A Missed Warning? Scanner traffic indicates law enforcement may have investigated San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook a week before the attack.By Stephen F. Hayes
http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-missed-warning/article/2000125/
Law enforcement officials in San Bernardino and Los Angeles may have investigated Syed Farook one week before the shooting on the community development center on December 2, 2015, that left 14 dead and 17 injured, according to a review of police communications immediately following the attacks.
Federal and local authorities have insisted that neither of the attackers had aroused suspicion before the assault earlier this month and that both Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, were unknown to law enforcement and US intelligence. But conversations between law enforcement officials in the hours after the shootings leave a different impression.
Farook is first identified by name at approximately 11:40am local time, just a half hour after the shooting began. The information came from a county worker, who noted that Farook had been acting nervous and left the holiday party twenty minutes before the shooting began.
In a subsequent exchange at approximately 12:08pm the dispatcher addresses an officer nicknamed “Trav” upon hearing “Syed Farook.” She says: “Reference that name, I believe one of the [garbled] was working that name up for something last week. I’ll have to check.”
In a second exchange shortly after 12:20, another officer says of Farook: “I just got some info from that LAPD that they have information on one of your suspects. I heard that somebody was trying to INV that guy. Can you find out who I can give this information to?”
A third exchange, two minutes later, follows:
Officer 2: [garbled] I had received a call [garbled] that had some information that they had ran the guy or something last week and I was going to give it to your intel guys.
Officer 1: Okay, that’s what I was trying to get you to. If you’re at the mobile command – uh, what’s your 20?
The San Bernardino Police Department did not respond to inquiries by press time. Officer Rosario Herrera, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department, told TWS that she wouldn’t be at liberty to discuss any prior investigation. “As I’m aware, we don’t have any information.” (Audio of the scanner traffic was provided via Broadcastify by “Jason Beale,” a pseudonym for a former senior US intelligence official. Broadcastify bills itself as “the world’s largest source of public safety, aircraft, rail and marine radio live audio streams.” Premium subscribers have access to archived audio of recordings for 180 days).
Scanner traffic is often unreliable, particularly in the immediate aftermath of an active shooter incident. It’s possible that the officers who discussed the prior investigation were mistaken. But it’s at least clear that several officers believed that Farook had been the subject of an earlier investigation.
A transcript of five calls concerning Farook and a potential previous investigation follows. The calls took place between approximately 11:40am and 12:40pm pacific time.
1) The first exchange, between an unidentified San Bernardino police officer and the dispatcher, comes at 11:40am, approximately 30 minutes after the shooting began. The call follows a police interview with a witness to the shooting and includes the first mention of Farook’s name.
Officer: Looking for possible suspect info.
Dispatcher: 909, go ahead.
Officer: Male [garbled] left out of the blue, ummm, and then 20 minutes later the shooting occurred. The subject’s last of Farfook (sic) or Farook: Frank, Adam, Roger, Ocean, Ocean, King. First of Syed: Sam, Yellow, Edward, David.
Dispatcher: The front of –
Officer: Matches the description of one of the shooters.
Dispatcher: The front of your transmission was covered. He left where?
Officer: He was acting nervous, left the building – 20 minutes later or so the shooting began. He matches the physical of one of the shooters.
Dispatcher: Your call sign please?
Officer: [garbled.]
2) The second call, at 12:08pm, includes additional information on the shooter. In an exchange between the dispatcher and three officers, at the mention of Syed Farook the dispatcher volunteers that authorities had looked at him the previous week.
Officer 1: Lincoln 6 to Tony King.
Officer 2: [garbled] Tony.
Officer 1: Tony, have you passed that information on to somebody who can follow-up on it?
Officer 2: Which info was that, Trav?
Officer 1: The suspect info that you had?
Officer 2: I put it out [garbled].
Officer 1: Okay, I need that info given to somebody that can start working it up so we can get a location on this guy.
Officer 2: Hey Travis?
Officer 1: Go ahead.
Officer 3: It’s Gary. I’ve got that info. Donny’s working on it right now. I’ll let you know what we find.
Officer 1: Gary, when you find out give me a twenty-one with it. (Ed: 10-21 is code for a phone call).
Officer 3: The only info I have right now is on that Syed guy – name and date of birth.
Officer 1: When she lets you know, call me with the info.
Officer 3: Will do.
Dispatcher: Lincoln six.
Officer 1: Go ahead, ma’am.
Dispatcher: Reference that name, I believe one of the [garbled] was working that name up for something last week. I’ll have to check.
Officer 2: Hey Travis?
Officer 1: Go ahead.
Officer 2: Captain Gomez is wondering if you’re available to 87 at the CP [Ed: command post] on the north side.
Officer 1: Yes.
3) The third exchange comes at 12:20pm and features a brief conversation between two San Bernardino police officers. One of the officers reports that the Los Angeles Police Department has information on one of the suspects.
Officer 1: Station one, sheriff [garbled].
Officer 2: Alright, go ahead.
Officer 1: I just got some info from that LAPD that they have information on one of your suspects. I heard that somebody was trying to INV that guy. Can you find out who I can give this information to?
Officer 2: Copy.
4) The fourth exchange, just two minutes later, at 12:22pm,
Officer 1: Last unit.
Officer 2: Sheriff [garbled].
Officer 1: Are you out? On our incident?
Officer 2: [garbled] I had received a call [garbled] that had some information that they had ran the guy or something last week and I was going to give it to your intel guys.
Officer 1: Okay, that’s what I was trying to get you to. If you’re at the mobile command – uh, what’s your 20? [Ed: Current location].
Officer 2: Central station.
Officer 1: Copy. We will send – I’m going to send a unit out to you, okay?
5) A fifth exchange repeats the information identifying the shooter and attributes it to a witness.
Officer 1: I talked to a witness who sat next to him said the guy [unintelligible] was a county worker, was acting a little weird, left early – which he also thought was weird. And then about 30 minutes later the shooting happened. Says the shooter he saw matched the same height and build as the guy that left. I have a name and general age – no date of birth.
Officer 2: And where is that witness now?
Officer 1: He’s on the south side of the golf course with the rest of the, uh, people…
Officer 2: Okay, what’s his name?
Officer 1: Standby.
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