No. When they arrive on the scene, the unknown person has Baker subdued and up against the wall. The unknown person's wife is on the phone with the 911 dispatch. That's the person the cops threatened to shoot in the f'n head.
"What are they supposed to do? Politely ask everyone to calm down so they can figure out what's going on?
Yes. " Should they ignore the likelyhood that this is a drug buy going bad, and gunfire may break out at any moment?"
No.
"I'm sure that they could have been more polite and they could have refrained from cursing (the article does seem to make a big deal out of the officers cursing).
Yeah, it seems the folks at the paper expected to see a level of professionalism that wasn't displayed in this incident.
" It appears to me from the story that they had probable cause to search the house."
They had zero probable cause. The perps had never entered the house and I'm sure the homeowner didn't act like a bad guy. Neither did his wife, who was on the phone with the 911 dispatch center. That alone would should have been their clue, that the home was not a drug store. Don't think the dispatcher and the cops did not have contact, they did.
" The story posted by bvw reads as if it were written by the Thompsons' attorney, to publicise a lawsuit. "
So? They deserve to be both sued and reprimanded.
"Nobody was shot, and the Thompsons' were not hauled off to jail."
Whoopty do. The Thompson's were assaulted by thugs at gunpoint, and they were not given the coutesy a citizen deserves. Furthermore the cops were led by a team of criminals, and didn't pay attn to that fact, or their own wire. The conversation over the wire didn't included the homeowner, and at the time of the officer's approach, the homeowner had both up against the wall. It's clear the LEOs iinvolved, especially the one in charge are incompetent and failed to recognize the reality of the situation. Instead they insisted on playing hard core. There were no exigent circumatances here, only a complete failure to act as professionals.
Agreed.
The mess was entirely one of the police's own making. They owe a huge explanation, apologies and some officers' suspensions without pay, at the minimum.
Without appropriate consequences, this kind of behavior from LEOs will only grow exponentially. It's human nature.