A SWAT raid finally goes exactly according to plan

[cropcirclewalker]

Mr. Suddeth, I think I have figgered it out.

He is funnin' us.

He is acting simple to see how much of a rise he can get out of us.

No rational person would pretend to approve of the police state and try to defend a 90 percent success rate.

He is snarfing up his sleeve.

 

[DRMMR02]

I'm done. I'll just say that the "police vs. citizens" mindset is propagated by a lot more people than the police. Some of you see every action by law enforcement as if it is some NKVD operation. And that is truly sad.

 

[DKSuddeth]

He may indeed be 'funnin' us, however, it wouldn't be the first time i've come across someone who totally believes that any botched raid or wrong door raid is totally justifiable simply because it's the police who 'protect' us and should be given that leeway/benefit of all doubt.

 

[cropcirclewalker]

Yo, Mr. White,

Man, three pages of posts and no one has posted the search warrant or affidavit that was used to get it. Everyone just assumes that they expended that kind of resources for two joints?

I am not experienced in matters of this kind.

I spent like half an hour trying to find a reputable link to this story.

How does one find a post to the warrant?

I am real interested.

Thanks.

 

[JohnBT]

"Man, three pages of posts and no one has posted the search warrant or affidavit that was used to get it."

Maybe the police, and the reporters, should be required to release and publish that information when the story breaks.

Now there's an idea. I know I have to account for my actions at work.

John

 

[Ryder]

They must be terribly disappointed people aren't fighting back. I know I would be. What the heck kind of war is it when people don't fight back

So how long has it been since they declared this war now? Twenty, thirty years? Looks like these pacifists need more motivation to get with the program!

It's just so funny because everyone always says how it takes two to have a fight. Some theory that turned out t be

 

[Jeff White]

Almost every document produced in the law enforcement system, from the beat cop's notes to the judge's instructions and rulings are public record. If the media was interested, they could get copies of the warrant. Sometimes affidavits for the warrants are sealed to protect confidential informatnts but that isn't a common thing.

The so called victims should be able to provide the media or anyone else a copy of the warrant because the law requires them to be given a copy.

But then, the fact that there might have been enough probable cause to convince a judge that a significant quantity of drugs might be found at that location doesn't make near as good press as a big raid that netted two joints.

I don't know, maybe that PD expends that kind of resources on a misdemeanor possession bust. But I kind of doubt it.......

Always a rush to judgement around here......Someone posts a story and everyone fills in the blanks with their own personal biases....

Jeff

 

[cropcirclewalker]

Mr. White, thanks.

So, If I am interested, I can get a copy of the afadavit and warrant? Wow. Way cool.

So, what, I like email the Sugar Land PD and like ask for a copy?

Way cool.

Is that how it works?

I yam trying real hard not to be biased.

 

[Jeff White]

You may have to file a freedom of information act request. Warrants and affidavits are court documents and you may have better luck getting them from the court clerk, although they might not have them until the case goes to trial.

At any rate, all of that information is public record. Like I said, the warrant is always given to the people it's served on. And contrary to internet rumor, you have to have pretty good information before a judge will sign off on a warrant. You can't just call the judge up and say; "Hey, your honor, I've got this guy who says he heard that Joe Blow has 35 pounds of marijauna in his garage, how about letting me go take a look?" and expect to get a warrant.

In most cases you have to have someone willing to put their name to the fact that the contraband was physically present. In the case of an anonymous tip, you can pretty well forget getting a warrant. There is plenty of case law about that, and we've discussed it here more then once. A search should bring up the threads.

Then again, maybe you guys are right and the Sugarland PD has thousands of dollars to spend on every single misdemeanor possession bust.

Jeff

 

[Wheeler]

Originally posted by Jeff White:

You may have to file a freedom of information act request. Warrants and affidavits are court documents and you may have better luck getting them from the court clerk, although they might not have them until the case goes to trial.

At any rate, all of that information is public record. Like I said, the warrant is always given to the people it's served on.

It's intersting that you should bring that up Jeff. I watched a news report a couple of years ago detailing exactly how cooperative the local police departments around Atlanta were with providing information about cases that were no longer under investigation, and were either in trial or about to go to trial. Roughly 45% of the local PDs and SOs refused to release the information, even after a FFIA request was submitted. I'm pretty sure none of these cases were major felonies, mostly DUI's Possesion with intent to use, that sort of thing.

As far as that goes, my wife was a witness in a domestic abuse/kidnapping case about three years ago. We requested the interview notes and legal filings that dealt with her from our local SO several times. All she got was a summons to appear and a couple of phone calls from the County Solicitor's office. The entire process of handling that particular case was less than professional on several levels.

Let me add the caveat that I have the highest respect for the job and working conditions that most LEO's have to deal with. Crappy pay, crappy hours, crappy customers, unhappy victims, etc. Most police officers I have had casual contact with have let it be known that they view everyone as a criminal or an SoB. That in and of itself is most likely the reason that most of us "sillyvilians" view cops with mistrust. It's a natural reaction when you are treated that way yourself.

Wheeler

 

[Thin Black Line]

I'd like to see the original warrant as well. Be good to know if it was based
on questionable info from an informant trying to cut a better deal or one of
those anonymous tips called into crimestoppers.

My point earlier was that there is a usually a good rush to action by the
county gov't/PD when it comes to raids that might produce confiscated
goods to sell at gov't auction. The bias is to pursue crimes like this and
ignore plenty of others. Real life example was a family waiting for the perp
who sexually abused their 6 year old daughter to even be questioned, but
the anonymous tip on their neighbor with the supposed meth lab produced a
same day raid. 30 LEOs showed up for the meth raid but no meth. Took two
weeks for one LEO to question the CSA perp who in the meantime had been
roaming free and unhindered.

I would be the last to argue for asset confiscation/forfeiture, but we don't
even see convicted perps paying victim restitution for the most part.
However, I would bet that if there were similar asset laws applied to sexual
crimes as we did with drug crimes, we'd see a sudden interest in quick
enforcement and raids. Bottom line, home raids have been like an industry.