Big Drug Raid

[zephyp]

This article and most especially the accompanying video is simply heartbreaking. First of all let me be clear, I do not use nor condone the use of illegal drugs and especially not their use in front of small children. The final analysis is this SWAT recovered a marijuana pipe and a small amount of marijuana after raiding this house at night while the family was asleep with a 7 year old child and after killing one dog and wounding another.

This is simply appalling, barbaric, fascist, and neo-nazi that someone would be treated like this for a misdemeanor...and IMHO the only true endangerment of the child was caused by the SWAT...

I would find the meanest nastiest most successful lawyer I could even if I had to sell everything I owned and sue sue sue sue sue the pants from everyone even remotely involved in something like this.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/201 ... at-led-to/

Family questions SWAT drug search that led to dog’s death
By Brennan David
Tuesday, February 23, 2010

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.

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.....

[wylde007]

Solution - decriminalize.

More police raids and more, harsher penalties is not the path to a safer, cleaner, more peaceful society.

The war on [some] drugs is a manufactured crisis. Possession of marijuana is not even a jailable offense in Virginia and they shot this man's dogs?

I hope these officers are prepared to reap what they have sewn.

[AppleaDay]

They shot a Corgi? A Corgi?! The cop was afraid the little mutt would chew his ankle in a deadly fashion? YGBSM
Nice job, guys.

[DWinter]

Musta been one of those Super-mutant-ninja-attack corgi's. Unfriggin believable

[SgtBill]

I would have to reserve judgement untill I could see how the warrent was made out and how it was presented to a judge. Was this guy a major dealer or just a street level dealer, the paper article did not say one way or another. I could maybe see shooting the pit bull if he went after someone but I can't see shooting a Corgi that could be pushed out of the way or retaind by some other means. As far as the night raid I have no problem with 8:30 at night for a raid, if the wife and child were home then that is on the drug dealer he put them in that position not the Police. The minor charges resulted from the thing's that the found, we will never know what they may have found a day sooner. Nowhere in the paper did it say nor did the video show that the family was sleeping, it was at 8:30 P.M.

I did hundreds of drug raids when I was working, both day and night and never had to shoot a dog. I have had to shoot some humans and would rather shoot them then a dog

[zephyp]

@Bill - I hear ya and thought about that too. If the guy was a big time dealer then he probably had violent tendencies as well hence the SWAT, but all they found was a pipe and a little pot. IMO the warrant was irrelevant. The main question is was the guy a big time coke dealer or did he and his wife merely enjoy getting high from time to time...if the answer was the first and they had intel that the guy had weapons, etc then ok, otherwise sending SWAT to arrest this guy for a pipe and an ounce of marijuana was IMHO a crime in itself. Btw, no mention of weapons or cash seized so go figure on the big time drug dealer.

I certainly dont have your wisdom and experience - wish I had your wisdom but maybe not your experience - but my fear is if they do this to recover a "criminal" for a minor violation then what can/will they do to me or anyone else...not that we smoke dope or do anything else illegal, but given the current administration who knows what they consider me to be...

[GS78]

The war on drugs is a police action. Like some of our previous police actions, this one is turning a profit.

[grumpyMSG]

Since this thread seems to have evolved into the discussing the pros and cons of drug legalization, Marijuana in particular. I figured I'd throw my .02 in. I am very Liberterian in my political beliefs and as such, my life is my life to do with as I please and your life is yours to do with as you please. The goverment's role is to protect you from me and me from you. A good example of this is requiring eye protection for Motorcycle riders, I grant you it is your eyesight, but when you become an unguided missile on the road with others being endangered, the law is a good one. Forcing you to wear a seatbelt isn't by my expectations.

With the way America has become a nanny state with fewer and fewer people accepting responsibility for their actions, how can these same people want Marijuana to be legal? There has been no testing as to the negative health benefits, people compare it to Cigarettes and Alcohol. They aren't far off in the comparision but if the government's role is to protect me from myself then there is no way they should legalize it. If it were legalized, more people would smoke it. Then we would probably find out just how unhealthy and hard it is on the lungs, I know several people who used to smoke it and developed Asthma. I can't prove it caused it, but those individuals didn't smoke regular Cigarettes.

Somebody would start the "American Pot Corporation" and after years of selling it, the statistics would be in and then the lawsuits would start, meanwhile "Joe Taxpayer" would be on the hook for the ever increasing healthcare costs especially with "Obama Care" around the corner. Politicians would be receiving large contributions from the Pot companies.

As for the "War on Drugs" turning a profit, I think if you actually look at the costs of investigating, trying, convicting and incarcerating people, it is a big money loser. A Sheriff's Department or Police Department might get a new vehicle once and a while out of the deal and maybe get to seize some funds, but as a whole it is probably a net drain on resources. You won't get far in this world spending $1.50 to get a dollar back.

[GS78]

You are not seeing the forrest for the trees. The profit is in the ever increasing local, state and federal budgets to battle this plague on "decent" society. I am pretty sure you understand how this works. It would be relatively simple to eradicate the flow of illegal drugs into this country. However doing so would result in the immediate defunding of several federal agencies including, but not limited to the DEA, FBI, DHS, ATF, and ICE. This is a business.


Every year(fiscal year) each of these agencies have to submit their reports , and when they do, if they show anything left over in their budgets, they will automatically be audited to see if they are really performing to their optimum levels or if they are over supplemented.


If you have ever wondered why VDOT was paving the same road every year whether it needed it or not, you know the answer to this question already.

[zephyp]

@grumpy - I'm split on legalization of marijuana and you present a very decent argument for the cons...on the pro side Uncle could generate much revenue via taxes so they can create more social entitlement programs...I'd like to think that much money would go towards deficit reduction but that's a pipe dream...no pun intended.

[wylde007]

You are not seeing the forest for the trees. The profit is in the ever increasing local, state and federal budgets to battle this plague on "decent" society. I am pretty sure you understand how this works. It would be relatively simple to eradicate the flow of illegal drugs into this country. However doing so would result in the immediate defunding of several federal agencies including, but not limited to the DEA, FBI, DHS, ATF, and ICE. This is a business.

^^^ That.

If you have ever wondered why VDOT was paving the same road every year whether it needed it or not, you know the answer to this question already.

Having worked for consultants, contractors and designers on these projects I have two words for you:

Designed Obsolescence.

[zephyp]

If you have ever wondered why VDOT was paving the same road every year whether it needed it or not, you know the answer to this question already.

Wow, I wish I could find some them roads that are paved every year...I pay a crap load of money in taxes and wonder where it goes every time I drive my truck swerving like a drunk avoiding holes and uneven pavement...

[Iqentab308]

sigh. This makes me sad.

Possession in VA actually is jailable technically. 90 days or something like that, but usually that's only if you're on probation.

Cannabis shouldn't be illegal. It costs billions of dollars every year for the government to enforce this stupid law. It's less harmful to smoke it than it is to drink alcohol. It has scientifically proven medical benefits which the US government refuses to acknowledge. Not to mention it's our right as human beings to put anything we want to into our own bodies. Our bodies are the only thing that are truly completely ours. Oh well, maybe I'm just hoping. In reality, the government recently seems to not care about rights and the constitution (ahem obamacare, obama gun control, etc.).

How many harmless citizens need to be treated in such a cruel way by their own government before people begin to realize this? The government is supposed to protect us, that's why we pay them. Protect and Serve, not bash down your door, shoot your dog, endanger your 7 year old child, and arrest you for such a questionable "offense." I'm so sick and tired of the police in this country practically being above the law. So many police stories of violated citizens. None of these police ever get in much trouble. Like, for example, a mile from my house, about a year ago, a policewoman had her lights on and was responding to a call. She did not have the siren on, however, and drove through a red light. The law around here is that a police officer must have the lights and siren on in order to run a red light. Well, she ran the light with no siren on, t-boning the car of a local elementary school teacher, and killing her. The policewoman didn't even lose her job, they just took her off patrol and gave her a desk job. If I ran a red light and t-boned a car and killed the person, I'd almost certainly be in jail... with NO job (except maybe stamping license plates). That's not the way America should work.

On this track, in 20 years we'll be the People's Republic of America.

[zephyp]

On this track, in 20 years we'll be the People's Republic of America.

In 20 years !!!! You been sleeping or hiding in a cave maybe?

[Iqentab308]

I have no point of comparison. =(

I'm Late 1991 vintage.

[Iqentab308]

And wow I just watched that video. The dogs did nothing. At all. The police fired immediately upon seeing it.

This is exactly what I was referring to. Police acting however they want, doing whatever they want, and no penalty. These officers all deserve to be the ones shot. You don't kill a dog for no reason.

[amshaffer]

I've seen a lot of information on this style of raid, and remember hearing there are about 140 raids (Don't quote me on that number) with this kind of police personnel for possession in this quantity every DAY.

Also, one of those dogs was locked in its cage. It's simply disgusting that our government has expanded its principled immorality to this level.

[Vahunter]

Sounds more like the Danville PD. They were on a roll for a while shooting dogs. Every one they shot was an "ankle biter".

[SgtBill]

And wow I just watched that video. The dogs did nothing. At all. The police fired immediately upon seeing it.

This is exactly what I was referring to. Police acting however they want, doing whatever they want, and no penalty. These officers all deserve to be the ones shot. You don't kill a dog for no reason.

Damn Ian you have some great eye's. I watched that video and never even seen a dog or a cage.As far as the officers deserve to be shot do you think that YOU would be MAN enough to try and shoot them. I don't think so . I think that you have a certain ammount of outrage about the incident but you are letting your alligator mouth run away with your canary ass.
Bill

[wylde007]

He did not necessarily imply that he would shoot them, merely that was what the jackboot thugs in your former goon fraternity deserve.

Those are your brothers committing these disgraces because they're "following orders".

Own it, Bill. These are YOUR people.

There may be some alligator mouths out here, but eventually they are going to back the wrong person into a corner and that person is going to tear them a new one. I don't even want to imagine the next Waco or Ruby Ridge... but these manufactured events by government "authorized" hit squads are eventually going to end in a lot of death.

I don't want to see people killed. I really don't. But eventually someone else who isn't as stable and balanced (HA!) as me isn't going to share that sentiment and someone is going to get killed for a little reefer.

Think about how obscene that is for a moment.

Now think about the child who watches a brute squad goon bullet the family pet right in front of him. That child is going to be damaged for life - and probably exhibit a mean streak as well as a vengeful disposition towards law enforcement for the rest of his days.

I wasn't even there and I already harbor ill will towards the law for this. Of course, I started out on the angry side, but that's beside the point.

The war on [some] drugs is a revenue stream for law enforcement. Break down more doors, get more federal money, get more high-tech gear and fancy uniforms with helmets and kevlar, just like the assault teams in Kandahar - but in BLACK!

Same training tactics, same hardware. Primary difference - your targets rarely shoot back like the enemy in Afghanistan.

Perhaps that needs to change.