20051210
American Citizens back shooting Feds!
Feds back shooting American Citizen
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/373325p-317316c.html
"He was speaking English. There were other passengers who heard the threat," said Detective Mary Walters, spokeswoman for the Metro-Dade Police Department.
Walters refused to identify any passengers who heard Alpizar shout "bomb" or say how many heard the threat. No passenger has yet to say publicly he or she heard Alpizar claim he had a bomb.
"In this situation here, this was textbook," said Dave Adams, spokesman for the Federal Air Marshal Service, explaining that the marshals believed there was "an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury."
No bomb or weapons were discovered on Alpizar or in his luggage.
Meanwhile, two passengers contradicted the official version of the deadly incident on American Airlines Flight 924.
"This guy did not deserve to be killed," said John McAlhany, 44, of Sebastian, Fla., who was seated near Alpizar at the plane's rear when the incident unfolded. "There was no bomb threat. I never heard anything about a bomb."
Another passenger, Alan Tirpak, 31, of Winter Springs, Fla., also questioned whether Alpizar should have been shot.
"He didn't say anything as far as I could hear," said Tirpak, who was seated near the front of the Boeing 757 jet.
Both men said they heard Alpizar's wife yelling to the marshals that her husband was "very sick" before they shot him just outside the plane's door. Alpizar's family later said he suffered from bipolar disorder, a mental illness also referred to as manic-depression.
McAlhany and Tirpak both said they were held with the other 100-plus passengers for seven hours after the shooting and not one mentioned hearing Alpizar say the word "bomb."
"I think it's a bunch of B.S." said McAlhany.
He said he first heard about a bomb from a Miami-Dade cop and an FBI agent who were interviewing him.
The differing versions of the deadly ordeal came as White House spokesman Scott McClellan said it appeared the two air marshals "acted in a way that's consistent with the extensive training that they have received." ¶ 10.12.05
