credit
for Mateen's attack, echoing US media accounts in what former FBI
counter-terror agent Ali Soufan described [12] as "circular reporting."
A bonanza for militaristic politicians
However bizarre Mateen's conflicting allegiances might have been, the
reports of his support for ISIS provided militaristic politicians from both
parties with an irresistible opportunity.
True to form, Donald Trump exploited the massacre [13]
tohttps://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/742464168482201602 [13]promote
his proposed ban on Muslims and call for an escalation of U.S. bombings
against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Hillary Clinton issued a strikingly similar
response, calling for an expansion [14] of the government's terror watch
list and declaring [15], "We should keep the pressure on ramping up the air
campaign [in Syria]."
Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker who appears eager [16] to
be Trump's vice presidential nominee, called for therevival [17] of the
House Un-American Activities Committee. From across the aisle, the former
Democratic representative from Massachusetts and liberal icon Barney Frank
asserted [18] that the Orlando massacre "reinforces the case for significant
surveillance by law enforcement of people who have given some indication of
adoption of these angry Islamic hate views."
FBI pressure to suppress allegations about Mateen's sexuality?
A closer look at the available information about Mateen's personal history
demonstrates a more complex set of possible factors behind his killing
rampage. Mateen did not receive training from any Islamic extremist
organization, however, he was a longtime employee of G4S, a private security
firm and prison provider with a record of human rights abuses that spans
across the globe. Mateen's ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, has detailed [19]
physical and emotional abuse at the killer's hands, referring to him as
"disturbed" saying her family had to rescue her in 2009 after he held her
"hostage."
At least four Pulse patrons told [20] the Orlando Sentinal they had seen
Mateen at the club before on numerous occasions, and Yusufiy has stated [21]
that she believes that Mateen was sexually attracted to men. Meanwhile,
Mateen's father told [22] NBC that his son become "very angry" after seeing
two men kissing.
Shockingly, Yusufiy's current fiance, Marco Dias, told [23] a Brazilian
television station that she was asked by the FBI not to reveal Mateen's
same-sex attraction "to the American media." If true, the revelation
reinforces suspicions that law enforcement is managing the release of
information to shape a politically convenient narrative.
"Police release whatever information they choose through official leaks,"
Jim Naureckas, editor of Extra!, the magazine of Fairness and Accuracy in
Reporting, told AlterNet. "The media then treat official information as the
gold standard of information. This makes them very dependent because, if
reporters don't spin stories the way police want, they can be cut off from
unofficial leaks."
"It's not clear why they are releasing the characterization of the 911 call
and not releasing the call itself," Naureckas continued. "It seems like an
opportunity to pull the strings of media coverage."
Max Blumenthal is a senior editor of the Grayzone Project at AlterNet, and
the award-winning author of Goliath [24] and Republican Gomorrah [25]. His
most recent book is The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza. Follow him
on Twitter at @MaxBlumenthal [26].
Sarah Lazare is a staff writer for AlterNet. A former staff writer for
Common Dreams, she coedited the book About Face: Military Resisters Turn
Against War. Follow her on Twitter at @sarahlazare [27].
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [28]
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.[29]
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/law-enforcement-stonewalls-media-at
tempts-verify-narrative-orlando-shooters-motives
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/max-blumenthal
[2] http://www.alternet.org/authors/sarah-lazare-0
[3] http://alternet.org
[4]
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&S
earch_String=&URL=0300-0399/0365/Sections/0365.171.html
[5] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29498972
[6]
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2015/05/syira-qalamoun-jabhat-al-nu
sra-war-isis-kharijites.html
[7]
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/13/how-the-orlando-killer-omar
-mateen-got-his-guns.html
[8]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/06/14/fbi-director-o
rlando-shooting-probe-also-looks-backward-into-agency-files-on-shooter/?utm_
term=.02dc6ccb05b2
[9]
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/taliban-vs-isis-the-islamic-state-doomed
-afghanistan-13153
[10] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/us/orlando-shooting.html
[11]
http://www.mediaite.com/online/nyc-tabloids-take-two-very-different-approach
es-for-mondays-orlando-massacre-covers/
[12]
https://twitter.com/Ali_H_Soufan/status/742047086871478272?ref_src=twsrc%5Et
fw
[13] https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/742464168482201602
[14]
http://www.npr.org/2016/06/13/481853366/in-wake-of-orlando-shooting-clinton-
suggests-broader-terror-watch-lists
[15]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/13/hillary-clin
tons-speech-following-the-orlando-shooting/
[16]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/newt-gingrich-donald-trump-vice-presiden
t_us_573a157ce4b060aa781ae3a4
[17]
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/newt-gingrich-proposes-creating-new-ho
use-unamerican-activities-committee
[18]
http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/06/former_massachusetts_rep_
barne.html
[19]
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/13/orlando-massacre-omar-mateens
-ex-wife-says-he-beat-her-and-held-her-hostage
[20]
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/pulse-orlando-nightclub-shooting/os-orla
ndo-nightclub-omar-mateen-profile-20160613-story.html
[21]
http://gawker.com/multiple-people-say-the-orlando-shooter-was-gay-1781932976
[22]
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/terror-hate-what
-motivated-orlando-nightclub-shooter-n590496
[23]
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/ex-wife-pulse-patrons-omar-mateen-
was-gay-regularly-attended-lgbt-nightclubs
[24]
http://www.amazon.com/Goliath-Life-Loathing-Greater-Israel/dp/1568586345
[25] http://republicangomorrah.com/
[26] http://twitter.com/maxblumenthal
[27] https://twitter.com/sarahlazare
[28] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on As It Shapes
ISIS-Centric Narrative, Orlando Police Reject Freedom of Information Request
for Audio of Nightclub Shooter's 911 Call
[29] http://www.alternet.org/
[30] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
