FROM THE COMMENTS SECTION AT THE LINK:
Yesterday, my wife and I were at Unique Thrift Store at Iliff and Buckley shopping. During that time, the Aurora Police responded to an apparent robbery of a bank. In the process of that response, the police stopped multiple vehicles by force, forcibly evicted individuals from their vehicles at gun point, handcuffed individuals, traumatized children and adults alike, all of whom, apart from one suspect, were innocent. In all this, there was NO probable cause, NO search warrant, etc. This whole ordeal was a blatant violation of the constitutional rights of every US citizen; it was illegal harassment, search and seizure, and temporary arrest on a mass scale. Is this now a police state in which we are living? What happened to our constitutional republic? Do those in charge at the Aurora Police Department believe they can act as vigilantes outside our republic’s constitutional law and legal framework? Using the excuse that they “felt they had no other choice” but to conduct such an operation if they were to catch the “bad guy” is NO EXCUSE AT ALL. In fact, to carry out the law (arrest the robber), the police themselves chose, quite intentionally it seems, to violate several laws, upon which this entire country is founded, themselves! That is outrageous, and the Aurora Police department should be up in arms over it! Do you folks want this country to be a police state, or do you prefer to see it remain the great country it has been since its founding? You are on the former course with such blatantly illegal and unconstitutional behavior on the part of your officers. This is a sad day for Aurora, Colorado, and for the United States when police officers feel they are above the law to carry out the law! I for one expect to see the Aurora Police Department sued left and right for violating the constitutional and other legal rights of those whom its officers illegally and wrongfully traumatized yesterday. It is my hope that those officers responsible for this fiasco face serious penalties and are held accountable to the public and the citizens of this state of Colorado and our United States over these events. It matters not to me, as a citizen, that the Aurora Police Department caught a suspect when the price of doing so was the mass violation of the law on the part of the officers involved. This is truly an example of where the end does NOT justify the means! I would gladly provide my contact information, and speak directly with those responsible for this mess, were it not for my sadly legitimate concern that there would be more vigilante action coming from the Aurora Police Department or its vigilante officers over my doing so! In fact, by conducting itself in this way, the Aurora Police Department has harmed its own reputation with the public in Aurora and beyond in a very severe manner that will have repercussions for many years to come; yes, it IS that egregious. As a concerned citizen and committed Christian who cares, I pray that those in charge at the Aurora Police Department legally and constitutionally address this “wickedness” and vigilantism in the ranks and clean house.
That guy needs to file a complaint with the sheriff against the Aurora PD and the individual officers.
Incredible. I cannot believe these folks just stand there, some with smiles on their faces, while this took place.
Re the comment from person on scene:
He’s outraged and too chickensh to do anything about it, even write a letter and sign it.
I rest my case.
That article comments post is perhaps most frightening of all. You have a victim who posts details of what happened, expresses outrage, knows what happened is illegal, and then won’t give his name or file a complaint because of fear of the police and what they might do to him if he did. The police state has already taken over in his case.
We moved to Colorado in 1986, but not to Denver. Aurora is a SE suburb.
Since that time, it seems that Aurora LEO has a 25 year unblemished history of trampling on the Constitutional rights of anyone they come in contact with, with the possible exception of protected minorities.