Posted on 07/31/2008 11:19:39 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
A police SWAT team raided the home of the mayor in the Prince George's County town of Berwyn Heights on Tuesday, shooting and killing his two dogs, after he brought in a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep, police said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
This story is driving me nuts. Why couldn’t the authorities have just knocked on the door and asked about the contents of the package? I bet the officer/owner of the dog that sniffed out mail is sick about the way this bust went down.
>>Yeah, 32 pounds of pot showing up on your doorstep will make people think that of you. That’s a little more than a personal use amount.<<
Based on the story:
1. From the perspective of the person occupying the home, it was a package delivered by a legitimate deliveryman.
2. It was actually delivered by the police.
Where they blew it was assuming that if they had not intercepted it, it would ever have actually ended up at his house. The address may have been a cover and there was someone who was supposed to intercept it before it actually got delivered. Who knows. The main point is that if the cops put a package full of drugs, with an opaque covering, on my doorstep, and I brought it in the house, that would not make me a drug dealer. They will need to show evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that I knew what was in it and, if I did, had ample time to turn it in (they can’t just barge in 10 seconds after I open it and say I knew I had drugs and did not report it).
From the article:
“Police said yesterday that, when they seized the package during the raid, it was unopened.”
Ha, Ha!!!
The cops are so screwed on this one...
>>sorry, the fact here is that a package full of drugs was delivered and accepted.<<
And unless the package said something like “illegal drugs” on the outside, I am curious as to why that is a crime.
Have you ever gotten a package from fedex for your wife? Do you scrutinize the contents before accepting. If it is on your porch, don’t you just bring it in? We do. All the time.
“weed would also be into harder substances, weapons, etc...” Maybe pitbulls? Does that justify killing the labs?
“MJ is about as harmless a drug as they get.”
I agree. It should be legalized and Marijuana Cigarettes should be sold right next to Kools.
calex59: I suppose if your house/apt. was burning down that you wouldn’t mind if the Fire Dept had Fire Fighters that were all heavy smokers of LEGAL MARIJUANA CIGARETTES.
I suppose if a crackhead broke into your house and had you at gunpoint that you wouldn’t mind if the Police Dept had Police Officers that were all heavy smokers of LEGAL MARIJUANA CIGARETTES.
I suppose that if someone in your family required a liver transplant you wouldn’t mind that the surgeon was a heavy smoker of LEGAL MARIJUANA CIGARETTES.
I suppose that you wouldn’t mind if city engineers and building inspectors in New York City or San Diego were all heavy smokers of LEGAL MARIJUANA CIGARETTES.
I’m sure that you wouldn’t think anything wrong with any of those scenarios because Marijuana is a fully harmless drug and should be legalized. Correct?
i am defending the raid, not the tactics. and the law absolutely sees my assumption as reasonable. where there are drugs and guns, there are more drugs and guns.
What they do off the job is none of my, or your, concern.
Why don't you like guns? Along with due process, private property, and unreasonable search and seizure, are you a fan of gun control as well?
Or is the Second Amendment as hard for you to understand as the rest of them? I only ask as this is the third time in just this one thread that you've made it sound like just the mere presence of a gun on the property would have been a crime in and of itself.
if you had read, i was talking about my personal experiences on the streets of NYC and talking about my state's law.
i have no idea if minnesota state law is similar.
but you have to admit: if cops find so much of an illegal substance, they should continue their search. if there is no immediate danger, secure the scene and get a warrant.
i lumped guns and drugs in the same group but they are not always found together but they are treated similarly in the eyes of the law.
and no, i am an ardent supporter of the 2A. however, people who obtain 32 pounds of weed rarely have legal firearms from what i have seen. but i am biased. the only people in my city who have guns are cops and criminals. it's too bad the law-abiding are unable to defend themselves. that is not lip service. i wish many of the victims i deal with could carry.
State law in NY is out of compliance with the Federal Constitution. You are under no legitimate obligation to enforce blatantly unConstitutional gun control laws.
The relevant court cases, Constitutional provisions, historical documentation, etc are there. Finding a DA, Court, or an enforcement agency that gives a flying fsck at a rolling doughnut may be the hard part.
my god, i would love to see the bosses face.
Chuckleheads in boomcars are a lot less threatening to John and Jane Doe Public when John's 1911A1 is at his side and Jane's AirWeight LadySmith prints 4" groups at 20 yrds.
Unless you think Ghetto shooting tactics are superior to those of the law abiding publics?
and they usually have felony records. and no, i do not think felons should be allowed to carry. they hang with the wrong people in the wrong places.
You "wish"? You are part of the mechanism that will KILL them if they attempt it absent "government" approval.
the difference is, the homies use their guns to commit crime...
Which again conflates legit uses of firearms with criminal behavior. Someone else's illegal behavior in no way means that MY behavior is equivalent. You start treating everyone as de facto guilty and you've just turned our entire "innocent until proven guilty" justice system on it's head.
As I said, let US help YOU thin the criminal herd. They'll go elsewhere once more of them start assuming room temp at the hands of their intended victims.
If they did NOT know he was the mayor, they are inept. Do the police not even bother to investigate anymore. Utter complete failure.
You state where there are guns and drugs, but they found no guns. Face it, the cops here were fools.
I believe something like that once took place out in western Maryland in the 1970s but I hadn’t heard about anything recent. What’s it about?
“I believe something like that once took place out in western Maryland in the 1970s but I hadn’t heard about anything recent. What’s it about?”
The recent event was much like the 70’s one. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to post a link. Do an internet search for: Ryan Frederick Chesapeak, VA.
The “Reader’s Digest” version:
Ryan Frederick has his home broken into (apparently by a police informant). The informant tells police that Ryan has a pot growing operation in his garage (Ryan actually is growing Japanese Maples). A few days later, Ryan is awakened by someone breaking in through his front door. He fires at the intruder and kills him. Turns out, it was a police officer executing a no-knock raid for the Japanese Maples in the garage.
Ryan Frederick apparently has lots of local support. I don’t believe he will be convicted by a jury of his peers.
Try this story. There are others but this one has most of the pertinent info.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336850,00.html
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