[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Without the full story on both sides of this I think it is patently unfair to make the judgment you suggest. It is oh so tempting to define your opponents stance in the extreme. It is much tougher to search for the details and hear both sides before you pass judgment. I don't know the story well enough to say how I would want my local gov't to act. I just think the anarchy folks are ridiculous (see, everyone can do it). To be more precise, those who claim a constitutional right to public intoxication are ridiculous. I don't know if truth seeking will find that this was poor judgment by the gov't or by the individuals arrested. But it is no one's constitutional right to be in a drunken stupor in public.

[texan75010]

The older I get, the less I like police. I wonder how long it will take before one of these undercover guys is uncovered by some angry Texans in a bar. How many other designated drivers will be suspected of being a cop because they are not partaking in an adult beverage.
Are these undercover officers bringing firearms in these bars? Do they not see any potential downside in all this? If they are trying to incite an angry mob, they are well on their way to doing just that. It would not surprise me if one of these officers paid the ultimate price in this potentially volatile situation.

[GunRunner]

The full story IS known, maybe not for every individual case, but it is clearly evident by the statements made by TABC in the posted article:

In August, 2005, the agency announced it was beginning a crackdown on public intoxication, using both undercover and open operations.

And from what we've heard from several of those arrested, the methods they are using are pretty much the equivalent of pedestrian DUI checkpoints; posting plain clothes undercover officers in private establishments to arrest people who appear to be intoxicated.

This represents such a leap to a police state, that nothing that TABC does in the future (including sending undercover agents into private parties, your home, weddings, office parties) will surprise me.