"I'd like to nominate, posthumously of course, this 92 year old sharpshooter for the NRA Woman of the Year award. Door gets kicked in, and she gets off 3 shots and 3 hits. Outstanding. And I also like to nominate the 3 a$$hole cops for the Janet Reno/Waco Civil Rights Common Sense award. Don't show up at her door at 10:00 in the morning in broad daylight wearing uniforms, show up in the dark wearing plain clothes and kick in the door. Brilliant."
Most reports have this kindly old lady shooting the police officers as they approached her house.
But don't let such details get in the way of your desire to suck your bong.
Drugs don't do anything for me there buddy, suck on your own bong. I am however a huge fan of the Bill of Rights. The 4th amendment more precisely.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
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