This incident happened in Germany, and how many have happened here?
Path ~
I wasn't complaining about LEOs in general. I have had nothing but good experiences with the people in law enforcement (a few well-deserved tickets here and there, that's it).
With a few notable exceptions, the problem isn't the people wearing the uniform.
The problem is with a very, very evil and problematic policy that is becoming more and more widespread -- that of sending LEOs to knock people's doors over in the middle of the night.
My LEO friends seem to think that the severity of the problem or problems they are combating (drugs, usually) justifies this terrible policy.
I tell you, it does not. I tell you, it puts officers in danger in much the same way that gun control puts individuals in danger. On the surface, it looks safer. This house, or that raid, resulted in no officer casualties and produced X number of arrests and convictions. Great! Now tell me; what effect did that raid have on the community good will LEOs must have in order to do their jobs safely and well? Was it eroded? Were there people highly supportive of the LEOs before, who are now ambivalent or worse? What long term effect will that shift have on officer safety?
Even if this awful policy did in fact make officers safer, it does not necessarily follow that it is a good thing. From this side of the thin blue line, it is a bad thing. It puts citizens in danger. You know, the folks LEOs are sworn to protect. Surely that ought to bother the sheep-dog instincts of a good cop. And when no knocks first started becoming common, I'm sure it did. But after awhile, well, you know, the guys get hardened to the job. Get in, point the guns, yell the orders, slam people to the floor for noncompliance. Don't worry about it too much, let it all get sorted out in court. Most the time they are only knocking over bad people's doors anyway, so it's all okay.
And then my LEO friends come online, and can't figure out where the "Us vs. Them" attitude come from!
This is astonishing to me. As society's sheep-dogs, LEOs shouldn't be complacent about tearing up a sheep -- even if often it turns out there was a wolf under that sheep's clothing, it should still positively horrify them if they ever even once tear up a sheep in sheep's clothing. But somehow, the LEO culture has shifted enough that this sort of collateral damage isn't just acceptable, but defensible. Justified by the enormity of the drug problem, justified by the rising crime rate, justified by officer safety. Justified because it happened and it was a LEO that did it.
It's too bad. All the way around, it is too bad.
pax
No matter how disastrously some policy has turned out, anyone who criticizes it can expect to hear: "But what would you replace it with?" When you put out a fire, what do you replace it with? – Thomas Sowell
