Posted on 10/28/2006 11:27:01 AM PDT by traviskicks
A Sugar Land woman says police went too far when they burst into her home and arrested her boyfriend and son on drug charges. The raid left her dog dead and caused thousands of dollars in damage.
"It was bang, bang, bang, then there was a boom as they broke the door in, threw the fire grenade, and then shot the dog," said homeowner Margot Allen. "This all happened in anywhere from five to fifteen seconds."
That's how Allen's son and boyfriend describe what happened that day. Sugar Land police acted on a tip. They say they found traces of marijuana and cocaine in her trash after a month-long investigation.
"There's no crack done in my house," she said. "There's occasional marijuana in my house. I don't do it because I don't happen to like it."
Based on the evidence in the trash, a regional SWAT team arrived at the home. Police say they knocked, waited 30 seconds, and then broke in with guns and a concussion grenade. The house suffered $5,000 damage and one officer shot and killed Margot's golden lab, Shadow, when police say it charged toward one of the officers. What did officers find inside?
"A joint half the size of my pinky fingernail and then one about this big," she said, showing a length on her finger. "And not anywhere near this big around."
The Sugar Land Police Department declined an on-camera interview, but they are defending their actions, saying they followed protocol to the letter.
The department says it was determined that the bust would be of a moderate risk. Even though they had no specific threat, they were prepared for firearms in the house and felt obligated to anticipate any resistance or violence. They say killing the dog was regrettable. They also say Allen's boyfriend has a history of drug convictions. But for Allen, it was overkill.
"They treated us like we were terrorists," she said. "They broke the door down. They shot my dog. They set my house on fire."
Both Allen's son and her boyfriend were charged with a Class B misdemeanor for that small amount of marijuana. That's punishable by up to six months in the county jail or a maximum $2,000 fine. Both of them will be in court on January 9.
Good one.
They want to break in.
If you've been suckered into wasting your time, WHO'S the moron again????
There, all fixed.
The people ARE anti drug zealots, dummy.
They killed another dog? What is wrong with these swat teams?
Society truly is a safer place.....god bless our swat teams.
An increasing number are not, genius.
We shall see over the coming years.
We shall see if the American citizenry is willing to give up their freedom not to be surrounded by THC zombies.
Americans have so far let the courts decide on abortion...and we see a genocide taking place before our very eyes. I don't think that they are willing to make another serious error in allowing the degradation and zombification of the population to THC and or other drugs.
"Second that. In addition the WOD is funding/building the richest criminal empire in history.
Jeez, you'd think someone in Washington would remember Al Capone, Prohibition, and all that stuff.
It didn't work the first time. Why is it going to be any better the second time?"
Yes, we will.
We shall see if the American citizenry is willing to give up regain their freedom not to be surrounded by THC zombies armed ninja-clad jackbooted thugs from various police departments and alphabet agencies.
You had this exactly backwards, so I fixed it.
Dude, is that somebody's arm?? /s
You can bet that this statement is true!
What they call 'protocol', others, in other times and places, have called "special administrative procedures" or "liquidating social enemies".
Recidivist Koolaid abusers such as e121 don't give a rat's *ss about this, providing their own meal ticket continues to be punched.
The Soviet experience is unfortunately all too apt in assessing American do-gooder politics, especially the whipped-up hysteria surrounding drugs, kin to the Stalinist era campaigns against "wreckers, saboteurs, and other anti-social elements".
The "courts" got their education in living document revisionism crammed down their throats by FDR and the New Deal Congress. The drug war is based on that same doctrine. If the American citizenry "voted for" the New Deal, and the expansion of federal power including the drug war under a bastardized Commerce Clause, then they "voted for" abortion.
Sugar Land is pretty upscale.
The only trailers I know of are the huge Silver Streaks and Airstreams, most of them nicer than my current house, being pulled by big SUVs.
They remember that under Prohibion the Treasury Department got lots of money and hardware, and got to hire lots of people to enforce it.
I remember that incident. There are far too many of these incidents I read every week.
This story never explained how officers found "traces of cocaine and marijuana" in the trash. Do these weekend warriors go around digging through people's trash now?
We can't arrest and deport millions of illegal aliens here commiting crimes, or solve murders, etc., because we are busy digging in people's trash looking for a marijuana cigarette and shooting people's dogs?
Something is wrong here.
You know, I'd really LIKE to believe that that's an absolute...but I just can't bring myself to believe it.
Why stop there? I mean, if safety is your primary concern, there are stiffer measures that can be taken.
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