“they took advantage of a situation they could have prevented with the intel they claim to have known in advance.”
If there were undercover LE in the gangs who knew in advance something was going down at WACO, that does not imply that the cops could have stopped it or that they intended for murder and mayhem to break out.
Was it a “sting” operation? No matter how forcefully undercover LE could have argued for a showdown (if that indeed, as has been postulated, happened) he was not going to be high enough in the gang organization to make it happen. Bandido and Cossack leaders make the decisions about where they go and who they call to meet them there.
Was it a “sting” operation with federal involvement? I do not know enough about how the various anti-gang units operate to speculate. Reading these threads, it seems some posters know more than the general public has access to.
Is the Waco police department corrupt? Heck, I don’t know. I wouldn’t be shocked either way. There have been examples of police corruption from big eastern cities to small southern towns; as well as some bad cops in otherwise professional departments. I detest militarization of local LE, no knock SWAT forcible entry where grandpa gets shot in his bed, etc.
Even if federal or local enforcement were engaged in anti-gang action that gave intel or rise to some type of sting, they certainly would not have done so if the Bandidos and Cossacks didn’t exist at all or engage in criminal activity.
It seems clear that LE shot some of the dead and that bikers shot others of them. One Grand Jury is going to be presented with cases of LE shootings, another Grand Jury is to handle the biker cases. No doubt those cases and findings will be scrutinized by any number of FReepers.
There are multiple aspects to this tragedy, and I do not agree that LE should trample on the rights of citizens in the process of bringing down criminal gangs. Over the past three months, it has become clearer to me that the gangs are the most at fault for having these territorial disputes and bringing them to a public place where their members could be killed, wounded, stabbed, or arrested. You may or may not agree.
AMDG&BVMH wrote -
“There are multiple aspects to this tragedy...”
I agree. The school year begins most everywhere tomorrow in Texas. Assume, for argument’s sake, that some of those arrested, like, for example Clendennen, really did nothing wrong.
What’s the first day going to be like for his kids?
Here’s the thing mate. If this kind of behavior is allowed to continue by the LE community; they will lose one of their biggest supporting blocks in the country.
If justice is not done in this case; it will set back LE relations with every community in the country to a time when no one trusted LE.
Does anyone really want that who is now or ever been in LE?
This screw up must be corrected and frankly; some heads must roll on the LE side. Obviously Reyna, Swanton, and anyone else directly connected must lose their jobs and possibly be looking at some prison time. Completely innocent lives were lost. Anything less will put LE on the defensive throughout the country for decades.
I sure don’t want to see that. I have extended family in LE. I don’t want to see their lives put in danger over the actions of some bad LE’s down in Texas.
Again; this must be made right or it will never be forgotten and LE in general will not be given the benefit of the doubt going forward.
Neither one of us wants that. Should two, three, or a small handful of corrupt LE people ruin it for everyone? Should honest LE stand by and support the corrupt one’s or should they stand up and say NO to this kind of behavior?
This is a very big effing deal (to quote Biden). If not handled correctly it will make things even worse for all LE across the country. Again; none of us want that. I sure don’t.
I really hope those who are at the top of the pyramid understand the ramifications of not getting this right. Once trust is lost; it is extremely difficult to get back. It can be done but it takes a very long time and then only if things go a certain way during that extended period of time.
I know I’m preaching to the choir here and stating what is most likely obvious but it can’t be said enough.
This must end in justice and not the demented TG kind of justice. His kind is obviously part of the problem and not the solution.
Thank you for that which has been my main interest plus the fact that Waco PD chose not to try to defuse the escalating violence on the ground since they were sitting in their cars when the first shots were fired.
That plus the seemingly infinitely flexible nature of the RICO type law that all are charged with. And worry about what the next iteration of such will be.