Posted on 11/22/2006 7:35:17 AM PST by Dick Bachert
Atlanta police went to a home on Neal Street in Atlanta last evening to execute a search warrant. When they kicked the door in the only occupant of the home, a 92-year-old woman, started shooting. She hit all three police officers. One in the thigh, one in the arm and another in the shoulder. All police officers will be OK. The woman will not. She was shot and killed by the police.
I'm not blaming the cops here. Not at all. They had a valid search warrant, and they say they were at the right address. Shots were fired, three cops hit, and they returned fire. A 92-year-old woman who was so afraid of crime in her neighborhood that she had burglar bars on every door and window, is now dead.
The blame lies on this idiotic drug war we're waging. We have all the studies we need, all of the comprehensive data is in. We can do a much more effective job of reducing drug use in this country if we'll just take a portion of this money we spend for law enforcement and spend it on treatment programs. A Rand study showed that we can reduce illicit drug usage in this country a specified amount through treatment programs at about 10% of the cost of reducing drug usage by that same amount through criminalization and law enforcement.
There's just something in the American psyche that demands that drug users be punished instead of treated and rehabilitated. We think they're stupid and ignorant for getting mixed up with those drugs in the first place. And you know what? We're right? But look at the messages we send to our children every single day with cigarettes, alcohol, and an endless stream of drug ads on television and in magazines. Drug culture? You bet we have.
Also my ability to give the cops the benefit of the doubt has been eroded:
July 12, 2006—VA
In July 2006, U.S. Marshalls break down the door of a Dale City, Virginia family at 6 am as part of a larger drug sweep in the area. They were looking for a man who hadn't lived in the home for more than a year.
Police break down the door to the family's home, then handcuff Arlita Hines and three teenagers and line them up face down on the floor for two hours while they rifle through their belongings.
Police soon realize they've made a mistake, and leave without an apology, leaving only a form reporting the damage.
"We're all traumatized," Hines told the Washington Post, "especially the kids. To have a gun pointed in their faces, that's mental."
Sources:
Theresa Vargas, "Dozens Arrested in Drugs, Gun Sting," Washington Post, July 13, 2006.
"Big Bust Brings Wake-Up Call to Wrong House," Channel 9 News, WUSA.com, July 13, 2006
June 22, 2006—OH
Just after 6 a.m. on June 22, 2006, police smash a battering ram through Jerry Agee's front door. When police break in with guns pointed directly at Agee, the 57-year old is cooking eggs.
As the raid transpired, Agee's girlfriend had just gotten out of the shower, and was ordered to come out of the bedroom with her hands up. She came out nude, and was refused the opportunity to dress.
"She was naked, and they didn't even let her put nothing on," Agee said. "I was mad because I felt like she was being violated."
After the police realized their mistake, they searched for a while longer, then left without an apology. Agee and his girlfriend are considering a lawsuit.
Sources:
Adam Wright, "Warrant Targets Wrong Home, Wrong Man," The Chronicle-Telegram, June 28, 2006.
une 27, 2006—AL
On the morning of June 27, 2006, a SWAT team forcibly enters the home Kenneth Jamar, a man in his 50's suffering from gout. Police say Jamar confronted them with a weapon, causing them to open fire. Jamar would be hospitalized in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds. Family members dispute the officers' account of the raid, noting Jamar's infirm status, and that the man "couldn't get up to make himself a ham sandwich."
Police were looking Jerome Wallace, wanted on drug conspiracy chargers. Jamar is the Wallace's uncle, but Wallace does not live with Jamar, and never has.
The police later picked up Jerome Wallace at the scene as he watched his uncle being taken to the hospital.
Source:
Holly Hollman, "Officers allegedly shoot man at wrong address," The Decatur Daily, June 28, 2006.
Keith Clines, "Officers Return to Regular Duty; Victim Improves," The Huntsville Times, June 30, 2006.
May 22, 2006—WI
On May 22, a narcotics SWAT team storms the home of Kristina Radke and Kenneth Berhenke on a no-knock raid. They shatter the couple's window, roll in a diversionary grenade, then break open the door. Radke and Berhenke, who were preparing for bed, are apprehended, handcuffed and held at gunpoint.
Police soon realize they've targeted the wrong home. They later return to search the correct apartment, enter without the violent tactics, and arrest the occupants without incident. They seize a little over two ounces of marijuana and some mushrooms. They also find gun ammunition, but no weapon.
Source:
George Hesselberg, "Drug Force Apologetic for Police Error," Wisconsin State Journal, May 25, 2006.
April 21, 2006—NM
On April 21 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, police officers storm the house of Beverly Salazar-Duran with their guns drawn.
Salazar-Duran says the ensuing raid and search are violent and aggressive, with officers physically and verbally abusing her and her 21-year-old son. She says they emptied drawers on the floor, dismantled furniture and tossed mattresses off the bed.
Officers eventually realized their mistake, and left. Salazar-Duran has filed a lawsuit against two of the officers involved in the search.
Source:
Joseph Pawloski, "Women Sues Over Search of Home; Filing Says Police Had Bad Address," Albuquerque Journal, May 27, 2006.
March 22, 2006—MS
Police in Horn Lake, Mississippi raid a home after a tip from an informant that someone's operating a meth lab inside.
Once the paramilitary unit arrives at the scene, however, they find two houses on the property instead of one. They decide to pick one, and conduct the raid anyway. They end up waking up, terrorizing, and injuring a couple in their 80s, leaving the man with bruised ribs and the woman with a dislocated shoulder. They find the meth lab in the other house.
Police chief Darryl Whaley insisted that his officers "acted properly" and "followed procedures" in guessing which home was correct before commencing with the raid.
Source:
"Elderly couple hurt in raid on wrong house by Horn Lake police," Associated Press, March 23, 2006.
It goes on and on and on and on and on.........
I believe it's called the Pathology of Power
As reported by whom, the 3 cops??? And they would never lie right??? Wouldn't ever CYA after an officer involved shooting would they??? So tell us which police department do you work for????
I don't have a problem with the drug war. I have a problem with drug using libertarians bitching about it.
Let's go your route (and the UK's):
BBC NEWS Give addicts heroin, says officer
Howard Roberts said prescribing heroin to criminals would cut crime
Heroin should be prescribed to drug addicts to tackle crime, the deputy chief constable of Nottinghamshire has said at a drugs conference.
Howard Roberts told an Association of Chief Police Officers' conference in Manchester the idea should be assessed.
He said the treatment would cost £12,000 a year per addict but added that drug users steal property valued at an average of £45,000 a year.
The idea is being piloted in London, the South East and North of England...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/6172392.stm
Several generations of drug addicts supported by the government (along with their progeny) is just what the doctor ordered.
Just ask the Chinese.
"Oh, I just assumed you were stoned since you are ignoring the apparent fact that these officers were shot at as they ***approached the house.***"
The reports thus far say different things. The one you mentioned, and a police spokesman said they approached, announced their presence, and knocked on the door.
So, it's possible she shot them through the door, which would make more sense of her getting all three. Perhaps she nicked two at once. Did they return fire through the door as well?
My point is, the only facts so far, are that three officers were shot, and she was shot and killed.
That's right, I'm a cop -- paid to cover-up their heinous crimes on the internet.
Hey, don't think about the likelihood of a 92 year old woman getting off three shots with cops in the same room with her.
Sure the cops lied their heads off. They know there won't be any investigation.
(Again, the foolishness of trying to have a rational discussion with the druggie crowd.)
Are you implying that it's somehow difficult for the police to get a warrant??? They were probably acting on the tip of an "anonymous source" or some other unassailable vestibule of integrity and forthrightness.
That's an impressive list.
Soros' people do good work.
(Are the benefits good?)
If there was no WOD, there would be no need for a search warrant in the first place. That's the connection. These officers wouldn't be wounded and a 90+ year old woman would still be breathing if there was no WOD. Now do you understand?
"Are you implying that it's somehow difficult for the police to get a warrant?"
Again, why try talking to druggies?
You said they didn't have a warrant. They did.
Now you are saying they got one too easily.
It's like talking to stoned walls. You don't care about facts, or government spending -- or any other principals.
You only want your bongs.
Once again you assume my motivation here is to legalize drugs. I don't have a dog in that fight. I could care less about drugs or druggies. What I care about are the rights of American citizens and the U.S. Constitution.
I don't have a problem with the drug war. I have a problem with drug using libertarians bitching about it.
If you are a cop. Then you know the post is true. The blue crowd always defends itself.
"If there was no WOD, there would be no need for a search warrant in the first place. That's the connection. These officers wouldn't be wounded and a 90+ year old woman would still be breathing if there was no WOD. Now do you understand?"
Yes, think of how many lives would be saved if we made all drugs legal.
LOL
It's a great argument. And it should be applied for all laws. They're a pain in the ass to enforce anyway. And so expensive.
"You missed the part in the amendment about unreasonable searches and seizures. Just because they had a warrant doesn't make it reasonable automatically."
Especially if it's the wrong house.
"You missed the part in the amendment about unreasonable searches and seizures. Just because they had a warrant doesn't make it reasonable automatically."
You're so right. Your logic is flawless.
These cops were clearly gunning for this old lady. And they just trumped up an excuse to finally take her out.
If there was no WOD, there would be no need for a search warrant in the first place. That's the connection. These officers wouldn't be wounded and a 90+ year old woman would still be breathing if there was no WOD. Now do you understand?
There is no such thing as a war on drugs. You cannot wage war on inanimate objects. The war they are waging is on Americans who use drugs. The tactics they adopt prove that.
The actions they display are despicable. Perhaps for a meth lab run by a gang of known criminals justifiable but to establish that would require some surveillance I would think.
And to use this same tactic on someone who smokes a little weed totally uncalled for but there would be no difference.
I have often pondered why our Government feels it should be legal for a woman to have control over a life and can take that life in an instant. Yet we have no control on the means of relaxation or comfort for our own bodies. Even those addicted to stronger drugs may be killing themselves but over a longer period of time. Not instantly. Our Government needs to do a serious reality check and recognize the HYPOCRASY of their own existence.
When marijuana is legalized, who is going to sell it?
How 'bout RJ Reynolds?
Read, I never said they didn't have a warrant. And yes as the saying goes, a DA could indict a ham sandwich if they wanted to. How do I know?? Well my next door neighbor is an ADA and just got elected to the circuit court, my other neighbor is a cop, one of the lady's I work with is married to a county sheriff, and for fun I go on ride-alongs on Saturday nights to see all of the drunks and wife-beaters getting hauled into jail.
You know what happens when you know that many LEOs, you hear stories.
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