Having a hard time with collateral damage, are we? 
Posted on 09/28/2006 5:26:29 PM PDT by Sir Gawain
Children handcuffed in police drug raid Dog also killed during bust; 18-year-old charged with misdemeanors, violation
By MIKE GOODWIN, Staff writer First published: Wednesday, September 20, 2006
SCHENECTADY -- A police strike team raided a woman's Prospect Street apartment and handcuffed her children and killed her dog early Tuesday in a $60 pot bust. The woman called it excessive force and a case of mistaken identity, but officers said they stormed the home for a good reason: One of her sons was selling marijuana there.
The Police Department's tactical squad knocked down the front door of the upstairs apartment at 110 Prospect St. and flooded into the apartment shortly after 6 a.m.
"I heard a big boom. My first reaction was to jump out of bed. We were trying to find where our kids were at and all of a sudden we had guns in our faces," said 40-year-old Anita Woodyear, who rents the second-floor flat.
During the ensuing chaos, police handcuffed two of the woman's children, Elijah Bradley, 11, and 12-year-old Victoria Perez, and shot at her dog in the kitchen before killing it in the bathroom, Woodyear said.
"That seems like an awful lot of firepower for marijuana," said Fred Clark of the Schenectady chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "That's like spending $125,000 for $5."
Woodyear said she suspected police had intended to search a neighboring home, but had the wrong address on the search warrant. Neighbors said they suspect illicit drugs are dealt at other homes on the block.
"No apology, no 'sorry about your dog,' " she said.
But police said they have no reason to apologize. They said they raided the house because Woodyear's 18-year-old son, Israel M. Bradley, sold three plastic bags of marijuana there for $40 on Sept. 15. They allege he sold two other bags of marijuana in the house for $20 on Aug. 28, they said.
In addition, police said Bradley was carrying marijuana in the home on Sept. 1.
"We had the absolute right house. We had the absolute right target," said Assistant Chief Michael Seber.
Police said Bradley was one of several drug dealers they have under investigation on Prospect Street.
"The whole street is a mess right now. We'll be back," Seber said.
Bradley was arrested and charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal sale of marijuana, an offense punishable by up to one year in jail. He was also charged with unlawfully possessing marijuana, a violation.
Police Lt. Peter Frisoni said Bradley admitted he sold from the apartment in a statement to investigators after the raid.
"The moral of the story is: If you don't want officers barging into your house with their guns drawn, don't let drug dealers stay with you and deal drugs out of your apartment," Frisoni said.
Woodyear said she is appalled about the way her children were treated -- and said her 12-year-old daughter was hit with pepper spray.
The dog, a pit bull terrier named Precious, urinated on the floor in fear and tried to run from the police before it was killed, Woodyear said.
Police said the animal was aggressive and left them no choice but to shoot.
Elijah Bradley said he awoke to find armed men in his home. "They had the shotgun in my face," the 11-year-old said. "I punched at him. I didn't know who he was."
Police said they had reason to have weapons drawn. Their search warrant noted that among the things they planned to search for were firearms, although no handguns were found.
The NAACP has previously criticized how police conduct raids, most notably during an incident earlier this decade when a Hamilton Hill girl was held at gunpoint and handcuffed after her mother agreed to allow police to search their home for an armed man. The family later sued the city, but the jury awarded no damages. But Paul DerOhannesian, a defense attorney and former Albany County prosecutor, said such a response may have been warranted if police believed there were guns in the house.
"This type of search warrant execution can be very dangerous from a law enforcement point of view," he said.
"You're going to have a heightened sense or need for security for officer safety. You literally have no idea what you're walking into."
Having a hard time with collateral damage, are we?
What dollar amount of illegal drugs should be the cut-off point for raid or no raid?
Don't take drugs. Allow others to face God as they choose.
I had a large yellow lab years ago. He tore up a trespasser running around my backyard. Dogs don't know cop from crook.
Respectfully Thanh, I just don't think the dog's been exposed to strangers in the house, causing a ruckus where your daughter was in a loud confrontation with them.
So a cop is on a raid and a dog comes at him, You want him to either avoid the dog or wait until it attacks. Mean time the bad guys are arming themselves to resist. Yep let's put the good guys at MORE of a disadvantage and put their LIVES MORE at risk to protect a dog. Makes perfect sense to me. (/sarc)
But not their own facts.
L
He's a wuss until he isn't...there's not a pit bull killingin history where the owners didn't say...HE WAS SUCH A SWEET DOG...Pit Bulls should be outlawed. PERIOD.
Pitbull terriers are typically very mellow dogs with respect to people. I do not know how they react to a home invasion - most dog breeds with which I have had experience would not be passive in such a situation, but some breeds are not the threat that people think. What really sets off a pitbull is another dog - another dog in their territory or challenging their space turns on a switch in the pitbull - they are/were bred for fighting other dogs, they were not bred as watchdogs (though their musculature certainly makes them appear intimidating).
That being said, it is SOP for the cops to kill the dog not because of the threat or potential thereof to the police. The reason they kill the dog is to get maximum shock affect on the family whose home they are invading.
No knock raids are an abomination to our Constitutional freedoms. The perpetuators of this type of no-knock violence (all in the name of law and order) are themselves as thuggish as the criminals whom against they act - different sides of the same coin.
Instead of no-knock raids - the tool of tyrannical regimes throughout history - why do we not insist on less violent solutions to our social problems?
The para-militarization of law enforcement in this country means we can expect a greater frequency of these types of incidents and an increase in their lethality. The rationality and acceptance of excessive force by law enforcement is dispicable. $60 worth of mj - wow! People in that area should sleep a whole lot better tonight knowing the police are on top of this sort of crime. Accomodations and medals should be issued....
Facts are just that. We have none in this instance. Seems like a lot of jumping to conclusions is all.
Well if the cops had the previous sales in the apt then why did they not bust the punk then instead of the JBT raid?
I'm pretty sure we should just all surrender and expect a SWAT team any moment.
They're moving toward armed raids to inspect the food in our refrigerators and cupboards for "illegal" trans-fatty acid content.
Hysterical broads should be outlawed.
L
Aw, the poor drug dealer.
Because an undercover cop (most likely alone) does not do that.
No, not at all. The dog got vicious and posed a danger in the beginning. It simply sounds like the first shot was effective in causing the dog to retreat, if that's what happened.
And some of the people who agree that it's worth it think they're "conservatives." Nauseating.
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