What Are the Consequences of SWAT Teams Using Excessive Force During Drug Raids?

[zomgwtf]

A man arrested on suspicion of drug charges and child endangerment said he is concerned with the actions of police who shot two dogs they described as “aggressive” while serving a drug-related search warrant at his home earlier this month in southwest Columbia.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2010/feb/23/family-questions-swat-drug-search-that-led-to/

Another site with the story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russ-belville/columbia-missouri-swat-ki_b_567172.html
So the SWAT team just forces itself into the home, shoots at the dogs prior to actually being attacked by them. (well by one... the other was a corgi... that one got shoot to though!) How can you tell that the dog isn't attacking? Just by the sounds... if the dog had actually attacked one of these officers you would definitely know just from listening. No, they had shot it just because it was a dog inside the home which they had forcefully entered. I mean it did go to attack later on you can hear it's pretty pissed off... but it was already shot once. That's when they killed it but I assure you, if you break into my house yelling and I come to welcome you or check out who you are and you shoot ME I'm going to be freaking pissed off too.

So anyways after that the SWAT team runs around yelling trying to intimidate the family even more (as though their military like presence and automatic rifles and shotguns weren't enough) and they yell at the mans CHILDREN! I mean like REALLY? These kids are just being woken up, flashbanged and hear yelling all over and these men are going to try and yell at the children in an effort to make them comply to their wishes thru intimidation?

Absolutely no one resisted (well except the dog after it was shot once but they took care of that!) So why couldn't they just try the good old knock on the door method? Or the good old get him when he leaves his house for work the next morning method? Trying to catch the criminal off his guard?? THE MAN ONLY HAD A FEW GRAMS OF MARIJUANA AND A PIPE! They say they came too late but I mean like what the ****? For some marijuana you get this? He wasn't dealing as they found no money... soooo hmmm. This is just absurd! This crime in no way justifies the amount of trauma this family has gone through at all.

People try to justify it by saying the police need to protect themselves... FROM WHAT? There were NO reports that this man was heavily armed or would resist. Just ONE informant suggesting he had large amounts of drugs. That's beside the point, I always thought that the police were there to protect and serve US not themselves.

Instead of worrying about the family inside the house and the rights of the individuals present the police worried about themselves (even though their worry was unwarranted). What a backwards justice system America has! People absolutely must stand up to this type of aggression. I mean I'm all for the country fighting off other people and taking down the bad guys but you need substantial evidence and it doesn't apply the same way to your own citizens! This wasn't some al Quida cell deep in the American desert plotting to blow up the Whitehouse.
This clip is some what violent (you can hear them shoot two dogs one which cries out) so if you don't think you can handle it then don't watch it :tongue:.


You guys have any comments? I assume you do and I assume there will be people here who are for the actions of the SWAT team too.

I guess if I lived in America and I hated my neighbour I'd just call in saying that he grows marijuana. BAM his annoying dog is taken care of and his family is traumatized for life... maybe they'll even move out. Brilliant.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

While I can somewhat understand a cops concern about a pit bull while on a narcotics warrant they obviously had no idea what they were walking into and messed up big time.

 

[Cyrus]

Man, you really care a lot about this video. What a long post.

 

[zomgwtf]

Man, you really care a lot about this video. What a long post.

And you must not care due to your short post.

If that's the case then go away.

 

[Proton Soup]

Man, you really care a lot about this video. What a long post.

yeah, and like who cares what goes on in south america, anyway?

 

[Cyrus]

You don't even live in America. Let us worry about our own justice system.

But more realistically, I'm not sure what to take of the OPs post, other than ranting.

 

[Cyrus]

yeah, and like who cares what goes on in south america, anyway?

Your picture has a cat wearing goggles. Thats just crazy!

At first glance, I thought so too. But its Columbia Mo.

 

[Proton Soup]

While I can somewhat understand a cops concern about a pit bull while on a narcotics warrant they obviously had no idea what they were walking into and messed up big time.

i dunno, man, i think they're just cowards. pit bulls are some of the most people-friendly dogs you will ever come across. even the dog of the drug dealer we had living across the street (no, I'm not kidding about this part) until recently, she was just the sweetest dog ever.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

i dunno, man, i think they're just cowards. pit bulls are some of the most people-friendly dogs you will ever come across. even the dog of the drug dealer we had living across the street (no, I'm not kidding about this part) until recently, she was just the sweetest dog ever.

Drug dealers have been known to keep pit bulls and train them up for dog fights and security. Mexican drug dealers in particular are known for this. It would seem that they went in expecting that this guy was a hardcore drug dealer and upon seeing the pit bull assumed it was likely a trained attacked dog. It seems obvious though that they did not really do much investigation before knocking in this guys door and they apparently perceived this situation entirely different from what it was.

 

[Proton Soup]

Drug dealers have been known to keep pit bulls and train them up for dog fights and security. Mexican drug dealers in particular are known for this. It would seem that they went in expecting that this guy was a hardcore drug dealer and upon seeing the pit bull assumed it was likely a trained attacked dog. It seems obvious though that they did not really do much investigation before knocking in this guys door and they apparently perceived this situation entirely different from what it was.

i carted the neighbors dog back to him several times when she got out, and she even cowered once when i reached for her collar. they are extremely dog-aggressive, but not very people aggressive.

and yes, they probably got a "tip", which probably means they did what they usually do, which is to pressure some other guy in custody to turn over others in exchange for more lenient treatment. something similar happened to a guy about 3 degrees of Kevin Bacon away from me. only, the guy was growing pot, but it was for his own pain, as the guy is in really bad health. funny thing is, he'll never do any jail time for it, because if he did, they'd have to pay for his health needs, which would likely include a kidney transplant.

 

[Borg]

This happens a lot and you don't even have to be guilty of anything. Two years ago, a swat team broke into a mayor's home in the Washington DC area and killed both of his dogs. http://boingboing.net/2008/08/07/swat-team-raids-mayo.html" .

The drugs were mailed to their home with the intention of stealing the package off the porch but, he picked up the package and took it into the house before they could. Police were aware that drugs were in the package and were waiting for them to be taken inside before raiding the home.

The delivery man was later arrested because he was in on it. I never heard of anything happening to the police over this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYQD-btqhKg

 

[206PiruBlood]

Police arrested Jonathan E. Whitworth, 25, of 1501 Kinloch Court on Feb. 11 on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and second-degree child endangerment.

Apparently the military like raid and gunfire pose no potential danger to the child.

 

[cronxeh]

Actually that video looks like a very calm operation by the SWAT. On a scale of 1 to 10 this is probably a 6. You don't want to know what a 10 looks like. Watching 2 feminine guys talk about 'gung ho' cops on TV is pathetically hilarious in its own right :rofl:

You do realize that the only guilty person in this is the judge who signed the search warrant?

 

[Pengwuino]

i dunno, man, i think they're just cowards. pit bulls are some of the most people-friendly dogs you will ever come across. even the dog of the drug dealer we had living across the street (no, I'm not kidding about this part) until recently, she was just the sweetest dog ever.

They are so people-friendly that they are banned in our city. They absolutely can be trained and are trained regularly by criminals for killing people, killing each other, etc. Just because 1 person has a nice one doesn't change that fact.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Actually that video looks like a very calm operation by the SWAT. On a scale of 1 to 10 this is probably a 6. You don't want to know what a 10 looks like. Watching 2 feminine guys talk about 'gung ho' cops on TV is pathetically hilarious in its own right :rofl:

You do realize that the only guilty person in this is the judge who signed the search warrant?

Calm or not it seems obvious that they had no idea what was going on in this house. They thought they did but they did not. And certainly we can go up the hierarchy and find the one highest up to blame but that should not take responsibility off of those persons who were there in the moment and actually executing the warrant for proceeding properly in their actions.
Discharging a firearm in a home, especially with children, should be a last resort for self defense only and not used as a preemptive measure just because you are worried someone, or some animal, may possibly be a threat. These officers screwed up in their execution of this warrant and they should not be let off the hook just because we can find someone higher up the food chain to place blame on. In fact I think that we should be able to safely assume that the judge who signed the warrant had a reasonable level of good faith that trained SWAT officers should be able to adequately assess a situation and proceed appropriately.

 

[NeoDevin]

Why is everyone here ignoring the fact that it was the criminals who endangered the children by involving them in criminal activities?

 

[zomgwtf]

Why is everyone here ignoring the fact that it was the criminals who endangered the children by involving them in criminal activities?

Smoking a bit of marijuana is a just reason for this? I don't think so. It's a non-violent crime... yet it's met with intimidation, murder of pets, fear, flash bangs... military tactics.

w-o-w.
As well I don't think you read the articles too in depth. All that was required for this type of action was a SINGLE informant giving information up... probably someone who they arrested and pressed for information. I mean I could very well say that YOUR home has a huge amount of marijuana which you intend to sell and based on what happened here, they could do the same thing. How would YOU feel.

In fact they don't even need an informant, this happens in peoples homes BY MISTAKE every single day. It just goes unreported mostly because of lack of images/video.

 

[Cyrus]

Ugh, honestly. Enough with the sensationalist posts zomgwtf. Though, you are living up to your user name. Relax.

 

[zomgwtf]

Ugh, honestly. Enough with the sensationalist posts zomgwtf. Though, you are living up to your user name. Relax.

I think you've posted enough useless posts on this forum and that they should stop. Are you willing to comply?

 

[Cyrus]

I think you've posted enough useless posts on this forum and that they should stop. Are you willing to comply?

Hilarious, kid. Anyways, my point still stands. What is the purpose of all this sensationalism/ranting? You've read a single article, and your argument is that this happens 'all the time' and all someone has to do is 'call the police on your neighbors' and this will happen to them to. Let's cut out the nonsense, this is beyond absurd.

 

[zomgwtf]

Hilarious, kid. Anyways, my point still stands. What is the purpose of all this sensationalism? You've read a single article, and your argument is that this happens 'all the time' and all someone has to do is 'call the police on your neighbors' and this will happen to them to. Let's cut out the nonsense, this is beyond absurd.

Well go look it up if you don't believe me. I already posted the original two sources and no, I didn't just read a single article. However, what have YOU read.

Anyways I'm not trying to be hilarious. The amount of absolutely pointless posts you make is rediculous.

 

[Cyrus]

Anyways I'm not trying to be hilarious.

Then I suggest you reflect on how much thought you put behind your thread. It's really nothing more than a long winded rant.

 

[cronxeh]

Discharging a firearm in a home, especially with children, should be a last resort for self defense only and not used as a preemptive measure just because you are worried someone, or some animal, may possibly be a threat.

Few years back the NYPD had a raid at 5 am in an apartment building in Brooklyn. They blew the steel door off its hinges, threw a flash bang in the apartment and stormed in. There was 1 kid in the apartment, a woman, and a man. The search warrant was issued because of an informant who told the police there was a pound of marijuana. The cops did find the marijuana but it belonged to the brother of the man who was in the apartment, and that brother was already in jail on a different charge.

Long story short, the cops did not care who it was in the apartment, nor did they have any information about any possible weapons. You can't expect the police to just gently knock on your door and wait for a few minutes while you get dressed and open the door. You could be flushing those drugs down the toilet or loading your weapons while they wait for a response.

If you remember an episode of COPS there was another raid caught on camera by NYPD ESU unit. It looked like it was from the 1990's. The cops shot the pit bulls and arrested the drug dealers. They should never be expected to take a chance of being bitten by a dog, but always encouraged to accidentally shoot one of those drug dealers in the raid.

 

[Cyrus]

Few years back the NYPD had a raid at 5 am in an apartment building in Brooklyn. They blew the steel door off its hinges, threw a flash bang in the apartment and stormed in. There was 1 kid in the apartment, a woman, and a man. The search warrant was issued because of an informant who told the police there was a pound of marijuana. The cops did find the marijuana but it belonged to the brother of the man who was in the apartment, and that brother was already in jail on a different charge.

Long story short, the cops did not care who it was in the apartment, nor did they have any information about any possible weapons. You can't expect the police to just gently knock on your door and wait for a few minutes while you get dressed and open the door. You could be flushing those drugs down the toilet or loading your weapons while they wait for a response.

If you remember an episode of COPS there was another raid caught on camera by NYPD ESU unit. It looked like it was from the 1990's. The cops shot the pit bulls and arrested the drug dealers. They should never be expected to take a chance of being bitten by a dog, but always encouraged to accidentally shoot one of those drug dealers in the raid.

Not to mention the fact that cops are not exactly Animal Service agents.

 

[cronxeh]

If you are the police officer in this video, what would you do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGUyMFPJRnU

 

[Cyrus]

Nice kick! (If I were that cop, that dog would have been dead)

 

[rootX]

If you are the police officer in this video, what would you do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGUyMFPJRnU

He should have killed the dog.

 

[pallidin]

The tazer is mans best friend.

 

[Borg]

If you are the police officer in this video, what would you do?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGUyMFPJRnU

What? The owner didn't sue the police for tazering the dog?

 

[Proton Soup]

Hilarious, kid. Anyways, my point still stands. What is the purpose of all this sensationalism/ranting? You've read a single article, and your argument is that this happens 'all the time' and all someone has to do is 'call the police on your neighbors' and this will happen to them to. Let's cut out the nonsense, this is beyond absurd.

not really. these swat raids are just silly. it's a bunch of wannabe warriors that have fun playing soldier when the responsible thing to do in a case like this is just pick the guy up as he's heading out to work in the morning.

but, they want this. they want to do in guns blazing. they want to go in shooting people's dogs as standard operating procedure. it's fun, and it's what they live for.

 

[pallidin]

What? The owner didn't sue the police for tazering the dog?

Well, the owner and the dog should feel lucky.

Police are automatically authorized to shoot and kill any dog which attacks them or other humans.

I love dogs, and so I commend both officers for restraining the use of lethal countermeasures and instead opting for tazing.

 

[madness]

Well, the owner and the dog should feel lucky.

Police are automatically authorized to shoot and kill any dog which attacks them or other humans.

I love dogs, and so I commend both officers for restraining the use of lethal countermeasures and instead opting for tazing.

They killed one of the dogs.

 

[Cyrus]

Not really, these swat raids are just silly. It's a bunch of wannabe warriors that have fun playing soldier when the responsible thing to do in a case like this is just pick the guy up as he's heading out to work in the morning.

But, they want this. They want to do in guns blazing. They want to go in shooting people's dogs as standard operating procedure. It's fun, and it's what they live for.

My my my, such speculation. Have you personally talked to or asked said officers about how much 'fun' they think it is raiding a suspected drug dealers house, or did you just speak for them? As for wether or not the responsbile thing to do is pick up the guy heading to work, you don't know that either. However, a trained LEO can. His opinion, would hold water: yours, not so much. My question to you is: in what way are you qualified to make such statements concerning how the police should conduct their raids?

Side note: That cat is wearing goggles! CRAZY I tell you, CRAZY!

 

[Borg]

I listened to the video again and just realized that the Rottweiller was only 6 months old. How the hell does someone get a dog to be that vicious that fast?

 

[Proton Soup]

My my my, such speculation. Have you personally talked to or asked said officers about how much 'fun' they think it is raiding a suspected drug dealers house, or did you just speak for them? As for wether or not the responsbile thing to do is pick up the guy heading to work, you don't know that either. However, a trained LEO can. His opinion, would hold water: yours, not so much. My question to you is: in what way are you qualified to make such statements concerning how the police should conduct their raids?

Side note: That cat is wearing goggles! CRAZY I tell you, CRAZY!

i know, i love that cat.

as for the LEOs in question, they were so worried about how violent this guy is that they actually knocked on the door and waited for him to open it. that's just CRAZY i tell you, CRAZY11!11!11

but these are hard times, y'know, and with all the overtime/bonus pay/justifying ones existence, who can really blame the guys, amirite?