Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
Posted on 08/19/2006 9:08:27 AM PDT by JTN
Dundalk, Md. - The SWAT team shooting death of Dundalk mother Cheryl Noel is part of a national increase in overly aggressive home invasion tactics by police officers, according to a recent study by the Cato Institute.
“It’s troubling,” said Radley Balko, a policy analyst at Cato, a libertarian nonprofit public policy research think tank. “When you give domestic police officers military equipment, train them in military tactics and then tell them they’re fighting a War on Drugs, it’s not surprising that they behave like they’re in the military.”
Noel’s family last week filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Baltimore County and five of its officers, because of a 2005 SWAT team raid of her home, during which a police officer shot Noel to death in her bedroom.
The raid yielded two charges of marijuana possession against Noel’s 19-year-old son and her husband.
The case is an example of how the Special Weapons and Tactics team raids are “needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders, and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they’re sleeping,” said Balko, author of “Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America.”
Paramilitary raids on U.S. houses have increased by 1,300 percent in the last 25 years, the study states. There are about 40,000 annually in American, the vast majority of which are to serve routine drug warrants, including for marijuana possession as in Noel’s case, Balko said.
Noel’s death is one of at least six botched paramilitary raids in Maryland since 1988 and four since 2002, according to the Cato Institute.
Others include incidents in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County.
Noel, 44, was shot to death during a 4:30 a.m. raid on Jan. 21, 2005. She and her husband, Charles, were asleep in the master bedroom of their row house when the Baltimore County SWAT team stormed through her home.
According to the family’s federal lawsuit, officers had found “trace amounts of drugs” in trash cans outside of the house.
Cheryl Noel feared criminal intruders had broken into her home, grabbed a lawfully registered gun and held it pointed at the floor, the suit states.
One officer kicked in her bedroom door with his boot and, without identifying himself or telling Noel to drop her weapon, shot her three times, including once after she had slumped to the floor, according to the suit.
The Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office ruled that Noel’s death was justified, but Balko said such raids “bring unnecessary violence to nonviolent drug offenders.”
I was ready to make the comparison of marijuana seeds to a minor traffic violation. I was going to ask if they would use SWAT on a traffic violator.
I also thought I was being sarcastic.
I heard Radley Balko on the Ron Smith show (with I hope, only temporary co-host Bruce Elliott).
Ron was in agreement with Mr. Balko but Bruce tried to defend the tactic by saying that the police are so out gunned and have to do this sort of thing to protect themselves while serving warrants. BS!
From what I understand the son was the object of the raid. According to reports he had been involved in an altercation that may have been self-defense.
“Cheryl Noel's stepdaughter had been murdered several years earlier, and her son had recently been jumped by thugs on his way home. So the family had a legal, registered handgun in the home, and Noel had reason to be frightened. When a SWAT officer kicked open the bedroom door, Noel sat up in bed with the gun, apparently pointed downward, not at the officer. The officer, who was wearing a helmet, mask, shield, and bulletproof vest, and who came in behind a bulletproof ballistic shield, fired twice. Noel slumped over, and the gun slipped out of her hand. The officer then walked over to her and ordered her to move further away from the gun. She couldn't, of course. When she didn't, he shot her a third time, essentially from point-blank range”.
Mrs. Noel had no criminal record and according to friends and family was very religious. The son had no priors and the father had a record but his offence was 25 years ago and he’d been clean since.
I can understand deploying SWAT teams deployed against the drug cartels and gangs and against terrorists and in hostage situations but this is extreme in the extreme as this was definately a "soft" target.
I’ve had jury duty every stinking year since I moved to Baltimore City in 1989 and right after moving to Harford County two years ago I got a jury summons there too!
I have no problem doing my civic duty but enough is enough. I often wondered what would happen if I just didn’t show up. Since I don’t want to face down a SWAT team, I guess I'll be a good girl and answer the summons.
If you don't show up for jury duty in Baltimore city it usually isn't a big deal because so many of the defendants don't either. I wish that was sarcasm. My experiences were mainly in Baltimore county. If you've got a valid reason and respond to the summons with that they should work with you in Harford. BTW congratulations in moving out. Watch out for the 40 corridor though ;)
So, outright MURDER is now justified by prosecutors.
Neo-fascist police state PIGS!
In other words, FIRST DEGREE MURDER.
That makes two of us.
I feel much safer!!! :>)
How true.
I fear Officer Friendly and His Jack-Booted, Machine-Gun-Toting, Ninja-Suit-Clad Pals WAY more than the most rabid Arab terrorist.
The drug warriors here wanted a police state, and it's starting to look like they've got one.
That's pretty much why I favor drug legalization. I'd rather foot the bill for the societal ills caused by junkies than live in a police state. Drugs are bad, and people who use them are stupid, but the drug war is militarizing law enforcement.
I'm less afraid of junkies than I am the government, and I'll take my chances with them. I think most people agree with me, and it's just a matter of time before our laws change to reflect that.
"Yes but think how much safer we are now that those seeds have been confiscated"
LOL! Wonder what the "street value" would be if all those seeds were grown into adult plants under optimal conditions?
"Our militarized local and federal law enforcement bodies are the standing army our founders feared."
You're right. The new trend is Federally funded multistate task forces. They've been training here in Northern Colorado running around in their Ninja gear and invading empty buildings. Why do we need this in a Constitutional Republic? Banana Republic is more like it.
"The tendency these days to label every bad person or event that happens as "sick" is extremely annoying. "Sick" implies that the individual is not responsible for his or her actions. There's nothing "sick" about that SWAT raid. I think such raids should be outlawed. They are, in my opinion, unconstitutional. And the cop who killed the woman should be brought up on murder charges. But "sick?" No way."
Excellent points, all. Here's another, related point. There is an artificial line drawn between mental illness and illegality. In the rare cases where a person is so crazy that he or she does not understand the situation they are in, I believe juries and judges should be given the discretion to find a person innocent if they think that is appropriate.
However, even when a person is clearly mentally ill or crazy in some way, this circumstance rarely applies. That is to say, when a person commits murder, they usually know there are killing somebody, even if they are crazy. Such a person should be executed even if they are crazy, in my opinion.
In addition, it is a rare situation where even a crazy person who murders somebody believes they are acting in self-defense (due to a delusion). Again, in that particular situation, I think a judge and jury should have the "option" of finding a person innocent and committing them to a mental institution if they find it appropriate. (opposite from the current situation, where innocence necessarily springs from a finding of craziness.) Even there, we would probably need to have a minimum commitment period to prevent some of the ridiculous things that go on.
I realize I am changing the subject, but I feel you've made some very good points and it inspired me to make some points on what seems to me to be a related subject.
"These police in Baltimore county are as bad as many of the criminals at times."
Didn't a bunch of them just test postive for drug use?
They are unreliable for that reason.
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
Cold
Blooded
Murder.
L
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.