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Law Enforcement: SWAT Run Amok
stopthedrugwar.org — Two recent incidents involving SWAT teams are adding fuel to the fire in the emerging controversy over the routine use of such paramilitarized police units to prosecute the drug war. In Chicago, the Chicago Police Department has been hit with a $10 million lawsuit over a September raid on a social club.
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- alapoet, on 06/21/2008, -1/+27This really is getting out of control.
The problem is, police departments get their cool new military equipment and SWAT training, and then they get all gung-ho to go Rambo on someone's ass. Never mind if the person is even armed or dangerous; just the suspicion of drug use is apparently enough. They think of any drug user as a crack dealer with an Uzi.
So excessive, inappropriate force ends up getting used in the name of the almighty "War On Drugs."
It's all about war-like hyperbole resulting in war-like aggression.
They end up crashing in on some freaked out pot head, shooting the place up, and possibly killing people.
It's insane. It's like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer.- ElAssoWipo, on 06/21/2008, -4/+6Only problem with your theory:
Swat teams get called in, they don't investigate.
Their purpose is to make arrests when the suspects are armed and barricaded (inside a building).
They are necessary. They are just really, really overused in the US.
They get called in for any narcotic warrant, because the vast majority of drug dealers are armed.
In Canada, swat teams are only used when regular police failed. They're a last resort. In the US, they are the first. For example, in Canada they would call in the swat team for a guy that escaped and arrest or threatened the life of a police officer.
Another problem added to this is the no-knock warrants. There's no way to guess the people breaking in to your home aren't there to kill you. This causes people to defend themselves when they would normally submit to an arrest, only aggravating the problem.
Blaming a soldier for the war doesn't work out.
The judicial system is completely *****, much like the rest of the American government. The result can't be anything other than cops doing awful things. They are ordered to do them.
Swat teams weren't invented for regular police work and that's what they are being used for. Swat teams were invented to defuse very dangerous situations, they are trained to respond to armed threats, not some surprised pot head.
You can't blame the police for enforcing ridiculous laws. They aren't the ones who decided what the law is. You did. By voting, not voting or doing nothing while your representatives rape you.- AugustusOsari, on 06/21/2008, -2/+2>You did.
Don't pretend to know someone you don't know, you sick ***** sack of *****.- ElAssoWipo, on 06/21/2008, -2/+1Truth hurts, doesn't it?
- AugustusOsari, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2You don't know anything about the guy you're addressing. Don't treat him as if you do, especially if you're going to try to admonish him.
- Crabsinmypants, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2I did?
Wait so the police officers are not allowed to vote? I believe they did nothing also while our so called "reprensentatives rape you." or am I mistaken for also thinking of them as citizens in America.
They are more accountable than a non-law-enforcement citizens because not only do they have a chance to vote, but also can say "no" to the tactics that the politicians give them rights to use in the war on drugs.- ElAssoWipo, on 06/22/2008, -1/+1Cops don't even represent 1/100th of America.
And no, they don't get to say no. They get to say "yes sir" or "I quit".
You can pretend all you want but citizens are responsible for legislation in a republic. That's just how it is. You're entirely responsible for controlling your government.
And when they approved no-knock warrants, America did absolutely nothing. Same for patriot act, wiretaps, approving the use of torture, etc.
That's your job as a citizen. To protest the removal of your rights and to fight to keep them.
- ElAssoWipo, on 06/22/2008, -1/+1Cops don't even represent 1/100th of America.
- AugustusOsari, on 06/21/2008, -2/+2>You did.
- Ajajadude, on 06/21/2008, -3/+1The only problem with SWAT teams is that they're being used in situations that they weren't intended for. Regular police officers do not have the proper training or resources to deal with special situations such as hostage standoffs and bank robberies like the one in North Hollywood years ago. The policies for using SWAT teams have gotten all out of whack and need to be corrected. Getting rid of SWAT teams would only lead to bigger problems when dealing with crisis situations. I'm sure you're one of the many here on Digg who bitch about the incompetence of the average police officer. You really want those guys to be doing the jobs that require specialized training?
ElAssoWipo is right: you don't like the laws? Don't just bitch about it on Digg. Get out and vote.- alapoet, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4ElAssoWipo and Ajajadue...
Ummm... I can't expect you to know this, and obviously you don't, but:
I DO more than "bitch about it on Digg."
I do vote, and I'm an anti drug-war activist. I was doing both of those things for 30 years before I was on Digg.
In April, I added Digg to all the other ways I've been using to try to educate people about the futility of the drug war, the abuse of police powers in the name of the drug war, and other issues.
If you're really interested, instead of just making wise-ass comments, you can find me at:
http://realitycatcher-alapoet.blogspot.com/- Ajajadude, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1Well, if you truly known more than what you claim, you'd realize SWAT is used for things other than drug busts.
You basically sound like my younger brother who's been brought home by the cops on several occasions. He's all pissed off he's been caught doing things he's not supposed to be doing. Anyone I have ever known who craps on police officers are the same way. They've been busted for doing whatever it was that they were doing and they act like they're hardened criminals who've been abused by police all their life.
You completely ignore all the other possible reasons for SWAT to exist and focus on the relatively few instances where things went horribly wrong. You can argue against the so-called war on drugs until you're blue in the face. It's going to be an argument you'll never win, as far as changing policy is concerned.
- Ajajadude, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1Well, if you truly known more than what you claim, you'd realize SWAT is used for things other than drug busts.
- alapoet, on 06/21/2008, -0/+4ElAssoWipo and Ajajadue...
- georgemason01, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2Getting?
- ElAssoWipo, on 06/21/2008, -4/+6Only problem with your theory:
- StopOurDrugWar, on 06/21/2008, -1/+18Swat teams are an excuse for police to show off the equipment that rarely get to use. Check this story about a recent armed raid on the home of a man who couldn't walk or use his hands. Totally stupid and a waste of money.
http://stopourdrugwar.blogspot.com/2008/06/why-wou ... - MacBookForMe, on 06/21/2008, -9/+1they should have focused on drug bosses and treat them as all other terrorists and cut them with all resources and power and waterboarding - i repeat the drug leaders...and maybe they'll clean their own corrupted commanding lines on the way
- Bith8654, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2I somehow doubt it's quite that easy, this isn't Crackdown.
- darylyounge, on 06/21/2008, -1/+8Time to start policing the police!
- brainboy77, on 06/21/2008, -2/+3sounds fun. but then question arrives of who polices the policers who police the police.
- brainboy77, on 06/21/2008, -2/+1damn, that was a mouthful.
- AugustusOsari, on 06/21/2008, -2/+0Who will guard the guards?! D:
- Stevanoski, on 06/21/2008, -9/+3Friends who are SWAT tell daunting stories of how much strain they are under when they are called. They are trained to the max to be vigilant more for civilians sake than their own. But they merit an option to defend themselves. I say until you have been there you should hold off on the excessive remarks I am seeing.
- tvanwyk, on 06/21/2008, -5/+5Eh, no. SWAT is made up of a bunch of thugs, many of whom were the playground bullies at their schools. The good thing is that there are more people calling them on their gung-ho behavior, and fewer people like you apologizing for these brutal sorts of tactics.
- Stevanoski, on 06/21/2008, -6/+2lol, I remember a rap artist who had songs about how evil the police were, calling the police at some point to come protect him and then complaining about how long it took them. Could be you some day.
- Ajajadude, on 06/21/2008, -3/+3You have any evidence to back that up? Or are you just talking out of your ass?
- tvanwyk, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2Proof? It's pretty damned apparent that a culture of entitlement and superiority has been nurtured in all of cop-dom. Cops are bullies with badges.
Fine. Bury away, tools. If you can't see for yourselves that the cops are thugs, then your eyes have been glued shut. - Ajajadude, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1Hey, numbnuts, your experience with being pulled over by a patrolman and your pure speculation is hardly a basis for your argument.
Yeah, there are plenty of dick cops on power trips. I've dealt with those guys before. When I was in high school working for a car dealership, I was pulled over by one of the towns old cops, while driving a dealership car, who was probably bitter about the fact that he spent his entire career working in a town with a population of 23,000. He proceeded to threaten to get me fired and taunted me with all this ***** and eventually wrote me a ticket.
A couple of years later, I was pulled over by a young cop who got into an argument with me about the placement of a speed limit sign. He gave me a verbal warning. If I were to believe morons like you, I would expect that younger cop would've pulled me out of my car through the window and arrested me for arguing with him.
The majority of my experiences with the police have been positive. You must be one of those assholes with a large sense of self-entitlement.
- tvanwyk, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2Proof? It's pretty damned apparent that a culture of entitlement and superiority has been nurtured in all of cop-dom. Cops are bullies with badges.
- tvanwyk, on 06/21/2008, -5/+5Eh, no. SWAT is made up of a bunch of thugs, many of whom were the playground bullies at their schools. The good thing is that there are more people calling them on their gung-ho behavior, and fewer people like you apologizing for these brutal sorts of tactics.
- tufftugg, on 06/21/2008, -4/+4 Police state...paramilitary police force, just like in Second world countries.
- jackal42, on 06/21/2008, -1/+2In Democratic USA, cop ***** you!
- Ajajadude, on 06/21/2008, -2/+5Except, it's not even a close comparison. How about you go live in one of those countries for a couple of months then you can say we live in a police state.
- SpookyET, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3At least they are normal cops who play SWAT on the weekends unlike some other countries, namely Romania, where Police Detachment for Rapid Intervention have a licence to put you inside the emergency room then ask questions later. They are not normal cops. They are local, national, international martial arts champions, or Olympics medallists. All they do is train 6 hours a day 365 days a year. They don't do normal cop work. Most of the time they don't do anything and are bored out of their minds. This gets the adrenaline pumping when they are called. They are used often to give them something to do. They are way too aggressive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deta%C5%9Famentul_de_ ...
The jandarmery, which are military, have their own special forces for rapid intervention. Those are used often as well. - jmkiii, on 06/21/2008, -1/+3Hooray for standing armies.
- neuens07, on 06/21/2008, -1/+4Fellow diggers... I dropped a joint somewhere in my house when I used to smoke...
If you don't hear from me again, they probably got me... - madmarine, on 06/21/2008, -1/+7This is getting out of control? You have no idea! By the early 1980s there were 3,000 annual SWAT deployments, by 1996 there were 30,000, and by 2001 there were 40,000. The raids often go like this one: On March 12, 1996, acting on a tip from an informant, a Miami SWAT team fired 122 rounds into the home of 73-year-old Richard Brown, while his 14 year-old great-granddaughter feared for her life in the bathroom. Brown was killed in the gunfire. Police found no drugs in Brown's possession.
Read all about it here: Overkill - The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America (2006). http://cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/balko_whitepaper_200 ... - PatNolan, on 06/21/2008, -4/+2Time to get a fair bunch of fellows and raid the SWAT house. See how they respond to being shot in their beds.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security." - FizzanoMatrix, on 06/21/2008, -4/+1What the hell's a rant?
- tucsonsun13, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1Shooting people is fun.
- wastedpanda, on 06/21/2008, -2/+1Those guys are noobs. You get more points in SWAT if you -don't- kill anyone.
- rs2183, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1everytime i hear someone mention the SWAT team, i think of the theme song from that movie SWAT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBhlxfdP1A4 - MattJF317, on 06/21/2008, -1/+1SWAT runs Amarok?
- MrSarcasm, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1Exactly how I read it... thought it's gonna be another one of those pro-linux articles
- mordea, on 06/21/2008, -2/+1Another anti-police post. Well, I better join in or I'll be ostracized!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=87hllT_d4hQ - wem511, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1wathed videos of peole who losse evverything for nothing while just trying to get people their medications.... pheonixtears.ca got it 2
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