For those of you with limited time, go ahead and forward to the 5 minute mark.
This is from the Keep Columbia (Missouri) Free website.
This is a video of the Columbia, MO SWAT team serving a search warrant for marijuana on 03.07.2008 at the home of Mr. Jonathan March.
According to Attorney Dan Viets, “Mr. March had no prior felony convictions” at the time of the raid and he did “possess firearms which were absolutely legal and constitutionally protected.”
During the raid, 5 concussion grenades were exploded in and around the home. One of the grenades exploded near the feet of the young lady visitor, seen in the video, who, at the time, was seated on the couch. Two additional grenades were exploded subsequent to the arrest on the premise that the CPD needed to prove that the previous 5 grenades had done no damage. The grenades left clear charred remains on the carpet and other areas of the home.
During sworn testimony taken by Viets, the SWAT officers who executed this raid acknowledged that they had shot to death two dogs with their machine guns. Both dogs were shot in the back while retreating. One of the dogs is shot at around the 6:30 mark in the video as an officer tops the stairs, passes a suspect on the floor, and steps into a bedroom. You can see a glimpse of the dead dog as the officer stands in the doorway. The dog is obviously facing away from the officer. At 6:55 you can see another injured dog struggling in the hall.
It is important to note that this raid took place before Chief Ken Burton accepted his position with the CPD. Due to the overwhelming public outcry stemming from a more recent yet similar raid under his command, Chief Burton has, for the time being, reigned in the use of his SWAT team to serve search warrants for non-violent crimes and criminals.
While the prevalence of violent, paramilitary raids has waned in Columbia, this type of raid is happening somewhere in the United States right now. Please speak out against this government sanctioned domestic terrorism.
This next one is the real heartbreaker.
Do we really want to be a nation that allows local Barney Fife police officers to dress up like Seal Team 6 and bust in on people who are engaging in a voluntary, victimless activity? Isn't it now safe to say that this is nothing but a jobs program for police, jailers, the prison industry, counselors, probation and parole officers, and their suppliers?
History would be a lot different if this had happened to Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Al Gore, John Kerry, Mitch Daniels, or any other politician who has admitted to smoking weed.
When are we going to stop paying people to do this?
This is from the Keep Columbia (Missouri) Free website.
This is a video of the Columbia, MO SWAT team serving a search warrant for marijuana on 03.07.2008 at the home of Mr. Jonathan March.
According to Attorney Dan Viets, “Mr. March had no prior felony convictions” at the time of the raid and he did “possess firearms which were absolutely legal and constitutionally protected.”
During the raid, 5 concussion grenades were exploded in and around the home. One of the grenades exploded near the feet of the young lady visitor, seen in the video, who, at the time, was seated on the couch. Two additional grenades were exploded subsequent to the arrest on the premise that the CPD needed to prove that the previous 5 grenades had done no damage. The grenades left clear charred remains on the carpet and other areas of the home.
During sworn testimony taken by Viets, the SWAT officers who executed this raid acknowledged that they had shot to death two dogs with their machine guns. Both dogs were shot in the back while retreating. One of the dogs is shot at around the 6:30 mark in the video as an officer tops the stairs, passes a suspect on the floor, and steps into a bedroom. You can see a glimpse of the dead dog as the officer stands in the doorway. The dog is obviously facing away from the officer. At 6:55 you can see another injured dog struggling in the hall.
It is important to note that this raid took place before Chief Ken Burton accepted his position with the CPD. Due to the overwhelming public outcry stemming from a more recent yet similar raid under his command, Chief Burton has, for the time being, reigned in the use of his SWAT team to serve search warrants for non-violent crimes and criminals.
While the prevalence of violent, paramilitary raids has waned in Columbia, this type of raid is happening somewhere in the United States right now. Please speak out against this government sanctioned domestic terrorism.
This next one is the real heartbreaker.
Do we really want to be a nation that allows local Barney Fife police officers to dress up like Seal Team 6 and bust in on people who are engaging in a voluntary, victimless activity? Isn't it now safe to say that this is nothing but a jobs program for police, jailers, the prison industry, counselors, probation and parole officers, and their suppliers?
History would be a lot different if this had happened to Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Al Gore, John Kerry, Mitch Daniels, or any other politician who has admitted to smoking weed.
When are we going to stop paying people to do this?
3 comments:
Great point about changing history if these raids happened to politicians.
Oh, wait a minute. It would have changed for the better. :)
I had a friend who was a deputy in a sparsely populated county. About half of the Sheriff's office was on the SWAT team, and they not only acted like arrogant, jack-booted thugs, they got preferential treatment. Of course, the sheriff got to choose the SWAT team too. Of course, they are located in one of the big marijuana growing counties.
Our friend Leonidas, though, can tell you how the drug dealers essentially "captured" the local police.
That's not to say a sheriff's department shouldn't be prepared for unusually extreme circumstances, but these circumstances don't seem too extreme.
Automatic rifles aren't machineguns, but I get your point. If we want to protect the liberty of gun ownership, we need to maintain a clear distinction between military weapons and non-military weapons. I don't want EVERYBODY to have an M240B (just guys like me).
I have a big test tomorrow and my neighbor's dogs have been barking non-stop all week. I should have called in SWAT.
Accuse the neighbor of smoking dope. That should work.
I had to spend the night at my mother-in-law's house to get a day of peace and quiet, if that tells you how bad it is.
Holy Externalities Batman!
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