Ex-BPD boss: ISIS exploiting U.S. mental health failure
Former Boston police Commissioner Edward F. Davis, now a safety consultant, said he’s not surprised there’s terror probes in all 50 states, as the head of Homeland Security announced.
ISIS feeds off hatred and mental illness, leaving law enforcement scrambling to keep Americans safe, he said. Fresno, Calif., was the latest scene of bloodshed yesterday when a gunman — who shouted “Allahu Akbar” — shot three innocent men to death.
Here’s how Davis sees the current state of security in America, as told to the Herald’s Joe Dwinell:
“The problem is you can loosely define thousands of investigations as terrorist cases. ISIS has had success radicalizing people online and they can easily be activated.
It’s really exposed a failure in our community mental health system. This is happening now and that’s why each state has active terror cases.
We had a guy near me who headed out to decapitate ‘boys in blue.’ (Usaamah Abdullah Rahim was shot in Roslindale in June 2015 before he could harm any police. His alleged associates face related charges.)
Every time we hear it, it’s shocking. There’s no question there are serious threats to the U.S. today. But you need to put it into perspective. There’s always been disenfranchised people and ISIS is reaching out to them. They use ideology to hide behind.
I always tell people that you need to be cautious, but you shouldn’t change what you do and how you live your life.
We showed that with the marathon. We kept at it after the bombings. Look at how great the race was this week.
Terrorism is not happening everywhere, but it’s a serious issue.”