Posted on 08/11/2013 12:46:09 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA
On Jan. 4 of last year, a local narcotics strike force conducted a raid on the Ogden, Utah, home of Matthew David Stewart at 8:40 p.m. The 12 officers were acting on a tip from Mr. Stewart's former girlfriend, who said that he was growing marijuana in his basement. Mr. Stewart awoke, naked, to the sound of a battering ram taking down his door. Thinking that he was being invaded by criminals, as he later claimed, he grabbed his 9-millimeter Beretta pistol.
The police say that they knocked and identified themselves, though Mr. Stewart and his neighbors said they heard no such announcement. Mr. Stewart fired 31 rounds, the police more than 250. Six of the officers were wounded, and Officer Jared Francom was killed. Mr. Stewart himself was shot twice before he was arrested. He was charged with several crimes, including the murder of Officer Francom.
....
The police tactics at issue in the Stewart case are no anomaly. Since the 1960s, in response to a range of perceived threats, law-enforcement agencies across the U.S., at every level of government, have been blurring the line between police officer and soldier. Driven by martial rhetoric and the availability of military-style equipment—from bayonets and M-16 rifles to armored personnel carriers—American police forces have often adopted a mind-set previously reserved for the battlefield. The war on drugs and, more recently, post-9/11 antiterrorism efforts have created a new figure on the U.S. scene: the warrior cop—armed to the teeth, ready to deal harshly with targeted wrongdoers, and a growing threat to familiar American liberties.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I just saw that the guy hung himself in his cell. Ya sure he did.
So what did that cost the tax payers? $15,000
3 cops? Cars, fuel, cops wages, jail, food, court time, paper work, processing....Judges wages, jailers wages...Not to mention their bloated pensions.
What a racket...The government created a very lucrative industry.
Excellent post, thank you.
And just to be clear, I was talking about a booby trap outside the door. Mind you, I am just a lowly civilian puke and talking out of my rear end here, but maybe jellied gas of some sort could set the gang of them on fire right as they are lining up to go in.
TXFreeper’s right - in smaller communities we all know where the elected sheriff lives. More importantly, we can still buy matches and he knows it.
,,,Gotta Warrant?
Suffice to say that today's local cop in black tactical gear (Batman wannabees) have as much to do with crime prevention as my doctor has to do with death by lighting strike prevention.
Well said, Bloody Sam Roberts!
That is only because the ceurrent ROE don’t allow for a rocket, tank round, mortar or air drop which eliminates the need for breaching.
250 shots and only two hits? Surprised that no bystanders were hurt.
Sounds like a “no-knock” warrant that went awry.
If the defender can get enough bullets into the funnel fast enough,the entry team gets slaughtered.At least until the police policy becomes pitch a few grenades through the door before entry.
In our battalion, all E4 and above could leverage the full gambit of air and ground assets. You could use, rockets, tanks, arty, mortars, fixed wing, rotary wing, whatever would answer the call at the other end of the hook.
We still had to breach.
We still faced doped up muj with bunkered in machineguns. Cockroaches can survive all kinds of things.
And we damn near leveled the city.
That’s why they often use flashbangs.
I assume that you don't mind having neighbors selling drugs out of their houses, but I don't appreciate all the associated crime that comes with it.
I expect they will upgrade to grenades soon.
I know it's 20-20 at this point, but if they waited for daylight, sent a couple of plain clothes detectives up in the morning and politely knocked on the door, and talked to the guy, none of this crap would have happened. They might have even been offered some coffee. Welcome to the police state.
*oh*
nevermind
I see the solution to this beginning at the state level, with “police demilitarization acts”, that strip police departments of military hardware, and give it to their county Sheriff for safekeeping.
Thereafter, if there is a need for any SWAT activities in that county, it will be carried out by the Sheriff’s office, not the local police.
The second part of these acts would be to require a judge’s written and specific warrant before any county SWAT raid is conducted. If they can’t get such a warrant, then they should not be doing it.
The third part of these acts is to review all actions of police and Sheriff’s office personnel subject to review by the state police, based on citizen complaints.
If the state police find against the local police or county Sheriff’s office, that they engaged in wanton property destruction, killed domestic dogs, threatened or terrorized citizens, etc., then their victims will be paid directly out of the state funds supporting that department, for actual damages.
That is, if they smash down the wrong door, they pay for it, the money being docked from state funds paid to that department. If they shoot a family dog, the purchase and previous veterinary costs will come out of their budget. If they drag a soaking wet, naked, teen girl out of a shower with a gun to her head, they also get to pay for her therapy out of their budget.
” No Knock” = they are ‘supposed’ to shout Police ! Search Warrant ! while at the same time breaching the door . Sometimes they forget the verbiage.
Not surprising the way cops act nowadays.
If they need to send half a dozen, armed to the teeth cops to kill Bambi in the middle of the night, no surprise there are more and more of these incidents and will be many more in the future.
Lawsuit for his injuries in the works?
I want to thank you for your service. Good job!
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