TheAgitator.com
More on the Lima Drug Raid
Sunday, January 6th, 2008Lima’s police chief inadvertently explains a huge part of the problem:
Garlock said the SWAT team is highly skilled and has conducted thousands of other raids without problems. Such raids always are dangerous and “high risk,” he said.
Perhaps Garlock is employing some hyperbole to overstate the safety record of the SWAT team. I’d hope so. Lima is a town of 40,000 people. If the SWAT team really has conducted “thousands” of raids over the years, that’s in itself is a big reason for concern. Unless a good percentage of Lima’s population are violent criminals.
Also, it looks like a member of the Lima city council owned the house in question, and was leasing it to the couple that was raided. That at least means there will likely be a pretty thorough investigation.
So far police haven’t revealed (a) what quantity of drugs they found, or (b) whether the suspect fired on them. That they haven’t yet passed this information on suggests the answers to those questions are (a) not much, and (b) no. We’ll see, I guess. But the initial reaction from police departments in this situation is to release everything they can that makes the suspect/victim look bad.
Also, it’s probably worth noting that Lima’s the site of that ridiculous forfeiture case from a few weeks ago. Seems like a police department that takes an ends-justifies-the-means approach to the war on drugs.
Sounds more like “the means justify the means” — the end doesn’t seem to be being accomplished anyway, so it can hardly be justifying anything.
Oh, the end is being accomplished all right. You’ve just misidentified the actual end.
There are only a few cities in the entire union that have a case for why they need a SWAT unit.
For those who haven’t read the articles, it sounds like the baby was shot multiple times, and apparently lost a finger to a bullet. I don’t know what went on in that house, but I know it didn’t have to happen. There is no justification - NONE- for shooting a baby.
Another reason to totally distrust the police.
Check out the SWAT team’s page at the LPD website. The animated GIF tells you all you need to know about the attitude:
Lima Police Dept.
From the Toledo Blade story you linked:
Ms. Wilson’s eldest daughter told her aunts that she heard her mother running upstairs after police detonated the charges to where the six children were.
What’s the over/under that she was shot in the back and the injury to the one-year old was a pass through?
One more thing, re: quantity of drugs–Terry was charged under the Ohio statute for trafficking 10-100g of crack. Ironically, there’s an enhanced penalty for dealing crack with juveniles around.
They’re not criminals they’re policemen, honest. Look they have badges and that spells the law! Evidence? What evidence. They have badges.
Now this is interesting…
‘Do you need a sign for your business to tell others you do not allow the carrying of concealed weapons inside your establishment? You can download it in .PDF format by clicking the picture below.’
Can’t have those pesky citizens defending themselves from black-suited ninja wannabees now, can we?
This raid was ridiculous, totally out of order innocent people should have not been hurt or killed. Justice for Wilson & Family six children are without a mother.