imported post
Aaron1124 wrote:
So citizens are losing their rights because SWAT is conducting a lot of raids? Makes a boat load of sense to me..
*Sarcasm off*
The point this report is making is that these people could be arrested--at much lower cost to the taxpayer, much less disruption to the communities, and with much more safety to the officers, bystanders, and the accused, if they just arrested people the way police used to--out in the open, when they were going about their normal daily routine--rather than bringing in a dozen or so amped-up, heavily-armed ex SF recruits who have been trained to take delight in violence, mayhem, and gross displays of dominance and power.
He is saying that SWAT raids are fiscally wasteful, operationally dangerous, hurtful to community morale and serve no purpose other than to present good photo ops and create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in the communities.
And he's right.
I don't know what's more scary--that this "us-vs-them" attitude among LEAs is becoming the "status quo", or that the People don't seem to be appalled, outraged, and disgusted by these tactics.
If you read this report (you don't have to buy it--any good library can get it for you if they don't already have it) you'll see that a shameful number of these aggressive raids are carried out against people who were mi-identified, or the cops got the address wrong, or the person was flat-out set up by an informant or bad police work.
And when they DO get the wrong house and trash it and rough up the occupants, the courts RARELY rule that the police did nothing wrong, and refuse to award damages to the victims.
Here's how they do things in YOUR home state of WA:
Leticia Lopez
October 15, 2002—WA
Police storm Lopez's home and handcuff her in front of her 8-year-old son after getting a tip from some homebuyers who saw a propane burner, cooking pot, and other items in the woman's backyard they said suggested a methamphetamine operation.
After police handcuff and detain Lopez, they discover that the burner and pot were leftover from a steak cookout a few days earlier, and the chemicals the officers and informants had mistaken for meth ingrediants were paint solvents.
After the raid, Lopez begins to have anxiety and panic attacks, and is admitted to a hospital for treatment.
The Elseas
March 15, 1999—WA
In March 1999, Linda Elsea looks out her window to find a team of SWAT soldiers armed with assault weapons barreling up her driveway. She is handcuffed, body cavity searched, and taken to the police station.
Dick and Linda Elsea began smoking marijuana after the passage of Initiative 692, a Washington state measure authorizing the use of cannabis for medical purposes. The marijuana helped treat Dick's apnea and Linda's severe muscle pain, caused by fibromylagia, until police raided their home based on a tip.
Source:
Gordy Holt, "Suit seeks equal access to medicinal pot,"
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 8, 1999, p. B1.
Dep. John Bananola
October 16, 1995—WA
On October 16, 1995, police raid the home of 24-year old Brian Eggleston's parents. Eggleston, a small-time marijuana dealer, is in the home at the time, as are his parents. As police force entry, Eggelston says he thought they were intruders there to harm his parents. He comes out of the bedroom firing, and shoots and kills Dep. Bananola. Eggleston himself is shot in the chest, knee, abdomen and groin.
Police find a small amount of marijuana, and later charge Eggleston with selling the drug to an informant.
Prosecutors made three attempts to convict Eggleston of first-degree murder, which could have resulted in the death penalty. On the third try, a jury found Eggleston guilty of second-degree murder. He's serving a 39-year sentence.
Sources:
Jack Hopkins, "Anger and tears as Eggleston gets 29 more years,"
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 3, 1998.
"Conviction upheld, but sentence vacated in sheriff deputy's death,"
Associated Press, September 1, 2005.
Shawn Cottrell
March 31, 1994—WA
On March 31, 1994, a SWAT team in Federal Way, Washington conducts a drug raid on suspect Joel Duncan. Duncan share an apartment with three roommates, including 19-year-old Shawn Cottrell.
As police force entry by breaking down the door at around 10:30 pm, Cottrell emerges, and according to police, he's holding a gun (Cottrell's family would later establish that Cottrell's fingerprints weren't found on the gun). A police officer fires two bursts from his semi-automatic weapon, hitting the Cottrell five times, and killing him. Cottrell was not the subject of the raid, and not suspected of a crime. Duncan was unhurt in the raid, and later charged and convicted of drug crimes.
Though police insisted that they knocked and clearly announced themselves before the raid, occupants of the apartment, neighbors, and at least one police officer outside the building heard no announcement.
Source:
Horvath v. King County Police Dep't, 2001 Wash. App. LEXIS 1603 (Wash. Ct. App. 2001)
Gracia Figueroa and children
November 9, 1992—WA
In December 1992, DEA agents raid the Pasco, Washington home of Gracia Figueroa. According to Figueroa, agents break down her door, pull her daughters from their beds, then hold the family at gunpoint while agents ransack their home. They found no drugs.
The DEA said the raid was conducted after Figueroa's ex-husband was arrested on drug charges the day before -- in Wisconsin.
Source:
"Drug raid settlement not enough for mom,"
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 18, 1992.
The Glover Family
May 22, 1992—WA
In May 1992, police in King County, Washington conduct a no-knock raid with cameras from the television show
Cops in tow.
Police break open the door of the Glover family and their four children. They put a gun to Floyd Glover's head and order him to the floor. Theresa Glover is handcuffed at gunpoint. Despite being half-dressed, and with the cameras still rolling, police at first refuse to let her cover up. Other officers then storm the children's bedroom, screaming, "Everyone on the floor!"
Police had targeted the wrong home.
Cops would later decide not to air the raid. The same police department had conducted two other "wrong door" raids in the previous year.
Source:
"Drug raid blunder uncovers bottom line,"
Herald Sun, May 25, 1992.
Robin Pratt
March 24, 1992—WA
In March 1992, police in Everett, Washington storm the home of Robin Pratt on a no-knock warrant. They are looking for her husband, who would later be released when the allegations in the warrant turned out to be false.
Though police had a key to the apartment, they instead choose to throw a 50-pound battering ram through the apartment's sliding-glass door. Glass shards land inches away from the couple's six-year-old daughter and five-year-old niece. One officer encounters Robin Pratt on the way to her bedroom. Hearing other SWAT team members yell "Get down!" Pratt falls to her knees. She then raises her head briefly to say, "Please don't hurt my children." At that point, Deputy Anthony Aston fires his weapon, putting a bullet in her neck, killing her.
Officers next entered the bedroom, where Dep. Aston then put the tip of his MP-5 assault submachine gun against Larry Pratt's head. When Pratt asked if he could move, another officer said that if he did, he'd have his head blown off.
Though a subsequent investigation by a civilian inquest jury found the shooting "unjustified," the officer who shot and killed Pratt was never charged.
Sources:
Jolayne Houtz, "Suit filed against city, county in SWAT death -- Officers also named in Everett shooting,"
Seattle Times, October 16, 1992.
Rick Anderson, "License to Kill,"
Seattle Weekly, November 3, 1999.
The Ditton Family
April 2, 1991—WA
In April 1991, police raid the home of James Ditton, a disabled Vietnam veteran, based on drug dog alerts to a U.S. Mail package sent to the residence. Police break down the Dittons' door, putting a gash in the head of three year-old Daniel Ditton, who happens to be standing on the other side as police storm in. The elder Ditton is handcuffed and thrown to the ground at gunpoint.
Police find half an ounce of marijuana and, according to the
Seattle Times, "a few amphetamines." Police refuse to pay medical bills for the younger Ditton, who requires seven stitches.
The package thought to have contained marijuana is found to have contained orchids.
Source:
Christy Scattarella, "Drug raids spark debate -- what happens when police with warrants search wrong house?"
Seattle Times, April 22, 1991, p. B1.
The Chinn Family
June 12, 1990—WA
In June 1990, an anonymous informant gave Seattle police five addresses where marijuana was allegedly being sold. Two of them prove to be wrong.
The first was the home of Warren Chinn, also the Washington State horseracing commissioner at the time. At around midnight, police storm the Chinn household without knocking. Chinn's wife Honoria is at home with her 90 year-old mother. Mrs. Chinn is handcuffed, violently thrown to the ground (she sustains significant bruising), and held at gunpoint. Police begin to search the house, then realize they're at the wrong address.
Warren Chinn, a political refugee who came to the U.S. in 1952, would later tell a reporter, "This is why I left China." Chinn also wondered what might have happend had he or his son been home. "Somebody break down my door and I start shooting. You would do that, too."
A Seattle police department official would later tell the media that "it's rare that anything like this happens."
Sources:
Christy Scattarella, "Drug raids spark debate -- what happens when police with warrants search wrong house?"
Seattle Times, April 22, 1991, p. B1.
Devin Smith, "Police bust wrong home in drug raid,"
Seattle Times, June 16, 1990.
Erdman Bascomb
February 17, 1988—WA
In February 1988, police in Seattle, Washington conduct a late-night drug raid on the home of 41-year old Erdman Bascomb after an informant tells them there's cocaine inside.
Police knock on Bascomb's door, wait just a few seconds, then force the door open with a battering ram. Officer Bob Lisoski confronts Bascomb in the darkened apartment, mistakenly believes Bascomb to be holding a gun, and shoots him dead. Bascomb was holding only the remote control for his television.
Police found no drugs or weapons in Bascomb's home. In 1995, a federal jury found no wrongdoing on the part of Seattle police, and awarded Bascomb's family no damages.
Police Chief Patrick Fitzsimons, who had retired by the time the case made it to trial, told the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer that "Police work requires a lot of high-risk situations and split-second decisions. Our officers are well-trained and exercise their best judgment. On a rare occasion, something tragic happens. But there is an awful lot of tragedy in the crack cocaine world."
Sources:
Paul Shukovsky, "Jury Rules in Favor of Police; Man's Shooting Called a 'Tragedy,'"
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 16, 1995, p. B3.
Peter Lewis, "Police officer and city sued in fatal shooting,"
Seattle Times, January 11, 1991, p. C5.