FBI Special Agent Frederick Humphries was unfairly thrust into the spotlight earlier this year when a gag picture of him surfaced during "Petraeus-Gate."
The media was quick to label Humphries as a key player during the general’s drama, pointing to a shirtless picture he had sent to socialite Jill Kelley as a joke as evidence of wrongdoing.
This unfair assault on Humphries fails to reflect his proven record of stopping crime since joining the FBI in 1996.
Humphries apprehended an Algerian man who claimed to be French Canadian as he tried to enter Washington state in late 1999. Humphries, a French speaker, detected that the suspect’s accent did not come from Canada. He instructed his colleagues to arrest the man. Upon further investigation the FBI learned that the Algerian was part of an al Qaeda plot to blow up the Los Angeles International Airport.
Humphries was stationed at MacDill Air Force base in Tampa, Fla., when a retired veteran got into an altercation with base security in 2010. After the man drew a knife and threatened those around him, Humphries shot and killed him, protecting himself and his colleagues.
One can only hope that more Americans will follow Humphries’s lead and perform quiet acts of heroism without seeking the spotlight. Shirts, as always, are optional.