Posted on 04/22/2013 10:54:14 PM PDT by EternalVigilance
There were two components to last week's shelter-in-place request in Watertown, Massachusetts. The first was a request that people not to leave home. The second was a door-to-door search by heavily armed law enforcement officials. Those are two very different things, with different implications. But neither was illegal.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlanticwire.com ...
Speculate what would have happened if the homeowner came to the door with his own legal weapon. Think there might have been another dead body? Shoot first and cover your mistakes later?
Bingo!
Exactly. Perhaps they were hoping for this so they could push even harder to take away our 2nd Amendment rights.
Now that I think of it “probable cause” is actionable against me, not extended to me by the actions of some disinterested party that I have in no way shape or from any relationship to or with.
I’m guessing from what I’ve read that probable cause can include a belief that human lives are quite possibly endangered. But what do I know...
I gotta go to bed. I’ve already stayed up way past my bedtime.
Take care.
a bunch of idiot government goons
1 guy on the loose and they take away our liberties.maybe they’ll check all back packs from now on.
there are hundreds of thugs here in the city which could home invade at any time here. i”m waiting on them with my gun and don’t need a buch of gov goons to protect me
and the sheep all follow big brother
boston strong ! lol more like boston liberal sheep lol
This guy was a suspect in a crime, he was armed and dangerous and on the run somewhere in a city. It happens everyday.
Now did the police have probable cause to search one property after another in that city? Not a chance.
In a few days someone will realize their rights have been violated big time and for no valid reason and a law suit will follow.
You’re beating your drum based on the ACLU?
You left out the part about the suspect placing bombs among a crowd killing and maiming many, killing a police officer in a shootout and escaping into a residential neighborhood. A clear and present dangerous situation that called for swift and extreme action on the part of law enforcement.
Please produce similar situations you claim happen every day.
I’m with you, in part. Just because somebody doesn’t complain when their rights are violated doesn’t mean that their rights weren’t violated.
However, if nobody had the inclination to say “no” when the heavily armed men pointing weapons at citizens came to the door then there may not be a test case. I think there are few of us who would risk debating the constitution in that situation. I also think that if you equip, train and deploy police like soldeirs, they tend to act like soldiers when it comes to dealing with the citizenry.
The fact that the LEOs involved were brave and the goal of getting the two targets was achieved doesn’t cancel out everything else. The optics of an American street looking like a scene out of a war movie count for something, both here and to a potential enemy abroad. I don’t think those images cause our enemies dismay.
I do think if the line wasn’t crossed, it became blurred, and you can make a solid case that is as much of a strategic win for the bad guys as the tactical resolution was a win for the good guys.
That’s not a hit against the rank and file that were there to do a job under trying circumstances. I think any blame involved rests with those who chose the methods, more than with those who executed the plan.
good thing it was lifted so someone could actually find the suspect the cops couldn’t find
What was lifted? The lockdown? It prevented no one from leaving their home.
the suspect the cops couldn’t find
Had the cops already searched the boat?
That's the REAL problem. I would. Know that for a fact (been there). Far too few would though.
Of course, by “been there” I mean in a far less militarized situation. Still, been there.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had the police come to the door, ask for admintance and told them I’d rather speak to them on the porch. In that instance the uniformed officers gave each other a look, shrugged, let me step out and asked me some question about an incident that occured down the street and thanked me and that was that.
No weapons were out of holsters. They knocked, they didn’t pound. Nobody told me to put my hands up when I opened the door. They spoke calmly and were answered calmly. The looked like the guys from “Adam 12”, not like an assault team from some “Call of Duty Extreme Ops” video game.
I just can’t say I’d offer the same refusal if they’d come calling in the manner, dress and numbers that they show in some of those videos from Boston.
If it wasn’t illegal, it at least ought to raise some questions.
It was a 26 mile crime scene. Get over it.
And they were both ineffective we might add.
They had a blood trail....geez...and they didn’t follow it?? What do you think some dogs are trained to do??
It is elite panic and the police got caught up in it. Bostonites are essentially wards of the state, like so many urbanites, and this is consistent with that mindset.
More than fair enough. That is one tough spot, and until/unless you are in it, you just don't know how you will respond. I include myself in that category.
Then again, I've fought off two muggers and taken one (fake, but didn't know it at the time) gun away from a thug, so my "make me back down level" is pretty high. And I've backed off a true thugcop. Then again, I've also helped de-escalate some pretty nasty situations where I was within my rights to go full bore but probably would have lost. Badly.
Versus large numbers of militarized police? I'd like to think that I would verbally make my case. However, in those circumstances, just speaking about Constitutional rights might be potentially fatally dangerous. After all, it looked like some of those civilians had M16s trained on them as they walked down the street with their hands up, all in an intense situation.
Maybe my estate would benefit. What a world...
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