Free Republic

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. - "There was one gunman with a handgun and they chose to turn this house into something that resembles Osama Bin Laden's compound." Leo Lech is more than a little upset, and he is not afraid to express it with colorful language. After all, the house he purchased for his son now has gaping holes where it once had walls and windows. Past the exposed studs and insulation of the condemned structure, you can see artwork on the wall of a 9-year-old boy's bedroom. "In any civilized nation ... this is the act of paramilitary thugs," he...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Training at Camp Lejeune Thursday looked and felt real -- and that was the point. Law officers and marines from across the country ended their training with a bang. Thursday was the final day of exercises for law enforcement and marines who have gone through special reaction team training at Camp Lejeune for the past three weeks. In the final exercise, teams were presented with a series of real life scenarios as well as hands on instruction to handle them correctly. Brian Dye, Operations Chief of I&I in Lexington, Kentucky says training civilians as a blended...

“He [a federal agent] had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there.”--Anthony Wright, victim of a Dept. of Education SWAT team raid The militarization of American police--no doubt a blowback effect of the military empire--has become an unfortunate part of American life. In fact, it says something about our reliance on the military that federal agencies having nothing whatsoever to do with national defense now see the need for their own paramilitary units. Among those federal agencies laying claim to their own law enforcement divisions are the State Department, Department of Education, Department...

It’s a difficult time to defend SWAT teams. On May 5, 2011, during the morning hours, a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department (Tucson, AZ) raided the home of Jose Guerena, his wife Vanessa, and their four-year-old son. Guerena, 26, a Marine veteran of two combat tours, worked in a nearby copper mine. Vanessa, seeing armed men in their yard, warned Jose, who sent her and their son to hide in a closet. Taking up his AR-15 rifle, Jose waited in a hallway, ready to defend his family. Within minutes, despite never taking his...

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN9-TV) - A decorated Marine's family cannot believe their loved one, who served two tours of duty overseas, is gone; never expecting him to die here at home at the hands of law enforcement. A Pima County Sheriff's Department SWAT team shot and killed Jose Guerena eight days ago; it was executing a search warrant. Four days ago, in a news conference, a sheriff's deputy said the department makes it clear when SWAT is about to enter a home. Lt. Michael O'Connor says SWAT says it never wants to be mistaken for other people, "We had our large...

The wife of a Tucson man killed in a Pima County SWAT raid May 5 pleaded for five minutes with 911 dispatchers to send an ambulance for her mortally wounded husband, audio records show. Often through tears and sometimes in broken English, Vanessa Guerena, tells 911 operators that her husband had been shot by a "bunch of people" who opened the door of their southwest-side home and "just shoot him." Meanwhile, dispatchers worked to determine if she was calling from a house where the SWAT team was serving a search warrant, audio released Friday by Drexel Heights Fire Department reveals....

Who are the men in blue? Chinese paramilitary team protects Olympic flame AP[Wednesday, April 09, 2008 03:01] By Anita Chang BEIJING, April 6 - They wear bright blue tracksuits and Beijing Olympic organizers call them "flame attendants." But a military bearing hints at their true pedigree: paramilitary police sent by Beijing to guard the Olympic flame during its journey around the world. Torchbearers have criticized the security detail for aggressive behaviour, and a top London Olympics official simply called them "thugs." "They were barking orders at me, like 'Run! Stop! This! That!' and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, who...

The recent killing of an unarmed Virginia doctor has raised concerns about what some say is an explosion in the use of military-style police Swat teams in the United States. Armed with assault rifles, stun grenades - even armoured personnel carriers - units once used only in highly volatile situations are increasingly being deployed on more routine police missions. Dr Salvatore Culosi Jr had come out of his townhouse to meet an undercover policeman when he was shot through the chest by a Special Weapons and Tactics force. It was about 2135 on a chilly January evening. The 37-year-old optometrist...