Posted on 02/08/2014 5:31:31 AM PST by marktwain
“A Burleson County Grand Jury declined to indict the man who shot and killed Burleson County Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Sowders who was serving a search warrant in December,” kbtx.com reports. “Investigators were executing a search warrant at Henry McGee’s mobile home near Snook when the shooting happened.” The shooting didn’t just “happen.” “Henry McGee admitted to shooting Deputy Sowders before sunrise on December 19th while the deputy and other investigators were serving a no knock search warrant for drugs at McGee’s mobile home near Snook. Magee’s Defense Attorney Dick DeGuerin says his client thought someone was breaking into his home and fired to protect his pregnant girlfriend and himself.” Will Texas follow Indiana’s lead and . . .
pass a law specifically allowing force against officers who enter a home without the owner’s consent? No. But you can bet TX SWAT teams will think twice before executing their next all-flash-bangs-banging raid on a low-level dope dealer – hopefully thinking about it in a good way. Then again, culture eats jurisprudence for lunch:
The District Attorney’s office released a statement saying,
“The Burleson County Sheriff’s Office would not have been there that day if Mr. Magee had not decided to live a lifestyle of doing and producing illegal drugs in his home. Therefore, we will fully prosecute the drug charges against him.”
If I were McGee I’d make sure my tail lamps were fully functional before I went for a drive, if you know what I mean. Meanwhile, for those who hope that this case signals the beginning of the end of rubber-stamped no-knock raids and the nadir of America’s militarized police, note that Happy Days continued for seven years after Fonzie jumped the shark.
“Skate” is the incorrect word.
The subject defended himself from
a perceived criminal attack. The
grand jury in it’s wisdom understood
that fact. Now the DA is going to
vindictively attempt to lock this man
up for a decade or longer for the mere
possession of a plant belonging to the
hemp family as a means of punishing him
for having the temerity to defend himself.
I became aware of no-knock insanity when the local sheriff pulled a two-am raid on my elderly, ill renters for 48 10” tall pot plants. The attackers knocked down the door...my door, and left the house open with all of the renter’s possessions exposed to theft by the neighbors. Fortunately the next door neighbor propped the door in place so it looked closed and the house is fairly isolated. Other than a history of drunken domestic abuse there was no indication of firearms or a reason for this.
Earlier in the day three deputies were there and they said they “put the couple to bed” as they were falling down drunk. Why didn’t these three deputies arrest them then? My answer: so they could use their no-knock raid, get extra pay and have a grand old time.
No knock raids came about when there was a danger the evidence could be flushed away. You want a no-knock raid? Fine I want a law saying the governor has to sign off on it first.
"“Skate” is the incorrect word.The subject defended himself froma perceived criminal attack. Thegrand jury in it’s wisdom understoodthat fact. Now the DA is going tovindictively attempt to lock this manup for a decade or longer for the merepossession of a plant belonging to thehemp family as a means of punishing him for having the temerity to defend himself."
Yup.......this is how I and an ever increasing number of americans are seeing this. We're getting tired of jack booted thugs kicking down our doors, stomping our pets, shooting our grandparents, and then getting off scott free while the taxpayer pays for it all.
Agreed. Keep in mind that the pendulum always swings the other way, eventually.
Well said. I’d just note that said plant was perfectly legal until the early part of the 20th century.
“I have been fairly vocal here in my defense of law enforcement, but some of the things I am beginning to see...”
Pretty much the same could be said about most FReepers. I’d always been pro-law enforcment, until about the five years when it became obvious that the police were going out of their way to abuse their powers under the excuse of fighting the war on illicit pharmaceuticals. It’s getting worse rather than better.
How would the people go about ‘outlawing’ these no-knock raids? Is it a town issue? The state? Federal?
There are several ways it could be done.
Locally, Sheriff departments could simply change their policies. City Councils could direct changes in police department policies.
On the State level, State governments could pass laws regulating what criteria “no knock” raids would have to meet.
On the federal level, the courts could specify the precise reason for “no knock” raids that are allowable, and even exclude evidence taken in such raids if the were conducted without due cause. They could restrict such raids so as to preclude their use in 99 percent of the cases they are now used in.
Why can’t the police wait for the suspect to leave their homes to arrest them? I’m sure they have to go out to get groceries, ect sometime. They can’t “flush” the evidence from the house when they’re walking in a parking lot miles away. Upon arrest, they can then execute a warrant to search the property. ‘Raiding’ the home is probably unnecessary in most cases. Going in unannounced without knocking is just ludicrous, unless they are hold up with hostages or something. Waco Texas is probably the perfect example of this in the extreme.(I think the media showed up before the LEOs did)
Bullies in Blue (BiBs) are getting too arrogant for their own safety these days.
You make a good observation. In my youth, our officers were locals who answered an ad in the paper for a job. They knew nearly everyone. Now, they are not from the area, and can live 25 miles away in another county.
Good point. No reason we should be passively waiting around for the next shoe to drop. I will be speaking with my locals authorities to press them to clarify how they’re planning to avoid these dangerous situations in their jurisdiction, especially now with Illinois’ new conceal carry law. If enough of us did this sort of thing where we live, maybe we could turn this into an opportunity for positive change.
Yup that is the case at almost all levels. Years ago, police work in most places was not a very high paying job. Today, wages and benefits are much better and sometimes exceed decent. People attracted to the pay and benefits are not necessarily motivated by doing a proper job. Lay upon this the rapid militarization of our local police with tanks, machine guns, et al and you have a menace not a protector of society IMO. One more bit of augmentation, the video game industry who portray everyone of these raids as a military style assault along with TV shows that almost always show the police serving warrants on some revolutionary group or major drug cartel headquarters.
Unfortunately, yes, yes, and yes. Every jurisdiction at every level is getting SWAT teams and tanks. And don't think your own little frugal town won't get their own tank because it would cost a lot of money -- eventually somebody will just give them one whether they need it or not.
As noted in other threads, they will indeed think twice, but will conclude that they need to be more violent instead of concluding that no-knock raids are very rarely if ever necessary.
Because they wouldn't get to play with their "toys" and obviously, arresting someone without incident in aparking lot is not nearly as fun as busting down a door at 4:00 am and shooting a vicious, man-eating Pomeranian.
Some ‘no knock warrants’ are executed based on the ‘testimony’ of ‘sniffer dogs’ which are WRONG 55% of the time (based on an article appearing in the Chicago Tribune). You can ‘outlaw’ them, as well IMHO.
Calling him a “cop killer” is wrong too. He was defending his home against what he thought was a home invasion. A cop killer sounds like one who is intent on killing a cop.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.