[nemo]

Maybe the police should have handled things a little better than smashing the guys door in with a sledge hammer.

[Loopy]

I won't fault the police for this one. By all appearances they did their job correctly. If a person can ignore a subpoena at will, them the court system fails.

[wideawake]

Let's see. A citizen owns a home. The government tells him how he is supposed to make use of his own property that he's lived in for 75 years. He tells them that it's his own property and that it's none of their business. This is his right - what is the point of owning property if you can't dispose of it as you wish?

The government responds by sending a man to use force to smash down his door and invade his home.

All the while, Mr. Cruz is negotiating a deal with the citizen which would have (a) respected his property rights and (b) had the same effect that the government wanted - a rehabbed property.

Now two men are dead because the government didn't know when to stop intruding in people's lives and invading their property. A nonviolent, freemarket solution was in the works. But the pencil pushers at the Corporation Counsel (Carol Mosley-Braun's old digs) wanted blood instead of peace.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Maybe the police should have handled things a little better

Well, they issued a subpoena to him back in January and he ignored it. They talked to him through the door for several minutes, and apparently, he ignored their attempts to get him to come quietly. What next? After waiting almost two and a half months for him to comply, should they just sit and wait for him to die or what?

[Joe Hadenuf]

That was my first thought too.

[Crusader21stCentury]

Another case of "Hi I'm from the government and I'm here to help you!"

[JimRed]

Law enforcement officers, WEAR THE DAMNED VEST! Unless the head shot was first, he probably could have returned fire and survived the encounter.

[arm958]

Marquez was not wearing a bulletproof vest when he was shot, officials said.

The department policy is for officers on patrol or street duty to wear them, said John Thomas, first deputy superintendent. The department will review its policy on vests in light of Marquez's shooting, he said.

Why review the policy when enforcing the policy seems to be the answer?

[ninonitti]

I can't tell you how many times I've seen this scenario played out in Boston.

Usually the elderly person is taken into protective custody and hauled off to a nursing home and sedated while city inspectors loot the place of cash and valubles; then the dumpster shows up and some contractor cousin of another city employee throws a lifetime's worth of possessions away and boards up the property; they lien the property for the work and scoop the real estate through a court appointed "guardian" (usually a politically wired attorney).

[TC Rider]

About 10 p.m., Marquez knocked on the door, then pleaded with Wolk to go peacefully. Finally, he broke down Wolk's apartment door with a sledgehammer.

Could some of you defending the cops on this case, explain to me why they were serving the summons in the dark of night? with a sledgehammer?

Something doesn't smell right on this.

[coloradan]

"Statism is a religion of peace."

[cynicom]

When the cop resorted to force, breaking down the door, he should have been professional enough to know that force might well be met with force.. Too bad anyone died but it is a travesty that we use force on 77 year old people. There had to be another way. Anyone that decries "obey the law", should justify the two deaths, I cannot.

[Teacher317]

I can see some thirsty lawyer getting ready to argue that the lederly gentleman had some syndrome that kept him from ging outside.

[MissAmericanPie]

Wow, what salty shooting by a 77 year old.

[Redcloak]

Why are we doing a "dynamic entry" over a housing court subpoena?

[bdub]

I'm sorry but the Police were complete MORONS in how they handled this. So Sad

[NC_Libertarian]

Wolk's case dates to July when the city found 29 violations of the housing code

The government doesn't exist to make sure your house is pretty.

Mr. Wolk, I salute you. Live free or die.

[School of Rational Thought]

government could have handled this with more wisdom. While a rickety front porch is certainly a terrible crime against society and worthy of all the force by the government, didn't anyone learn from Waco? Doesn't the guy go out for food? Does he order in? Why not pose as delivery and let him open the door? The cop's decicion to use force instead of his head cost him and the citizen their lives. With the logic of government, the guy apparently couldn't afford to fix his porch, therefore fining him is called for?

[Uncle Sausage]

Where was Jimmy Carter when he was needed here?

[Bobsat]

If an out of uniform cop breaks my door down at 10:00 at night, the outcome will NOT be good. I'm not a criminal, have no reason to expect a dark-of-night raid, and criminal elements will do and say anything to get what they want in this old neighborhood.

Irrespective of any legal justification, warrants, etc., this was a monumental tactical screw-up by the police.

My father-in-law would have shot me one dark night if he could have found his revolver in the dark. The power went off in the neighborhood, a few minutes later I was pounding (he didn't hear well) on his door to see if he was okay, and after being burglarized twice before, he was sure that burglars had cut only HIS power off and were trying to break in. Old people can get really scared, and it's not nice to break their doors down!

[spokanite]

Any pictures? Curiosity has gotten the best of me! A neighbor offered him $100,000 for the place so it must not have been in too bad of shape.