Police 'Showdown' Averted ['Team of State Agents Were En Route to Seize Terri']

Miami Herald ^ | Sat, Mar. 26, 2005 | CAROL MARBIN MILLER

[West Coast Conservative]

Hours after a judge ordered that Terri Schiavo was not to be removed from her hospice, a team of state agents were en route to seize her and have her feeding tube reinserted -- but they stopped short when local police told them they would enforce the judge's order, The Herald has learned.

Agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told police in Pinellas Park, the small town where Schiavo lies at Hospice Woodside, on Thursday that they were on the way to take her to a hospital to resume her feeding.

For a brief period, local police, who have officers at the hospice to keep protesters out, prepared for what sources called ``a showdown.''

In the end, the squad from the FDLE and the Department of Children & Families backed down, apparently concerned about confronting local police outside the hospice.

''We told them that unless they had the judge with them when they came, they were not going to get in,'' said a source with the local police.

''The FDLE called to say they were en route to the scene,'' said an official with the city police who requested anonymity. ``When the sheriff's department and our department told them they could not enforce their order, they backed off.''

The incident,known only to a few and related to The Herald by three different sources involved in Thursday's events, underscores the intense emotion and murky legal terrain that the Schiavo case has created. It also shows that agencies answering directly to Gov. Jeb Bush had planned to use a wrinkle in Florida law that would have allowed them to legally get around the judge's order. The exception in the law allows public agencies to freeze a judge's order whenever an agency appeals it.

[jpsb]

it actually makes it harder to find any persuassion

I am not foolish enough to think I would persuade you from "obeying the law" no matter what. You have proven to me what a good citizen of the state you are. And yes it is sad but if the state says Terry must starve to death well then that just too bad for her cause well that's the law.

Posting rules require that I not tell you what I really think about your attitude

[NorCalRepub]

he is not pro death and nor am I.....we are pro law and the system we have......even John Casack filling in for Bill O'Reilly tonight said he understood that some Christians don't want her death but side with the state's handling of it......like Chad said, name calling and slander just justifies your mind but contributes little....by the way, John Casack (sp?) is as Christian as you can get..

[northernlightsII]

An erroneous church policy is not the same as a religious tenet that is foundational to the faith.
IF the policy may disappear or change without impacting the faith it comes from man. ex. mass in latin only,or fasting for x hours before communion.
If that policy is faulty ,blame the people.
Religious Tenet:"You shall love your neighbour " Immutable because it is not from man. Christian tenets do not support the murder of innocents.

[Chad Fairbanks]

I ridicule, belittle, and insult those who argue that violent or illegal acts should take place to prevent it.

Big difference there bub.

[nickcarraway]

If he did, he created an even greater crisis. He allowed himself to be de facto ousted as the governor of Florida. Hamilton and other Founding Fathers said the judiciary would never be able to exert too much authority, because they couldn't enforce their decrees. Now we have established the judges have access to force, and their ability to control the police trumps the governor. (not to mention U.S. Congress. This is a disaster for our country.

[NorCalRepub]

yes.......I agree.....and I've always thought of myself as a Christian soldier, but with lots of gray working within the framework of the law and ordered society....

[nickcarraway]

Jeb made the right call in the end.

You really think this is a good thing? I don't think you realize the revolutionary consequences of this.

[Flamenco Lady]

Okay this thread has gotten so hard to read without some form of sedation I broke down and poured myself a glass of wine!

[hleewilder]

How specific do you need me to be?

If you don't like the way things are being run in this country, then vote for people who believe as you do.

The 2006 midterm elections are coming up, so here's a chance to put God (as you see Him) in charge.

Thanks for the Constitutional lesson, but aren't you cherry-picking? Seems to me that there's an admendment that allows abortion in there, as it has been since 1973.

While it's disgusting and a travesty, the point is, it's been there for going on 30 years. Why is that?

I'll say it again: if you think we should live strictly by the Book, then elect officials who feel the same way.

[NorCalRepub]

well yes, thanks I know......I was being a bit sarcastic since we were talking about Christians killing in the name of Christianity.....of course I know it is not the philosophy that is murderous but the people commiting it in the his name.....but the bible is repleat with killing and God even did it......of course he is not bound by our laws but just an example of justification

[hleewilder]

Then my hats off to you.

[hleewilder]

You're spot on.

[NorCalRepub]

my attitude is fine......you must be thinking of my beliefs and if it is any consolation, there are many here who think you are just a bit sanctimonious for your own good....

[jpsb]

Wrong bub, I have not advocated any violent or illegal act yet.

[XR7]

Criminal...

Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies, and Pinellas
Park, Fla., police officers arrest 10-year-old Joshua
Heldreth, of Charlotte, N.C., for trespassing on
Woodside Hospice property in Pinellas park, Fla.
Heldreth was attempting to bring Terri Schiavo a
glass of water. Schiavo's feeding tube was removed
by court order Friday, March 18, 2005.

"Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give
You drink?..." And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly,
I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My
brethren, you did it to Me." Jesus, from St. Matthew 25:37-40

[DBeers]

If you don't like the way things are being run in this country, then vote for people who believe as you do.

Take your own advice -lay of the bigoted statements and stop whining about evil Christians. I am quite happy about who the elected officials are and what they have and are trying to do. Your position seems supported by the Judiciary alone -you are the one that needs votes...

[Flamenco Lady]

I think Jeb made the right call too. Even if they had managed to get Terri out of the hospice, given what we know now with the fate of Jeb's appeals to the higher courts, she would have not been out of the facility long before returning and many more could have been killed or injured in the crossfire. I have seen some pretty ornery county sheriffs, and I sure wouldn't have wanted to take the chance of more innocent people dying in addition to Terri.

[BJungNan]

Yeah, they sure stood tall during the Elian Gonzales case.

Yea, that was a pretty sickening event also.

[Just mythoughts]

These people have been trained to only see certain things and 95% is only a few New Testament scriptures. They believe with their whole heart and if the devil himself showed up claiming to save Terri they would follow.

It is not that they are mean and evil, they truly believe and they tooooo have been schooled in the same manner as public education what to think not how to think.

But even this was foretold and there is nothing new under the sun. The ride is underway.

[jpsb]

Oh am I making the pro death crowd unconfortable, poor babies.