1 Atlanta officer pleads guilty in drug raid death of elderly woman

[BattleChimp Potemkin]

Broad use of these raids? Not too many of them per day, however, all it takes is a few bad ones to give them a horrific view. I am against these "no knock" raids, despite people telling me about evidence destruction that can occur with a standard raid (knock on the door, then you hear toilets flushing). Too many variables that can go wrong with that. Just my 2 cents.

 

[buzz_knox]

I thought that the law enforcement is protected by the state for things such as this one. They didn't had the time to shoot the warning fire before shooting the guy and killing the old lady. They didn't act quite as the protocol requires but I still think they're not to be blamed for this. Maybe just a suspension will do.

They weren't indicted because they shot her; they were indicted because they coerced an informant to give false testimony, they illegally obtained a warrant based on that false testimony, and then they killed someone while conducting the resulting raid.

 

[Derek Zeanah]

Occasionally I watch those SWAT reality shows to giggle a bit (I'm an elitist who's done a bit of that but is currently overweight and out of shape, so that that for what it's worth...)

Anyway, for the most part it seems that SOP is to sit outside and wait for 18 hours if it's reported the occupant has a gun. I'd guess if someone's breaking into my house it's likely not the local SWAT team. If my town even has a SWAT team...

 

[ilbob]

Well, no matter what joint the boy ends up in, as a convicted cop, he's gonna have a real bad day, every day.

The fix is in. My prediction is there will be no hard time, maybe no time at all.

 

[buzz_knox]

If my town even has a SWAT team...

I just found out that my old university has a SWAT team complete with a large mobile command center to boot. I'd be surprised if any town didn't have a tactical response unit these days. It's the "in" thing, as well as a way to get federal grant money.

 

[tiberiu]

That is a very good question and the answer to it is quite simple and scary: the government does not care about civil rights and as the world has to deal with with overgrowth of population why should they care: more mouths to feed and no money so a 92 years old woman died... of a heart stroke probably... the bullet was just for fun.... that's my opinion...

 

[Deanimator]

The fix is in. My prediction is there will be no hard time, maybe no time at all.

If the victim were my relative, they'd be BEGGING for hard time. Inside of six months they'd be begging to be executed to end the torment.

In most places, criminal convictions are a matter of public record. Publicly posted mug shots, and the trial transcript would follow them wherever they went, for as long as they lived... and that would be absolutely the MILDEST form of retribution.

I think that non-disclosure clauses in settlements against municipalities for such crimes are criminal in themselves. I'd never agree to one. I'd NEVER agree to anything which impeded my ability to heap dirt upon the name of the perpetrators and the Atlanta PD. If Atlanta doesn't like that, let them try to justify to a jury perjury, murdering an old woman, and planting evidence to sully the victim's reputation. In the words of Sponge Bob, "Good luck with that!"

The family's going to own a big chunk of Atlanta's budget. That'd rent a lot of billboards with the faces of the perpetrators on them.

I wonder what it's like to have a song about how you murdered an old woman playing on radio stations wherever you live? I wonder what it would be like to have rock, R&B and country versions in heavy rotation simultaneously?

I think there was a line in an old spaghetti western, "God forgives. I don't."

 

[TallPine]

I'd be surprised if any town didn't have a tactical response unit these days. It's the "in" thing, as well as a way to get federal grant money.

Most towns in Montana don't even have police departments. The county sheriff's department is responsible for everything (except F&G and MSP).

I'm not sure what the roster is in my county, but I doubt it is more than 10 or 12 counting the reserves. So they'd have to have the entire department on hand for a SWAT team

 

[buzz_knox]

I'm not sure what the roster is in my county, but I doubt it is more than 10 or 12 counting the reserves. So they'd have to have the entire department on hand for a SWAT team

If memory serves, there was a very small department in the South that received an M113 from the feds for use by their "tac team." This was back in the days of the "Crime" Bill, but after reading many articles about how to apply for federal grants for homeland security work, I'd be surprised if this kind of thing wasn't still going on.

 

[MiddleAgedKen]

Lupinus, I believe Ryan Frederick is the gentleman you're thinking of. Case is in Maryland.

There's also Cory Maye, in (I think) Mississippi.

 

[alan]

I wonder as to how this LE type will do serving time in prison, with the other criminal types, or will some form of special arrangements be made?.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

cops get hidden or sent to someplace away from home club fed with the white collar criminals if their crime qualifies.otherwise itspunk city for the duration and they get to wonder about food "additives"

 

[RP88]

*reads alot of the map cases*

I like how a negligent, lying police officer may not even get fired while someone who was honestly acting in self-defense gets life in prison or the death penalty.

 

[Anonymous Coward]

Standing armies. More or less.

 

[RP88]

alot of these could be avoided by simply waiting for the suspect to leave the premises and/or grab them while they are walking to their car or something where they cannot prepare to resist.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Honestly though. What sort of exigent circumstance could exist that isn't immediately defeated by modern technology?
Aren't exigent circumstances the reason for no-knock or para-military warrant service?
I hate to be captain second-guesser, and I know nothing is as simple as it seems, but there has to be a way to pull back the reins and still do the job in a less hostile way, if apologists are going to make the argument of omelets and eggs.

 

[alan]

wheelgunslinger writes:

Honestly though. What sort of exigent circumstance could exist that isn't immediately defeated by modern technology?
Aren't exigent circumstances the reason for no-knock or para-military warrant service?
I hate to be captain second-guesser, and I know nothing is as simple as it seems, but there has to be a way to pull back the reins and still do the job in a less hostile way, if apologists are going to make the argument of omelets and eggs.

-----------------

The following comes to mind re the above. Of course there is a way that was mentioned "to pull back the reins and still do the job in a less hostile way ...", however that might entail the use/application of COMMON SENSE. Re that, seems as if the first part might be more often encountered than is the second part. It also seems as if respecting some in Law Enforcement, that to often what might be described as the Us Against Them attitude comes into play, the "them" turning out to be the citizenry, most of whom are law abiding.

 

[precisionshootist]

It's only a matter of time before a SWAT team/LE agent screws up a no knock raid on a house in Texas and ends up DRT. In Texas if you break in to ones home the owner has no virturaly no duty to retreat. So No knock on the wrong house will make for an interesting court case to say the least. It's going to be a hard sell in court that LE have a break and enter exception and somehow the unexpecting homeowner is responsible for the death of the officer/s.

 

[alsaqr]

"manslaughter. a lot of people get probation for that. the fix is in."

Yes, the fix is in.


The poor old lady is just another victim of Richard Nixon's continuing "war on drugs.

 

[buzz_knox]

The poor old lady is just another victim of Richard Nixon's continuing "war on drugs.

No, the lady was the victim of cops who, for whatever reason, decided to cross the line and become criminals. It happened long before drugs were regulated (long before Nixon came on the scene) or the DEA was created. It will happen long after drugs are legalized and/or direct neural stimulation replaces them as the opiate of the masses.

This isn't about drugs, it's about human nature. They wanted something (promotions, drugs "off the street", whatever) and they would do anything to get it.

 

[Deanimator]

No, the lady was the victim of cops who, for whatever reason, decided to cross the line and become criminals. It happened long before drugs were regulated (long before Nixon came on the scene) or the DEA was created. It will happen long after drugs are legalized and/or direct neural stimulation replaces them as the opiate of the masses.

This isn't about drugs, it's about human nature. They wanted something (promotions, drugs "off the street", whatever) and they would do anything to get it.

It seems like the cops watched HALF of "To Live and Die in L.A." too many times. Actions have consequences, sometimes even in movies.

 

[grampster]

Another defining moment produced by The War On Some Drugs.

 

[Robert Hairless]

How do gun owners protect themselves without clashing with LE doing a raid that's either botched, real, or fake?

Resisting arrest is a crime. Do not interfere with the raid even if you believe it is botched or faked. You will have the opportunity to present your argument in a court of law. If you are unable to do so because you were killed, you shouldn't have done the crime. You probably did something wrong in your lifetime so you deserved to be punished severely.

The police are there to protect and to serve. The Supreme Court has ruled consistently that the police are not there to protect you. Don't whine.

 

[ilbob]

I just found out that my old university has a SWAT team complete with a large mobile command center to boot. I'd be surprised if any town didn't have a tactical response unit these days. It's the "in" thing, as well as a way to get federal grant money.

Our sheriff's dept has a hazardous materials unit as well as a mobile command center. Not sure exactly why, but they park them around town in different spots. The command center was parked in the parking lot of an abandoned grocery store for a couple of weeks in january. Had a flashing blue light on top of it so you couldn't miss it. No idea why it was there or why the flashing blue light. maybe they got it at KMart.

 

[Sans Authoritas]

No-knock warrant or not, consider what the warrant was for. Flash back to 1927: imagine this raid being done next door because your neighbor was allegedly selling <gasp> the demon rum!

Considering the fact that far more people as a result of drunk driving (even though there are severe laws against the practice) than hard-drug abuse driving (once again, harsh laws already exist) I think it would be prudent to reduce the 1920's style crime rate by decriminalizing drugs.

One of my main worries about legalizing drugs was that it would be an encouragement for non-users to start using. Then I realized: you can't live your life strung out on cocaine and heroin for too long without government handouts and subsidies. In an armed society with no government handouts, you'd really have to actually work for a living. Except for a little "trial" spurt at the point of legalization, majority of society would keep on living as it always has: not abusing drugs.

Most of the violence involved in drug dealing would disappear, because the free market would take over. No long would there have to be violent cartels, just like you don't see mob warfare in the pistachio market. But you sure did see violence flare up when alcohol was illegalized. And you're seeing it now with drugs.

It's kind of funny that someone can have 500 gallons of wine in his basement, enough to slosh three city blocks, but a pound of marijuana or a couple rocks of crack cocaine will land the same person in prison.

Yes, we all agree, no-knock warrants are dangerous for all involved. But let's look beyond the technicalities behind a particular type of raid, and look into the wisdom of the laws themselves. Otherwise, nobody will accomplish anything.

This is coming from someone who has never used any non-prescription drugs, and never intends to.

-Sans Authoritas