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Family Says Police Killed Their Dogs and Slammed Grandmother to Ground
WHO-TV (NBC) Des Moines, Iowa ^ | November 18, 2011 | Aaron Brilbeck

Posted on 11/20/2011 5:50:57 PM PST by bamahead

Matthew Spaulding says he and his family were terrorized at their own home by police who slammed his grandmother to the ground and shot his dogs-- missing his head by less than an inch. "Told us to get on the ground. I got on the ground they put me in handcuffs," Spaulding recalls, "Then they threw my dad to the ground and my dog Sadie was right here sniffing my head. She was next to me. They shot her. The blood got on my face and then she took off running behind me and they shot her like three more times."

Tuesday morning, Greene County Sheriffs Deputies and Perry Police officers arrived at Spaulding's Jefferson farmhouse to deliver a search warrant. The Spauldings say they were immediately ordered to the ground.. even Matthew Spauldings' disabled father, Chris. "My son hit the ground I hit the ground but I didn't make it too fast so (the officer) jumped on the middle of my back, shoved his knee in and held a gun to the back of my head and handcuffed me. After they shot my first dog my mom come out"

"They had taken me to the ground," Chris Spauldings' mother Susan Mace says, "So I was laying with my face in the ground. And I asked them why they shot the dog because the dogs weren't close to them"

The Spauldings say after the first dog was killed, a second dog running away from the shots --- and away from police--- was also shot. "They weren't barking. They weren't attacking nobody." Matthew Spaulding says, "They didn't even give us a chance to put them in the kennel. We have a big kennel outside our house we could have put them in but they wouldn't give us a chance."

Perry Police are not commenting. And they're refusing to turn over any paperwork or reports about the incident saying it's part of an ongoing investigation. But we were able to get copies of the search warrants. One warrant shows police were looking for any kind of legal or illegal drugs. The other shows police were looking for a stolen X-Box video game system. No drugs and no stolen games were found--and no one was arrested.

Chris Spaulding says he's furious his dogs were killed--his mother was ruffed up and his son was almost killed by police---all over a missing video game system. "Some of these officers should be fired because they kinda took their job too far. No common sense. No public safety when you got a kid on the ground," he says, "That's messed up man. Right beside his head. You could have shot my son."


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: Iowa
KEYWORDS: 4thamendment; jackbootedthugs; jbt; lping; policebrutality; policestate; policethuggery; rapeofliberty; warondogs
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To: CSI007
I hate cops. Thugs with badges.

the Indiana supreme court has ruled that acitizen has no right to use force of any kind to prevent police from entering their home.....(based on the need to follow up on 911 calls and domestic violence reports....)they can come right in whenever they want to!!

61 posted on 11/20/2011 8:02:28 PM PST by terycarl (lurking, but well informed)
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62 posted on 11/20/2011 8:03:36 PM PST by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: bamahead

“looking for any kind of legal or illegal drugs”
Why would they be looking for legal drugs?

with that criteria, they can move on anyone. and this is what they are working towards.

read the wording in this ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court:

“an Indiana Supreme Court ruling that Hoosiers have no right to resist illegal police entry into their homes “

Yes, you read that right: “no right to resist ILLEGAL POLICE ENTRY...”

http://elwoodindiana.org/content/outrage-leading-action-against-ind-supreme-court-ruling

this sheriff is loving THAT ruling and intends to take full advantage.

http://www.infowars.com/indiana-sheriff-house-to-house-random-searches-now-possible/

We are well on our way to a police state. One could surmise that these raids - across the country - by SWAT teams for such things as looking for a stolen game - slamming everyone on the ground, shooting non-threatening dogs - is a training exercise for plans ahead?

Can the cattle cars be far behind?


63 posted on 11/20/2011 8:23:10 PM PST by maine-iac7 (ALWAYS WATCH THE OTHER HAND)
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To: bamahead

And yet Freepers were cheering on the cops yesterday rating kids.


64 posted on 11/20/2011 8:26:05 PM PST by GlockThe Vote (The Obama Adminstration: 2nd wave of attacks on America after 9/11)
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To: arthurus

If The One is reelected all Hell is going to break loose.


65 posted on 11/20/2011 8:34:07 PM PST by onedoug (lf)
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To: Czar
Local police have become militarized and seem to enjoy rolling out the SWAT gear every chance they get.

they have all these new - and expensive - toys that cost a good chunk of change for maintenance and personnel every year. To keep money rolling each year, they must show they've had a 'need' for these teams and equipment.

So now, instead of surveillance or simply knocking on a door for most of them- or even - now HERE'S a concept - check and see if you have the right house, they get to play Storm Trouper.

66 posted on 11/20/2011 8:35:10 PM PST by maine-iac7 (ALWAYS WATCH THE OTHER HAND)
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To: bamahead

Interesting. I did a bit of poking around and came up with the home address in question. I swear it looks like there’s a pot plantation in the middle of their cornfield on Google Maps satellite view.


67 posted on 11/20/2011 8:50:26 PM PST by Antonello (Oh my God, don't shoot the banana!)
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To: Antonello

Iowa court records show that good ‘ole dad appears to have a fairly lengthy drug, assault, and harassment criminal record. And it seems his boy is sporting his own felony assault and drug dealing record too.

Perhaps this explains why the police were a tad anxious to forcefully control the situation from the very beginning.


68 posted on 11/20/2011 9:41:21 PM PST by Antonello (Oh my God, don't shoot the banana!)
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To: Venturer

If there is a hidden agenda carried out under the color of law, it is a crime. That makes those committing such crimes criminals.

As I said previously the sanctions for people carrying out their own agenda under the color of law are rightly severe. But again as I said, apparently not severe enough to deter these criminals.


69 posted on 11/20/2011 9:59:57 PM PST by JLS (How to turn a recession into a depression: elect a Dem president with a big majorities in Congress)
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To: Free Vulcan
Up in Story County, this happened more than you'd think. Back in the day, the sheriff's son was a jerk, and anyone who called him on it got pulled over eventually. Boone County cops like to shoot dogs, too.

As a weak defense, there are a lot of meth labs in rural Iowa, although not too many of them have Grannys in them.

70 posted on 11/20/2011 11:38:36 PM PST by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
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To: VanShuyten

Here’s what I’ve got so far:

Satellite pictures of Grandma Mace’s cornfield show a big open strip of not corn hidden within.

Dad and son Spaulding both have criminal histories suggesting they are on the supply end of drug trafficking, as well as tendencies toward violence.

The ‘family pets’ were trained pit bull guard dogs.

Marijuana growing season ended about a month ago in that area, and curing typically takes around three weeks. That would put any crop in the area at just about ready to ship.

The warrant was executed at the farm in Greene County, but sought and granted in Dallas County. This lessens the likelihood of it being a case of local authorities trumping up a warrant in a personal vendetta.

Filling in the blanks, I’d guess this was part of a coordinated, multi-agency strike. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if additional warrants were served in conjunction at several points along the supply line in an attempt to seize a shipment in transit. This last paragraph is speculation; the rest was derived from various public records. Read into it what you will.


71 posted on 11/21/2011 12:13:16 AM PST by Antonello (Oh my God, don't shoot the banana!)
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To: Antonello
Iowa court records show that good ‘ole dad appears to have a fairly lengthy drug, assault, and harassment criminal record.

But no one was arrested and nothing was found in this paramilitary type raid, according the the story. Exactly how dangerous are they?

Does having past issues with the law, excuse this type armed, nazi like paramilitary operation on the family farm house, to the point where even the pet dogs are shot to death?

72 posted on 11/21/2011 12:33:34 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Antonello

The other shows police were looking for a stolen X-Box video game system. No drugs and no stolen games were found—and no one was arrested.

What happened?


73 posted on 11/21/2011 12:36:52 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Antonello
Filling in the blanks, I’d guess this was part of a coordinated, multi-agency strike.

How is it possible, this government operation, which likely cost the tax payers a million dollars, yet not missing x-box was found, no drugs, no weapons, and no one was arrested?

74 posted on 11/21/2011 12:39:22 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Antonello
Here’s what I’ve got so far: Satellite pictures of Grandma Mace’s cornfield show a big open strip of not corn hidden within.

What you got so far?

What does this mean?

I’d guess this was part of a coordinated, multi-agency strike.

Are you suggesting this coordinated, multi-agency strike force, which resulted in the two family dogs being shot to death, yet no arrest were made, that they somehow this massive government operation missed some million dollar pot operation out back?

Is this what you're suggesting?

75 posted on 11/21/2011 12:45:18 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: dragnet2

Criminal history would be taken into account when predicting likely risk levels. If the possibility of confrontation was high, then a fast, hard ‘shock and awe’ strike would minimize the occupants’ reaction time, with the goal of avoiding turning the search into a firefight.

I’m not saying this as an excuse for how the raid went down. I’m saying that the people serving the warrant are more interested in completing the objective safely than making sure they avoid looking mean in your eyes.

As for the dogs, I have absolutely no idea if they were shot out of hand or were perceived as a threat to the officers. The only first hand accounts are from the owner - hardly an objective source.


76 posted on 11/21/2011 12:59:19 AM PST by Antonello (Oh my God, don't shoot the banana!)
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To: Antonello
By the way, watching the video, looking at this family, they appear lower middle class, with little money, with an old farm house that appears to have seen better days...

It seems by your previous posts here, you're suggesting this people were running some sophisticated million dollar criminal operation. By the looks of these people, their clothing and their run down farm house in the video, it appears they don't have enough money to fill their gas tanks.

Again, such a big multi-agency strike force, as you called it, yet no stolen property, no drugs, no arrests, and the strike force then just left, leaving their two dead family dogs behind.

Seems a bit odd Mr. Antonello.

77 posted on 11/21/2011 1:04:47 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: dragnet2

I have not uncovered any information at all regarding the X-Box.

As far as what happened, I can only speculate that the Iowa Inter-Agency Task Force had enough probable cause that the farm was either the source or a distribution point of a moving shipment of illegal drugs to persuade a judge to issue a search warrant. That no one was arrested isn’t necessarily an indication that none will be forthcoming. It just means they didn’t find what they suspected of being there.


78 posted on 11/21/2011 1:08:11 AM PST by Antonello (Oh my God, don't shoot the banana!)
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To: Antonello
Criminal history would be taken into account when predicting likely risk levels. If the possibility of confrontation was high, then a fast, hard ‘shock and awe’ strike would minimize the occupants’ reaction time

A multi-agency strike force, costing likely a million dollars of tax payers money, yet no arrests, no drugs found, no stolen goods were found...No nothing...Leaving two dead family dogs?

Ya see something wrong here?

Ya think anyone buys these type of tactics and behavior being exhibited by law enforcement?

79 posted on 11/21/2011 1:10:00 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Antonello

You need to stop playing policeman.

This is bullshit and you know it.


80 posted on 11/21/2011 1:11:12 AM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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