Yeah, but this isn't Iraq and Americans are not enemy combatants.
BTW, regardless of training, sh*t can happen and does happen. It's why I mentioned in #68, these teams should only be used when it involves those suspected of being very violent individuals or those with a history of violence. In this incident they were on target, located the suspect, and still screwed some innocent out of their life.
Neither were the vast majority of the people we encountered in our raids in Iraq. You think the SWAT guys run off some bad intel? I guarantee you they got nothing on us! We'd go into a house genuinely not sure if it was the right place. That's why we seized control through overwhelming the people inside, but we didn't harm them, and we didn't smash up their house. Even if we did smash something, we'd pay restitution for it--something that SWAT teams seem very disinclined to do. My Platoon seized houses in raids violently and overwhelmingly without breaking anything or anyone with almost a 100% success rate. The only time we would go full "game on" is if we took contact. Even then, target discrimination is a big deal. Any idiot can pull the trigger on the first thing he sees moving. We (and cops and especially SWAT) should be held to a higher standard due to the theoretical practice we put in to get that good. Is it dangerous? Hell yes. That's why we get the training, the equipment, and the big bucks.
These teams should only be used when it involves those suspected of being very violent individuals or those with a history of violence
I agree, but you're talking about a justification statement. That's easy to pencil whip. There needs to be real teeth in penalties against these guys, to holding SWAT members and their superiors accountable for their decisions and their actions. That doesn't have to involve major second-guessing and sharpshooting every step, but if a 7-yr old is killed in a raid that could've been executed without anyone getting hurt, then someone needs to pay dearly for it.
Look at the raid that badly burned a small kid b/c the SWAT idiot tossed a flashbang into the kid's crib. What did that grenade accomplish that simply smashing the door open and flowing into the room couldn't? Well, it's cool and badass to throw flashbangs in a raid, right? In the 50 or so raids I did overseas, I think we used flashbangs two or three times. It's a tool, not a toy, and there's no repercussions against the clown that tossed that grenade for no reason. The lack of accountability with these guys is really disconcerting. I'm appalled that my Soldiers and I were held to a higher standard (both internally and externally) in a real combat zone than cops in ninja outfits in Podunk, OK, are.