Posted on 10/28/2021 11:53:24 AM PDT by Enlightened1
An attempt by Austin, Texas, officials to serve a search warrant and provide lawn care resulted in shots fired, an hourslong standoff, a house fire and a death, police said Wednesday.
Police officers and code enforcement officers arrived at a home at 9:16 a.m. to serve a nuisance search warrant, but could not make contact with the resident, Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said at an evening news conference.
The warrant was left at the door and contractors for the city's code enforcement began working on the lawn. About an hour later, the resident started shooting from inside the house, Chacon said.
"And they immediately backed off. They got all of the staff that was working on the house to safety and and a SWAT call was initiated for a barricaded subject," he said.
SWAT, mental health officers and a crisis negotiator arrived on scene, but could not get the man out of the home, leading to the lockdown of a nearby elementary school and the closure of several streets.
"SWAT spent the next several hours trying to negotiate with the individual to just simply come out of the house," Chacon said.
At about 3 p.m., the resident started shooting at officers again. "And because of that immediate threat ... they made entry using a robot," Chacon said.
The robot helped officers determine that a fire had been started in the home, and was quickly spreading, he said. Officers still couldn't get the man to come out of the house as it became fully engulfed in flames.
But then the man exited through the garage with weapons in his hand. "At that time, a SWAT officer shot and struck the resident who went down with a gunshot wound," Chacon said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Btw, code enforcement showing up with the cops tells me they knew full well this guy had some mental issues. They should have sent in the mental health folks first to downplay all this before the troops every showed up.
You’ve got the timeline all wrong.
I’ll bet he wasn’t vaccinated.
I know! I know! $0
My first response was to laugh, but then I realized that this guy could have had his business destroyed by lockdowns and been at the end of his rope and the lawn mowing was just one more government order and he snapped.
It’s a tragedy.
I NEVER have owned a property in a HOA, and I NEVER will.
Hundreds of thousands of times a year, people interact with government agents, and no one dies, Hundreds of thousands of times a year citizens win over the government. The common denominator in all these interactions is that they don't shoot at people because they disagree with them.
When did the City Law grow to the point where killing someone over lawn care became an option? That's my point...
And thousands of times a year more and more layers of government are making more laws and regs they have zero legit power to do.
We used to have laws and regs for the purpose of ensuring we don’t hurt each other. Now we have laws defining nearly every aspect of our lives. Step outside and any one of those and you risk DEATH at the hands of those same agents you are lauding.
Sorry. But this Country wasn’t founded on “obeying the arbitrary edicts of petty tyrants”.
No one was killed over lawn care. But ... someone did open fire on a lawn crew, which brought out SWAT, and he started a house fire, then was confronted while armed ... which then led to his death.
They violated his property. Trespass.
Had they not violated that, none of the rest would have happened.
They had a legal right to be there based on city code.
The crazies are the ones who break down first as Government tightens up enforcement of regulations and orders. Of course, they are not "freedom fighters" or "Patriots"; they are crazies. It is the type of crisis that never goes to waste. The Government response is a practical demonstration "pour encourager les autres".
The Government can then use such incidents to discredit all opposition and they do so routinely.
Yesterday it was "Mow your lawn". Today it is "Get the vaccine". Tomorrow it is "Get on the bus to the Wellness Camp". Or else.
Yes, the Government is going to kill you if you resist any of those orders with sufficient intensity.
Naw... That would be crazy.
And just why was a "law" passed to give the city that "right"?
Every law ultimately ends with the possibility of lethal actions to enforce it. The folks who say "there otta be a law" had best keep this in mind. Is it worth killing a crazy person because he won't mow his lawn and objects with threats of force to persons ordered onto his property to do that?
Maybe it is. But saying "because it's the law" is not a sufficient justification.
Laws only work because most people will consent to them.
It’s not uncommon in ANY city for code enforcement to cut eyesore lawns and send a bill to the resident.
This reminds me ... I better get out and cut my lawn.
Jay Inslee is coming for me.
When did the City Law grow to the point where killing someone over lawn care became an option?
Take that up with your local city government.
"Tough, we are going to invade your property, mow your lawn, and then charge you Union wages to pay for it."
"Like hell you are..." *bang bang bang*
"Well... Now we get to enforce the Law. Everyone ready?"
*photo from actual SWAT that was on scene.
We need a HUGE facepalm pic, for that pic.
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