Newsbrief: Paramilitary Drug Raid Tactics Anger Eugene Residents

DRCNet ^ | 12/13/02 | DRCNet

[Pahuanui]

Eugene, Oregon's, Whiteaker neighborhood sounded like a war zone around dawn on October 17, and residents are fighting mad. It wasn't a terrorist attack, though, just another example of a drug war run amok. Police serving a search warrant for an alleged marijuana grow enlisted an armored personnel carrier and 45 SWAT team officers armed with shotguns and automatic rifles to raid a cluster of houses in Whiteaker.

But after throwing flash-bang grenades, kicking in doors, and handcuffing four people -- including one nude woman and one woman dressed only in underpants and a t-shirt -- for hours in a room in one of the houses, police came up empty-handed. Police also admitted to placing a black bag over one of the women's head until she agreed to cooperate with them, the Eugene Register-Guard reported on December 5.

Neighbors are not impressed. Since the raid six weeks ago, resentment has only mounted. "It was completely inappropriate to have that kind of militaristic action there," said Whiteaker Community Council president Majeska Seese-Green. "We don't want it to happen in Whiteaker again, or any other neighborhood," she told the Register-Guard. The community council will issue a formal statement condemning the raid, she added. Seese-Green and three other residents also took the complaints to the Eugene Police Commission, where they questioned the wisdom and safety of such raids.

Not that the police are listening. Instead, officers involved trotted out their tired old excuses for treating the people they are supposes to serve and protect as if they were enemy combatants. "We rely on the element of surprise and speed," said Captain Steve Swenson, head of special operations for the Eugene Police Department. "The third element is the overwhelming display of force when you come through the door," he added, sounding more like Colin Powell preparing to invade Iraq than a police officer making a marijuana bust.

Except it was a marijuana bust that wasn't. No drugs were found, nor any weapons, nor have any formal charges been filed against the victims of the raid. Police have returned all items seized, and the county DA told the Register-Guard the case won't go to the grand jury unless more evidence is developed. Oops.

[philman_36]

Good job Roscoe. No, make that great job.
It just goes to show that both sides of the coin are the same!
And let's not forget Peter Bourne with Carter, Nixon with the Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention (SAODAP) and Jerry Jaffe, and Lyndon Johnson with the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.
Something "just for you"...
Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and the Politics of Failure

[Roscoe]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/backroom/806094/posts?page=56#56

[Roscoe]

Soros/Browne 2004

[philman_36]

I doubt it, though it would be the Dream Team for WODdies. Who else could they ostracize more...
And, besides, I was talking about elected and placed people, not some "possibility".
You're dealing in the make believe again and I'm dealing in actuality.

[Roscoe]

Might even break the 0.36% level.

[philman_36]

Might even break the 0.36% level.
Might be a figment of your imagination.

[Roscoe]

Perhaps it wouldn't manage even that. Drug legalization has limited appeal.

[philman_36]

Perhaps it wouldn't manage even that.
Perhaps. Speculate away. You're good at speculation.
Drug legalization has limited appeal.
Yeah, some folks never want the issue to go mainstream and work diligently to keep it there.
As the saying goes...There goes the cash cow.

[philman_36]

Perhaps it wouldn't manage even that. Drug legalization has limited appeal.
And you're mixing things...I do believe your 0.36% regards the % of the vote for your "Dream Ticket", not the % of appeal in drug legalization. Didn't someone show you something not too long ago about the "appeal" of drug legislation reform? I believe they did...and I also believe it was substantially higher than 0.36%.

[Roscoe]

substantially higher than 0.36%.

Not legalization.

[DouglasKC]

You two psuedo conservatives can FOAD as far as I am concerned.

FOAD? Is that some kind of drug term? "Forget our acid deals"? "Fix our alcohol drugs"?

MY government hasn't been in office since Reagan. Only the more and bigger gooberment party has held sway, with you two morons cheerleading it on when your section has its turn.

Oh oh. Your brain is going to explode when you figure out that Reagan started the modern day drug war.

And Roscoe I notice you are still using your dumbass graphic.

I kind of like that graphic Roscoe. It's appealing in a sort of retro way. And I enjoy seeing how upset dcwusmc gets when you post it.

I am waiting for you to agree to take a piss test with me and see who passes and who won't... Dougie-poo, you can join us. We'll have them test for pot, opiates, booze, nicotine and cocaine... I'll pop clean on all of them. Will you two Dassholes?

Eeeewww...I'm NOT going to unzip my pants *anywhere* in your vicinity. I''ll come up clean on all of them too though. In a way it's even sadder that you aren't a doper because that means you've been deceived by dopers...and dopers aren't exactly supergeniuses.

[philman_36]

You're like a doorknob with snot on it...nothing gets a grip on you.
Not legalization.
You brought up legalization, not I. You obscured and skewed the aspects, not I. Get a grip on yourself, if you can that is.
I mentioned "drug legislation reform". You got a poll to back up your claim? I've got one, though it is slightly dated...
Marijuana support at 30-year high 08/23/2001
Support for legalizing marijuana is at its highest level in at least 30 years, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup poll.
The poll found that 34% favored legalizing marijuana use while 62% were opposed, the most support for legalization since pollsters began asking the question in 1969.

Yep...inching towards that 51% "majority" that so many Democracy lovers want so much...
Don't ya just love Democracy where the Majority rules?
People want Democracy, they get Democracy.
Wouldn't a Republic, where rights begin with the individual, be so much better.

[philman_36]

And here is another one...Do you believe in freedom to use whatever drugs you choose?...at the #1 slot on Yahoo with the keywords drug legalization poll with a whopping 59%!
Make of that what you will.

[philman_36]

Your brain is going to explode when you figure out that Reagan started the modern day drug war.
Go back in time a little. RR didn't "start" anything, he just continued an ongoing policy.
Hint/clue...reply 61.
Is your brain going to explode now?

[DouglasKC]

Go back in time a little. RR didn't "start" anything, he just continued an ongoing policy.

Read it again: "Reagan started the modern day drug war."

Just say no? Remember?

Hint/clue...reply 61.

You guys kill me when you reference websites that are sympathetic to your cause and expect us to swallow everything on them. It's like going to a liberal website to get the "real truth" on conservative. As a matter of fact it's exactly like that.

Is your brain going to explode now?

Maybe. Your grasp of history and your stunning command of facts has given me a headache. Maybe that's the beginning.

[philman_36]

Just say no? Remember?
Yeah, I remember that inanity. How could anyone forget.
You seem to have forgotten that it was Nancy, not Ronald Maximus, who made that quote famous. Oh, but wait! You just said "Reagan" and didn't specify exactly which Reagan you were talking about, did you. I guess you got your "out".
Ronald Reagan did not start the modern day drug war. As I stated, he just continued ongoing policies.
You guys kill me when you reference websites that are sympathetic to your cause and expect us to swallow everything on them.
Most of the information I presented in that reply had nothing to do with any particular website and I surely don't expect anyone to swallow anything from any particular website. I do expect people to approach the issue with an open mind and to search out different views rather than doggedly hold onto their previously held views without any outside verification.
Your mind, however, seems obviously to be very closed and rigid so I can understand your POV.
Talk about "you guys kill me"...You're (notice I define you and you alone and not some esoteric "group") killing me in that you don't even know who said "Just say no" and that you don't consider Carter, Nixon or Johnson to be modern times. Where were they? In ancient history?

[philman_36]

Your grasp of history and your stunning command of facts has given me a headache.
Your ignorance, lies and deception give me an edge I'll use against you every time.
Maybe that's the beginning.
It's already over, you just don't know it yet.

[DouglasKC]

And here is another one...Do you believe in freedom to use whatever drugs you choose?...at the #1 slot on Yahoo with the keywords drug legalization poll with a whopping 59%! Make of that what you will.

I make of it that's it's absolute total bovine brainwashing pro-drug propaganda.

Look at the "choices" to this fair and unbiased poll.

Yes, I believe in freedom. (59%)
No, I believe people should be free only to use things that I like. (24%)
No, I don't believe in freedom. (17%)

And with this they could still only get 59%. You pro-druggies are so entertaining.

[philman_36]

Just Say No To Drugs
On a cold, rainy morning in January 1985, a group of children at Peralta Year Round School in Oakland, California were discussing drugs and peer pressure with two representatives of Oakland Parents in Action. The children viewed a film on a visit to their school by First Lady Nancy Reagan the summer before. In it, Mrs. Reagan observed that one way to counter peer pressure was to “just say no.” During the conversation that followed, one of the students suggested, ”Why don’t we start a “just say no club?” With that, the first “Just Say No” Club was born – and a national movement was launched.

[DouglasKC]

Just Say No To Drugs On a cold, rainy morning in January 1985, a group of children at Peralta Year Round School in Oakland, California were discussing drugs and peer pressure with two representatives of Oakland Parents in Action. The children viewed a film on a visit to their school by First Lady Nancy Reagan the summer before. In it, Mrs. Reagan observed that one way to counter peer pressure was to “just say no.” During the conversation that followed, one of the students suggested, ”Why don’t we start a “just say no club?” With that, the first “Just Say No” Club was born – and a national movement was launched.

Those were the good old days weren't they?