What Greg and Crawford said — they might get hurt dealing with a known threat, or teenagers wearing trench coats.

I saw the same thing with the deputized security guards where I grew up - little kids walking on the grass got hassled, but teenagers who were actually hassling other residents? “I see nothing!” (That was before they shot and killed some kid in the back of a cruiser, which resulted in them getting their guns taken away publicly, and then quietly given back a year later.)

It appears that the only solutions are to either fight back or flee. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” - Thomas Jefferson. This seems to be the only possible resolution now. Otherwise, this great Republic will soon fall into a tyrannical Empire, just as that other great Republic did 2000 years ago…

In a just world a group of armed citizens would travel the country, conducting ‘forced entries’ into the homes of those law enforcement officers who do these things, destroying their homes, their pets, and their lives. In a just world there would be retribution.

But we don’t live in a just world.

“If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever.” - George Orwell.

“Despite the change Sherman claims, the police department intends on charging Sherman with being an ex-felon in possession of ammunition, a felony, Ramirez said, and has not yet due to Sherman’s injuries. The ammunition was found during a search of Sherman’s house four or five days before the Jan. 16 warrant.”

Huh? Well, what happened during this previous search? Did it include a military style assault on the house? Or did the police just knock on the door (and actually give the person a chance to answer it)? Did the suspect resist in any way? If the previous search — just days before — went off without a problem, then it makes the January 16th raid look even less justified.

Why do SWAT teams avoid confrontation when the suspect is a known threat, but force confrontation against nonviolent offenders, the overwhelming majority of whom aren’t?

Because it’s easier to pick the low-hanging fruit. I suspect it’s because some police departments assume that if a suspect’s a violent offender they’ll automatically shoot at whoever comes through the door while someone with no violent record is much less likely to be armed so they can catch him unawares by breaking in during the middle of the night (thereby preventing him from flushing evidence) with minimal chance of harm to the officers. Basically, it’s a formula of risk-management (based on the idea that everyone is a criminal and a threat) that rewards brutality and sloppy policework. I can understand the motives behind it (keeping police from getting shot and trying to keep evidence from being destroyed) but it’s cutting corners no matter how you look at it and it’s wrong.

Perhaps there’s a psychological answer. If I join the SWAT team, it’s reasonable to think it’s because I want to fuck some shit up. I’m that type of guy: an aggressive, shit-kicking mother fucker who’s going to take all those bad guys he fuck out!

But I also don’t want to get killed.

So, when am I going to get the chance to fuck up some bad guys, but not get killed? When I’m raiding the house of a small-time pot dealer. In that raid, I can swing through a window, kill a fucking dog, point my auto at some mother fucker’s head, and cuff ‘em all. The sweet fucking smell of justice, brah.

On the other hand, if I know the son-of-a-bitch in that house is armed, I might think twice before zip-lining in through the sliding glass doors.

Just like with everything else government does, the structure of the SWAT unit creates a disincentive to perform well. You take a certain type of person (cf. the police recruitment video you showed a while back), and turn them loose. On whom are they going to take out that aggression? On the guy who’s probably going to shoot back ad kill you, or on the scumbag drug dealer–bane of society–who won’t?

Some career advice: If you want to get your rocks off playing commando, don’t join Mayberry PD…at least join the Army, or better yet, spend 50 bucks on some Splinter Cell game software.

No, they ARE thugs. Brutality is the non-cash benefit of the low-paying job.

Another Link | February 9th, 2008 at 10:41 am

http://www.history.com/shows.do?action=detail&episodeId=193897

Shootout
Episode: Swat Team Shootouts.

Monday, February 11 10:00 AM

Monday, February 11 04:00 PM

SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams leap into the middle of some of the most dangerous situations around. Follow them as they plan to rescue dozens of hostages held at gunpoint in a bar. Track their strategy as they get ready to lay siege to an electronics store held captive by four armed men. Learn how they confront a disgruntled employee who threatens to kill a former co-worker. Interviews with former hostages and the SWAT officers who saved them guide viewers minute-by-minute through real crises. The tactics and technology used by the experts are detailed and dramatized, taking those watching along for the ride whether the ending is happy–or not.