The War on (Some) Drugs continues to rack up casualties. On a side note, thank you for labels/tags: War on (Some) Drugs and Ignorance is no excuse for a law - Those two have made it into my daily lexicon.
That said, the doorbell could be dangerous. What if it shorted, caused an electrical fire, and burned the house down? But that seems far less likely to cause a fire than throwing incendiary devices into a house through a window that you just broke.
The sheriff is claiming that his officers "did nothing wrong".
Hey, without that pesky "being responsible for what they do" thing, what's next? Shoot an RPG into a bank full of people in an attempt to "apprehend" a bank robber? Or maybe they'll get the tank that they got with a grant from "Homeland Security" and start firing HEAT rounds into un-licensed child care facilities.
"If that Sister Mary had just gotten a license like everyone else, this tragedy wouldn't have had to happen."
One more casualty of a very disturbing trend. "Confidential" Informants provide inaccurate information, incorrect addresses yet the people who give credence to and act on such information are rarely held accountbale.
The general back-patting and "There, there, it's bad, but there's no need for an investigation or anything, so tell everyone it'll get better" bullshit among the various agencies is... kind of sickening.
Innocent people have been KILLED during no-knock raids on wrong adresses by state, local and FEDERAL SWAT operations, people's homes trashed and damaged beyond habitation, with no compensation for the "mistake". I'm to the point I don't CARE how "outgunned" the cops are, bring back Barney Five w/ one round in his pocket, not the gun.
In the dark depths of history (is that dinosaur poop I smell?), I was a medic in a city that led the nation in homicides per capita. If you were a male between the ages of 18-45, you were statistically more likely to be shot than if you served in Viet Nam. More illicit drugs manufactured there at the time than anywhere else in California. Highest incidence of penicillin resistant gonorrhea in the nation. Never saw their SWAT team use a flash-bang. The only ones affected by tear gas cannisters in a SWAT caper were those of us huddled in an apartment lobby with the cache of same awaiting the order to fire them, which never came. They were tough hombres, but they were also smart cops who did not need no-knock warrants and incendiary devices to be effective.
Coconut...it depends on the totality of the circumstances. If it's spun as a civil rights violation the Fed's will run w/it...if not then the crap shoot of Federal Court for punitive action.
I'm with Matt G... it's time to rein in these no-knock dynamic entries. If there's no hostage that could be killed, there's no need for it.
The excuse is always "But they may eliminate evidence!" Well, so be it... it's not worth the danger to innocent people who may be in there, nor is it worth the danger to the police. Just wait for them to come outside to head to the store or something and nab them then.
Home invasion under color of law isn't the answer to concern over evidence.
A judge that signs a no knock warrant should be the first one in the door, in his robes. Followed closely by the DA, briefcase in hand. Then lets see how long that shit lasts. I'm betting one bullet.
I'm sure that the cops are confident that nothing will happen to them. After all, they have the example of the Mt Carmel no knock raid as a benchmark for what the US people will put up with. If 19(?) kids burned to death doesn't cut it, what's the big deal about one at a time?
How is it that suing for medical malpractice has hampered the practice of medicine, but police are immune from recourse for errors in procedure, for negligence, and from acting aggressively on incorrect information or against the wrong address or person?
Brad, have you ever tried sueing for malpractice? Good luck wit dat. Docs clam up/refuse to testify, cuz they don't want a fellow sawbones doing it to them.
Seem to recall, about a year ago, some eastern city(Philadelphia, maybe) the ninjas threw a flash-bang through a window and it landed right under the legs of a lady sitting reading, burned the hell out of her.
And the ninjas and DA and everyone else did the usual "It's a terrible thing, but we'd do it again for Officer Safety!" dance. Including while getting their asses sued off... Lord, I'm sick of this crap.
I love it when they use "destruction of evidence" as an excuse for a no-knowck, when raiding a marijuana grow house. because the druggies will flush the dope down the toilet.
If there WAS a threat of destruction of evidence in the 30-60 seconds between knocking and battering in the door, I want to know where these dudes are buying their plumbing -- you know how big even a HALF mature cannabis plant is?!? Same thing for an actual dealer (not just the Point Of Sale street rep passing baggies through car windows) stash is for other drugs -- there's a limit to how much shit you can flush. . . and they pretty much have to flush it ALL to avoid charges.
I keep waiting for one of these dynamic entries to detonate Roscoe and Cletus' home chemistry experiment and take the whole damned SWAT team with it. I don't believe anything short of that will actually give them pause.
@Ken O Even if someone pulls a TPK on an overconfident hicksville swat team, the rest of them will just use it as an excuse to add hellfire missiles to their drone fleet. Amazing what federal funding and the death of local democracy can do.
Make him pay for baby's medical bills out of his salary!
ReplyDeleteUlises from CA
The War on (Some) Drugs continues to rack up casualties. On a side note, thank you for labels/tags: War on (Some) Drugs and Ignorance is no excuse for a law - Those two have made it into my daily lexicon.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the doorbell could be dangerous. What if it shorted, caused an electrical fire, and burned the house down? But that seems far less likely to cause a fire than throwing incendiary devices into a house through a window that you just broke.
-Rob
I'm at the point where I can't support No Knock Warrants, absent a hostage present.
ReplyDeleteThe sheriff is claiming that his officers "did nothing wrong".
ReplyDeleteHey, without that pesky "being responsible for what they do" thing, what's next? Shoot an RPG into a bank full of people in an attempt to "apprehend" a bank robber? Or maybe they'll get the tank that they got with a grant from "Homeland Security" and start firing HEAT rounds into un-licensed child care facilities.
"If that Sister Mary had just gotten a license like everyone else, this tragedy wouldn't have had to happen."
Ah... the smell of hyperbole in the morning...
s
One more casualty of a very disturbing trend.
ReplyDelete"Confidential" Informants provide inaccurate information, incorrect addresses yet the people who give credence to and act on such information are rarely held accountbale.
Risk vs. gain my dear lady. And its not just local SO's & PD's screwing things up on such "no-knock" raids.
ReplyDeleteMatt G said it all right ^ there
ReplyDeleteThe general back-patting and "There, there, it's bad, but there's no need for an investigation or anything, so tell everyone it'll get better" bullshit among the various agencies is... kind of sickening.
ReplyDeleteThe Sheriff and his officers in this case all have the same middle name: Richard. What an amazing coincidence...
ReplyDeleteCorruption, top to bottom. We should never have called it the war on (Some) drugs.
ReplyDeleteRead this well, because it's the last internet post I will ever make:
ReplyDeleteRE: Unintended Consequences" by John Ross:
"After the first one, the rest are free."
Goodbye, and enjoy Life and God's Grace.
Innocent people have been KILLED during no-knock raids on wrong adresses by state, local and FEDERAL SWAT operations, people's homes trashed and damaged beyond habitation, with no compensation for the "mistake". I'm to the point I don't CARE how "outgunned" the cops are, bring back Barney Five w/ one round in his pocket, not the gun.
ReplyDeleteIn the dark depths of history (is that dinosaur poop I smell?), I was a medic in a city that led the nation in homicides per capita. If you were a male between the ages of 18-45, you were statistically more likely to be shot than if you served in Viet Nam. More illicit drugs manufactured there at the time than anywhere else in California. Highest incidence of penicillin resistant gonorrhea in the nation. Never saw their SWAT team use a flash-bang. The only ones affected by tear gas cannisters in a SWAT caper were those of us huddled in an apartment lobby with the cache of same awaiting the order to fire them, which never came. They were tough hombres, but they were also smart cops who did not need no-knock warrants and incendiary devices to be effective.
ReplyDeleteCoconut...it depends on the totality of the circumstances. If it's spun as a civil rights violation the Fed's will run w/it...if not then the crap shoot of Federal Court for punitive action.
ReplyDeleteBut doorbells are so... untacticool.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Matt G... it's time to rein in these no-knock dynamic entries. If there's no hostage that could be killed, there's no need for it.
ReplyDeleteThe excuse is always "But they may eliminate evidence!" Well, so be it... it's not worth the danger to innocent people who may be in there, nor is it worth the danger to the police. Just wait for them to come outside to head to the store or something and nab them then.
Home invasion under color of law isn't the answer to concern over evidence.
A judge that signs a no knock warrant should be the first one in the door, in his robes. Followed closely by the DA, briefcase in hand. Then lets see how long that shit lasts. I'm betting one bullet.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that the cops are confident that nothing will happen to them. After all, they have the example of the Mt Carmel no knock raid as a benchmark for what the US people will put up with. If 19(?) kids burned to death doesn't cut it, what's the big deal about one at a time?
ReplyDeleteSick burn.
ReplyDelete...Damn it.
rickn8or said...
ReplyDeleteBut doorbells are so... untacticool.
Marketing idea for SWAT teams! A portable doorbell that plays "Ride of the Valkyries".
How is it that suing for medical malpractice has hampered the practice of medicine, but police are immune from recourse for errors in procedure, for negligence, and from acting aggressively on incorrect information or against the wrong address or person?
ReplyDeleteBrad, have you ever tried sueing for malpractice? Good luck wit dat. Docs clam up/refuse to testify, cuz they don't want a fellow sawbones doing it to them.
DeleteSeem to recall, about a year ago, some eastern city(Philadelphia, maybe) the ninjas threw a flash-bang through a window and it landed right under the legs of a lady sitting reading, burned the hell out of her.
ReplyDeleteAnd the ninjas and DA and everyone else did the usual "It's a terrible thing, but we'd do it again for Officer Safety!" dance. Including while getting their asses sued off... Lord, I'm sick of this crap.
I love it when they use "destruction of evidence" as an excuse for a no-knowck, when raiding a marijuana grow house. because the druggies will flush the dope down the toilet.
ReplyDeleteIf there WAS a threat of destruction of evidence in the 30-60 seconds between knocking and battering in the door, I want to know where these dudes are buying their plumbing -- you know how big even a HALF mature cannabis plant is?!? Same thing for an actual dealer (not just the Point Of Sale street rep passing baggies through car windows) stash is for other drugs -- there's a limit to how much shit you can flush. . . and they pretty much have to flush it ALL to avoid charges.
Especially with low-flow toilets.
ReplyDeleteI keep waiting for one of these dynamic entries to detonate Roscoe and Cletus' home chemistry experiment and take the whole damned SWAT team with it. I don't believe anything short of that will actually give them pause.
ReplyDelete@Ken O
ReplyDeleteEven if someone pulls a TPK on an overconfident hicksville swat team, the rest of them will just use it as an excuse to add hellfire missiles to their drone fleet.
Amazing what federal funding and the death of local democracy can do.