Posted on 01/02/2021 4:26:53 AM PST by marktwain
On 28 September 2020, a warrant was served in Jacksonville Florida, just before 8 a.m. The warrant was not a no-knock warrant. There is evidence the officers serving the warrant attempted to announce themselves with loudspeakers and by knocking. The warrant was served by a Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team and the DEA. When they did not get an answer, they started to break in. They were not wearing body cameras.
Diamonds Ford started shooting at them. She hit one officer in his vest, which saved him from a bullet wound. She called 911 and told the operator her home was being attacked.
Operator: “Ma'am give me the name of the street.'
Ford: “7232 Rutledge. Please Hurry.
Operator: “What's happening?”
Ford: Someone is shooting.
Ford: “We gonna die.”
Operator: “7232 Rutledge Pearson Drive, do you know who is shooting?”
JSO: “Open the front door.”
Ford: “Oh wait, what, wait, that's the sheriff's office. Okay hey hey hey, hold on, wait wait wait, hold on wait, whoa.”
There is more on the video. This partial transcript gives you the flavor.
It is hard to deceive convincingly, on the spur of the moment. Diamonds Ford sounds very convincing.
Ford says she and her fiancee were sleeping, awoke to the sound of breaking glass, and she fired at the presumed home invaders.
A warrant announcement that is not heard, is equivalent in effect to a no-knock warrant. One troubling aspect of the raid – no officers wore body cameras. Some neighbors say they were sleeping as well and did not hear the announcement.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
The penalty can include life in prison.
Because of that penalty, bond is very high, over $500,000.
he Official Whitewash Of The Killing Of Duncan Lemp (No Knock Raid)
The American Conservative | Jan 1 | James Bovard
Why did a Montgomery County, Maryland SWAT team kill 21-year-old Duncan Lemp, in a no-knock predawn raid on March 12? The county released an official report yesterday stating that a violent no-knock raid was justified “due to Lemp being ‘anti-government,’ ‘anti-police,’ currently in possession of body armor, and an active member of the Three Percenters.” The report also noted that “police had viewed several videos showing Lemp handling and shooting firearms.”
Distrusting the government and police and appearing in photos or videos with firearms is a catch-all that could apply to millions of Americans. But that was enough to justify a deadly assault in one of America’s most liberal jurisdictions.
Montgomery County released the report on New Year’s Eve, probably hoping that it would receive scant attention. But the county’s own admissions should propel new demands for disclosures on the most under-reported police killing of 2020.
The report details how police attacked the Lemp home from two sides. Two members of the raid team did a “‘break and rake’ on Duncan Lemp’s first-floor bedroom window while the rest of the team entered the house by using a battering ram on the main front door … Another officer used a fireman’s pike tool to break the bedroom window closest to the bed where Lemp and [his pregnant girlfriend Kasey] Robinson were sleeping...
[rest at link]
Shit 4 brains.
SWAT raids should only be used when innocent lives are in jeopardy; it’s long past time that police officers return to policing and stop playing soldier.
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The question here is without bodycams, can a pre-announced entry truly be validated? Going forward, no bodycam may come to mean no knock, with consequences for the viability of charges levied against home occupants who fire at cops entering the premises by force.
Was Ms. Ford holding hostages, and threatening to kill them one by one? Because that’s only only reason I can think of for a violent, no-knock assault on her house.
Oh, wait. The cops said they first alerted her with a loudspeaker. So I guess it wasn’t a no-knock raid after all.
Oh, wait again. According to the article no cops were wearing body cameras. So I guess we’ll just have to take their word for it that a loudspeaker was used, and used effectively.
She did what anyone in their right mind would do; protect themselves. If you come to my front door at 7 am, yelling and banging,, I would start shooting also. Maybe SWAT should try using a telephone first.
Absolutely.
Remember Waco?...
Before the prevalence of video cameras virtually no cops were charged for shooting a civilian. They said a few magic words, and got off all the time.
Police unions resist rules requiring cameras for that reason.
These no knock warrants need to be illegal. Also no knocking on doors before 9 o’clock. Most of these are drug violations. Who cares about predawn drug warrants. This doesn’t help the police reputation at all.
The no “knock” warrants should only issued when there is an exigent circumstance.
Diamonds ford, lets leave it at that
I imagine the subsequent expenses will be substantial.
I don't understand why cops can't just camp outside and wait for the citizen to exit. How long would it take? 2 days? Seems like a cheaper and safer option. Could have done that at Waco.
I agree. I think that without bodycameras, the right thing to do is to assume the cops failed to follow protocol, broke several laws and should be liable for all charges.
Easy solution: wear your damn bodycam.
Local law enforcement said the same after the Waco massacre; they knew David Koresh and could have picked him up easily. The ATF budget was up for review so they staged an incident (killing more children than those murdered in the Oklahoma City bombing).
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