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Police Mistake Tomato Plants for Marijuana, Destroy Farm (Video)
Opposing Views ^ | 08/14/2013 | By Michael Allen

Posted on 08/14/2013 11:23:23 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd

Several residents at the “Garden of Eden” sustainability garden in Arlington, Texas, claim that local police raided their farm because they thought tomato plants were marijuana plants.

The police reportedly damaged the garden's property and the crops during the Aug. 2 raid, which included a SWAT team (video below).

“They came here under the guise that we were doing a drug trafficking, marijuana-growing operation. They destroyed everything,” said garden owner Shellie Smith to WFAA-TV.

Apparently, an undercover officer and a helicopter surveillance crew believed there was probable cause that the wrong kind of plant was being grown in the garden and an armed raid was planned.

“They can’t even tell the difference between tomato plants and a marijuana drug cartel," said farm resident Quinn Eaker to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. "That’s just really bad intel.”

According to the Garden of Eden's website, the raid lasted for an estimated 10 hours.

However, the City of Arlington stated: “No cultivated marijuana plants were located on the premises. Narcotics detectives and members of the tactical unit cleared the scene within 45 minutes.”

According to reports, police officers removed legally cultivated plants such as blackberries and okra. Police also removed pallets, tires and cardboard that were used for sustainability projects.

Instead of the damage done to the farm, police spokesman Christopher Cook seemed more concerned about the reaction on Facebook against the police.

“That’s what concerns me about their social media allegations," Cook told the Dallas Morning News. "Yes, they were initially handcuffed, however once it was determined it was secure they were taken out of handcuffs. Typically we wouldn’t do that, but they were compliant."

Sources: Dallas Morning News, WFAA-TV, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, IntoTheGardenofEden.com


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: agenda21; arlington; donutwatch; govtabuse; leooutofcontrol; marijuana; militarizedpolice; moronwithbadge; rapeofliberty; swat; swatabuse; tyranny; warriorcops; wod
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To: mountainlion
It is a lot more peaceful and quite here than in the flatland hustle and bustle.

No idea of what hustle and bustle you are speaking, as my nearest neighbors are 175,000 broiler/fryer chickens.

Oh, and next month we will be digging another well because I'm tired of hauling water...........

161 posted on 08/14/2013 3:34:11 PM PDT by Gabz (Democrats for Voldemort.)
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To: gaijin

Love your post.

Couldn’t agree more.

“humped to completion”

classic.


162 posted on 08/14/2013 3:43:30 PM PDT by RinaseaofDs
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To: Gabz
175,000 broiler/fryer chickens.

I have about 50 wild turkeys come though my meadow each day. I am waiting on a well also but I hope I don't have to go over 600 feet and get plenty of water. There are also deer, elk, bear, mountinlion...and lots of trees.

163 posted on 08/14/2013 3:43:54 PM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: Sirius Lee
It's going to cost them a lot more once they win the lawsuit against these coptards.

I prefer the term LEOtards.

164 posted on 08/14/2013 3:58:54 PM PDT by Ken H
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To: NFHale
Point is, they shouldn’t have been in handcuffs in the first place, friend.

So right. I had only seconds, so I just hit send.

The point I wanted to make was that the police seemed to think they were doing them a favor by uncuffing them so quickly.

Because 'they were being compliant'. Sheesh, this is going to take a lot of doing to undo the damage we've allowed to occur.

165 posted on 08/14/2013 4:16:10 PM PDT by Balding_Eagle (When America falls, darkness will cover the face of the earth for a thousand years.)
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To: mountainlion

No elk or bear here, but have all the rest, including 2 bald eagle nests I can see from my front yard.


166 posted on 08/14/2013 4:24:49 PM PDT by Gabz (Democrats for Voldemort.)
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To: NFHale

The tomatoes were all sauced!


167 posted on 08/14/2013 5:03:38 PM PDT by SgtHooper (The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.)
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To: NFHale
I wish our side had that kind of staying power.

If only.

168 posted on 08/14/2013 5:04:45 PM PDT by Oatka (This is America. Assimilate or evaporate.)
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To: SgtHooper

You might say they were “stewed” over the whole episode...

baddaBING!

Try the Veal! Here till Tuesday!


169 posted on 08/14/2013 5:07:56 PM PDT by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
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To: Responsibility2nd; a fool in paradise

Give the coppers some credit, it’s an easy mistake to make the the Ganja tomato variety.


170 posted on 08/14/2013 5:08:47 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (Bad things are wrong! Ice cream is delicious!)
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To: Responsibility2nd; Revolting cat!
Tomacco.


171 posted on 08/14/2013 5:12:05 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (America 2013 - STUCK ON STUPID)
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To: Kozak

I remember the nicotine-crazed cow talking.... saying “Tomaaaaacco!”. That was the episode where Homer found out what the “J” in Homer J. Simpson was short for...


172 posted on 08/14/2013 10:53:07 PM PDT by Rodamala
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To: NFHale
But I think what needs to happen is that cops need to remember that all Citizens aren’t potential criminals, either. I have no clue where that mindset came from, or when it started, but it needs to change

It began when every little town's police dept. decided it was cool to dress up like ninjas and put their stupid pictures up around town and in the newspaper.

173 posted on 08/15/2013 3:37:56 AM PDT by bgill (This reply was mined before it was posted.)
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To: dforest
I suppose it never crossed their minds to send someone in there to check it out.

Apparently they sent out several officals over a period of time and not one used a brain cell to put a stop to it. Other articles state the police harassment has been going on for months and street view maps of their place show their nice white fence is plastered with what appears to be notices and citations.

174 posted on 08/15/2013 3:42:12 AM PDT by bgill (This reply was mined before it was posted.)
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To: MestaMachine; Kartographer

In case you haven’t seen this:

“The city police failed to produce a search warrant until more than 2 hours after forcibly entering the premises and the house, while detaining everyone at gunpoint for hours. Technically this is kidnapping.”

http://intothegardenofeden.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=141&Itemid=381

A second FR thread on same tomato SWAT raid - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3054589/posts?q=1&;page=51

This is a rural area and the home owner was in contact with the sheriff’s dept. but guess the city police got involved because they had a big bad SWAT team. LE is out of control and these terror strikes on innocent citizens are quickly becoming the norm.


175 posted on 08/15/2013 4:02:20 AM PDT by bgill (This reply was mined before it was posted.)
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To: NFHale

The last time I was called in for jury duty, we were asked what we thought about cops. I was shocked that so many, including little blue haired ladies, had little to no respect for LE these days. I should say I’m shocked that so many have become to angry that they expressed their true feelings outloud. This is a very conservative area. It’s no wonder what with the way they run rough shod over the very people they are supposed to protect and serve.


176 posted on 08/15/2013 4:09:43 AM PDT by bgill (This reply was mined before it was posted.)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Back in the early 80’s my parents lived in a townhouse apartment north of Baltimore, their patio faced the main road. My dad built a garden box and planted tomatoes. When they grew large and leafy but before the plants started producing fruit, the cops would slow down, sometimes stop and gawk, a few even got out of their cars and walked up as we could only presume, they thought my folks were growing pot.

I suspect that if that happened today, they’d get a visit from the “friendly” local SWAT team and if they had a dog, it would be shot.


177 posted on 08/15/2013 4:38:42 AM PDT by MD Expat in PA
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To: miss marmelstein

Agenda 21 is to sustainability, as UN human traffickers in Slovenia were to human rights.

Just because the UN turns a term into a cashcow doesn’t negate term’s common sense value.


178 posted on 08/15/2013 5:28:57 AM PDT by TArcher ("TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS, governments are instituted among men" -- Does that still work?)
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To: Buckeye McFrog

” Seriously, that’s what they do. Fly around
and shoot the ground with an infrared
camera. Some particular signature
supposedly tells them it’s marijuana.”

Apparently it isn’t relyable.
Not that lack of reliability matters to cops. Many drug dogs have been shown to have horrible success rates. But as long as it gets them past that pesky 4th, who cares?


179 posted on 08/15/2013 5:30:46 AM PDT by LevinFan
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To: NFHale

[My gripe is that the normal decent folk in that group don’t/won’t/can’t remove the buttheads from amongst them.]

I grew up in a family of LEOs and Firemen.

Starting back in the 70’s Affirmative Action forever altered those professions such that none of my siblings or cousins had any inclination to follow in their American parent’s footsteps.


180 posted on 08/15/2013 5:53:20 AM PDT by TArcher ("TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS, governments are instituted among men" -- Does that still work?)
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