LOGANSPORT — Logansport police responding to a theft report at local bar Tuesday ended up contacting the FBI because the man they arrested claimed to have terrorist ties.Police were called at 10:22 p.m. to Polsi’s Bar at 1139 Erie Ave. to investigate the theft of a woman’s cell phone. The victim told police she had left her purse and cell phone on a table when she left the bar, and when she returned, her cell phone was missing. When she recovered it, she discovered a 20-minute international call had been made to Morocco at a rate of $5 a minute.
When police arrived, they questioned the man outside the bar, telling him he would have to pay for the phone call. The man reportedly told investigators he had no money and then began yelling obscenities and threats. Police say the man yelled he was with the terrorist group al-Qaida and he was going to kill Americans, including the police officer who was questioning him.
On the way to jail, police reported the man somehow got the handcuffs from behind his body and began thrashing about in an effort to exit the moving vehicle. The police officer stopped the vehicle and shot chemical spray into the manÂ’s eyes.
Patrons of the bar later found obscenities written in French and a message in what appeared to be Arabic.
Police booked 37-year-old Hamid Faiq of Logansport into the Cass County Jail on charges of theft and intimidation, both class D felonies, and public intoxication and disorderly conduct, both class B misdemeanors.
A report was made to the Department of Homeland Security and FaiqÂ’s information was passed onto the FBI, which placed a hold on Faiq until agents arrive today to interview him.
LPD Detective David Kain offered no comment on the credibility of the threat, but he said law enforcement must fully investigate all such comments. Police said Faiq had been in the area at least three years.