Help Needed: Articles on SWAT abuses, shootings, etc.

That's what I'm lookin' for... ^ | 1/16/2002 | myself

[Joe Brower]

Howdy, folks;

I'm engaged in educating/debating some friends and neighbors about the increasing miltarization of our local and state police forces, and could use some references to articles, essays, etc. regarding this sad subject. I'd like to get this info off of websites so I can readily print these items out.

I've already downloaded and printed an excellent essay off of the CATO institute's website, titled "Warrior Cops". I have also culled some articles via the "donut_watch" ping-list (thanks, harpseal!), but I am looking for additional data.

A few incidents I'm aware of (I'm sure there are others), that I could use some news-pointers to include:

1) The Lubbock, TX raid where the SWAT team dumped around 300 rounds into a guy's house (who was later released with no charges), and managed to kill a fellow officer.

2) The 11 year-old kid who was shot in the back during a drug raid in Modesto (I think), CA.

3) The Santa Clarita, CA shootout from last year where the local PD dumped about 60 rounds each into the two houses adjacent to the house where the perp was hiding.

4) And incident in Florida (I think) where a police sniper shot a woman hostage when going for the perp.

5) Etc., etc. The list goes on.

Please do not mistake me -- I know there are a lot of good cops out there and SWAT can and does good work. Unfortunately, they also have a large number of bad stories to tell as well, a number which seems to be increasing.

I could also use examples of ATF and HRT raids, since this all falls under the same category of the increasing and ominous militarization of our police forces.

Thanks in advance.

[Joe Brower]

Ping!

[Wolfie]

Special Report: Hooked on SWAT

[Chad Fairbanks]

Someone should probably ping Dane, so he can deny the very existance of any SWAT Abuses, shootings, etc...

[archy]

Joe, see the series of articles by Sarah Foster at World Net Daily, and the editorials by WND editor-publisher Joe Farah along the same lines. Though that material is a couple of years old, it covers much the same territory. Don't forget the origins of SWAT in the US, the notorious New Orleans Holiday Inn shootout, where cops firing from one side of a building rained fire over to their brethern on the other side of the building, who then returned that fire, keeping the tete-a-tete going long after the sniper they'd been trying to flush had been long dead. And in Memphis, circa 1976, the fledgling Memphis SWAT unit not only killed the two gunmen barricaded inside a house following the shooting of a memphis police officer, but also the unarmed witnesses inside, ensuring that the official police account of the incident would be the only one reported. Details available if needed, but check the WND items first- I think you'll find some good source material there:

Sarah foster report on Dept of the Interior militarization and arming, DE 2001

Armed and Dangerous- Sarah Foster's kickoff WND article

80,000+ federal police- the *Standing Army* our founding fathers warned us about

Joe Farah's 1997 column on federal agency militarization

-archy-/-

[cosine]

David Kopel has written extensively on this. Try his book, "No More Wacos," especially chapter 6, for starters.

[beowolf]

Your odds of being shot by a cop in Phoenix AZ are much better than winning the Pick 5 lottery. 350 people are shot by police every year...about 1 in 100,000. Number of bad police shootings over the last ten years....ZERO. HMmmmm.

[harpseal]

Try Sierra Times web site they used to have a whack em and stack em category.

Stay well - stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[AKbear]

This might help.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

Check the WOD_list at the bottom of the Bump List you should be able to find several just from the title.

[Joe Brower]

Many thanks, folks. That certainly gives me plenty of grist for the mill. If anyone else can provide specifics on the cases I listed in my original post, I'd really appreciate it.

[Boner1]

Check this out also

http://www.policeabuse.com/

[AKbear]

If you hit "Search" at the top of the page (in latest posts) and type in "lubbock", you will get all kinds of articles about the Lubbock incident.

The 11 year old boy was Alberto Sepulveda. A Google search will give you all sorts of information on that one.

The Santa Clarita incident involved a fellow by the name of James Beck. Type "James Beck" into the FR search and, again, you will get all sorts of articles.

Not sure about the Florida sniper, can't find anything on that one.

[Joe Brower]

Thanks again for the assist, AKbear. I had already tried the searches you mentioned on FR before I posted this thread, and got no hits. I did find an extensive list of "collateral damage" HERE , though, when I tried the google search.

Stay safe, and keep your powder dry.

[archy]

Not sure about the Florida sniper, can't find anything on that one.

Orlando; the woman killed by the police sniper was Andrea Hall, 40, . Here's a starter with some of the names that should take you to additional reports.

CBS News version

CNN report: Orlando hostage shot by police sniper [with several links to other hostage/SWAT/sniper stories]

*Orlando SWAT competition- shoot the wrong person, claim to be *a professional....*

*More Orlando Swat Games bad press, from St Petersburg.

-archy-/-