An interesting debate and one that can be settled if we all go read the constitution.
I only want proof that these videos floating around are actually what happened at most homes before I comment on what went on in general. If this dragging people out at gun point, with their hands up, etc. was done at any other place than a place that was suspected of having to do with the actual perps...then it should be totally and thoroughly condemned and lawsuits should be brought.
My other concern is that the terrorists saw that a huge city could be shut down, people locked in their homes, and major economic and social disruptions could be had by two people setting off pressure cooker bombs in a crowded place. Expect more, if this is going to be our standard response. This is the Hamas model for terrorizing Israel.
Well said, Pen.
Good idea. The Constitution forbids unreasonable searches. It doesn't forbid searches. And the law is well-established that if lives are immediately threatened warrants are not needed either.
These searches were designed only to make sure the residents were not being held by the at large terrorist, and to make sure their property was clear before the search moved on. Nothing else.
The folks in the video were back in their home ten minutes later.
And the chances are almost 100% that the residents gave permission for the search in the first place, which moots any Fourth Amendment arguments anyhow.
I'd like some of the keyboard commandos who are raving about how bad this is to produce a link to a single example of citizens not giving their consent for the searches. Or of Watertown residents complaining about the actions of law enforcement officers after the fact. I've asked many for this in the last couple of days, but so far that well has come up dry. All I've been able to find is a community that is very grateful to the police, and a bunch of internet posters who don't know the law.