Posted on 04/25/2013 12:21:24 PM PDT by JohnKinAK
The whole notion of the police "manhunt" is not a new American phenomenon. Cops chase bad guys, cops corner bad guys. Sometimes the bad guys give up quietly, sometimes they go down in a blaze of glory. But we've always had rules of engagement when it came to law enforcement interaction with the general public.
It appears all that got thrown out the window in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon terror bombing and the subsequent police chase in Cambridge, Massachusetts that came to a screeching halt in Watertown.
Seemingly, for the first time in the United States, we witnessed paramilitary-garbed law enforcement personnel forcing residents out of their homes at gunpoint. In some cases, the language used by law enforcement was menacing.
Because of the hysteria that comes after any terror event, the American people wanted the perpetrators caught and, in doing so, appeared to have allowed their rights against unlawful search and seizure to not be suspended, but removed.
How many times have we watched cop dramas on television where the police had a pretty good idea of where the bad guys were, but as they weren't sure, came to the door and asked permission to come inside to "have a look around"? The only time they ever bashed a door in is when they absolutely knew the bad guys were there. If there was ever any doubt, they'd have to wait... for a court order from a judge.
That did not happen here.
The police came to people's homes, ordered them to leave immediately at the point of a gun in some cases, and then entered their place of residence. It's never "consensual" when the person asking you for something has a gun in his hand. "Probable cause" is convenient, but in this case, very arbitrary.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Martial Law was never declared by the gov or mayor, 4th amendment still law of the land.
” 1984 here we come....... “
1984 became reality in Boston around 1968 : )
Uh, no.
I doubt anyone will complain there, otherwise they might be declared an enemy of the state and have their EBT cards cancelled.
One new normal we have is that about 25 Americans are killed each day by undocumented democrats, and that number will increase under amnesty. Another new normal is that we will have more Americans killed by Islamic Terrorists who are here either legally or illegally.
“1984 here we come.......”
That stays in my mind all the time.
“What works in Watertown doesn’t work so well in other places. This IS Massachusetts, after all.”
What would you do? Six of them armed and one of you with your family in the house, too?
Though my guess is that most people would not refuse to let the SWAT team in to check and see if a Jihadist Bomber might be hiding in their basement.
Warrantless searches only applicable to law-abiding American citizens.
Mosques will be excluded.
If east coast cops could shoot straight, there would have been no need for ANY searches anyway. Two terrorists with a single Ruger pistol were actually able to somewhat fend off -numerous- heavily armed cops who unleashed a fusliade. You can hear it on youtube.
Ditto for the LAPD who made Swiss cheese out of that paper throwers pickup (thank god they missed the occupants).
Coastlines apparently make for poor marsmanship, not really sure why.
Now had this happened in Albuquerque,,
WATERTOWN — The capture of Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev triggered an outpouring of seemingly pent-up emotions among residents here who took to cheering, applauding and clapping as the long blue line of police and troopers left the city authorities had shut down as they hunted Tsarnaev.
At 10:30 p.m. in Watertown Square, a crowd of some 40 people waved American flags as they chanted “USA! USA! USA!” The celebrants exchanged mutual salutes with drivers who blew their horns as they rode past and spontaneously sang, “God Bless America.’’
The crowd grew especially rowdy when a long line of State Police cruisers rolled past. “Way to go, boys!” one man yelled at a caravan of police.
Throughout the city, impromptu celebrations sprang up, beginning with the group of some 100 people who listened to accounts on a radio as police closed in, and finally captured him on Franklin Street. Police found Tsarnaev covered with his own blood in a boat underneath a tarp.
“What would you do?”
#1 - Call my lawyer.
#2 - Ask if they have a warrant.
#3 - If they don’t, then tell them to get one and come back, or they can talk to my lawyer and explain why they want to violate my 4th Amendment rights.
Oh, I believe it wouldn’t just be Albuguerque but most anyplace outside of major metropolitan areas (which tend to have sizable populations of liberals and welfare recipients).
Just out of curiosity, during these searches was anything found that has been used in a separate investigation or filing of charges, unrelated in the search for the terrorists?
Good. Glad you wouldn’t pick up your AR-15 cause you would be dead.
What would you do? Six of them armed and one of you with your family in the house, too?
When they demand to enter, I say: Thank you for your concern, but I have inspected my home and only my family is here. If you return with a search warrant I will be happy to allow you to enter. This is not about you or me. It is about protecting my constitutional rights. If I don’t exercise them, they will vanish due to atrophy.
Then, when they reword the “request” or pepper with threats, I repeat, word for word, the above phrase (I’d be reading it from a piece of paper).
John Adams was clear that it is not a people’s willingness to give their lives for liberty but their willingness to give up their COMFORT. I can, at the very least, do THAT for my country.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Unfortunately, the Founders included the word “unreasonable” in the Fourth Amendment, leaving the door open to regimes who consider warrantless searches to be “reasonable.”
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