TheAgitator.com
Another Isolated Incident?
Monday, February 16th, 2009Another week, another wrong-door raid lawsuit.
The suit, filed by attorney Mike Raulston, says on Feb. 13, 2008, the Bradys were at home when the officers suddenly came in, though they did not have any kind of warrant. The suit does not say where the house is located.
It says Officer Tinney forced Tarran Brady to the floor while holding a loaded gun to her head and threatening her.
The suit says Officer Fuller pointed his loaded gun at Randy Brady and ordered him to also get down. But Mr. Brady refused to do so and asked if they had a warrant.
It says the couple was held at gunpoint while the home was searched, placing them, their children, their spouses, nephews, nieces and grandchildren “in mortal fear.”
The suit says, the officers left “after realizing they had made a mistake.”
This is the first raid I’ve yet seen where the homeowner has the balls to do the right thing and stand up to these thugs. Probably caught officer friendly off guard.
Given that a warrant is the *only* thing that gives police the right to break into a house, are there charges pending from the DA over the unlawful entry and kidnapping? One can wish…
#1- No, I don’t thnk a warrant is the only thing. I *believe* that if officers are in pursuit, if they believe a felony is being committed, and a host of other things allow for them to burst through the door. Now, any evidence found during a non-consensual search is different I think. Any law hounds know the skinny on this?
I’m surprised they didn’t cave his head in and charge with for “disobeying an order”. They’ve been trained that anything other than total compliance means “cop-killer”.
Warrant? We don’t got no stinkin’ warrant!
Have you noticed what’s missing in these raids? Back in the day, you actually had to have your warrant on you when you knocked on the door.
Only in the most extreme case would police contain the suspects before showing the warrant.
Now, every case is a maximum overdrive assault where the ‘warrant’, even if it exists, isn’t shown unless the homeowner thinks to ask after having been brutalized.
Look at the Cheye Calvo case… those guys didn’t have a warrant with them. It was ‘en route’. 12 heavily armed men broke into a totally innocent man’s home with no warrant on them. The warrant was only delivered later, as an afterthought.
With virtually no transparancy, how do we know warrants aren’t obtained after the fact to justify fishing expeditions based on shoddy investigation?
Post 2, Mike Leatherwood.
“#1- No, I don’t thnk a warrant is the only thing. I *believe* that if officers are in pursuit, if they believe a felony is being committed, and a host of other things allow for them to burst through the door. Now, any evidence found during a non-consensual search is different I think. Any law hounds know the skinny on this?”
I believe that is the case, but there is another detail to consider… crimes are considered cleared once an arrest is made and the case is turned over to the courts for prosecution.
… once an arrest is made and the case is turned over to the courts for prosecution.
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_cleared/index.html
Not “After a LEGAL arrest is made”, not “After a suspect is proven guilty in a court of law”…
The more people you arrest, clogging the courts with junk cases, the more ‘crimes’ you clear. You could have the most pitiable case ever recorded, but as long as there is arrest and the suspect is turned over to the courts for prosecution, that counts as a crime cleared on your record.
There are very few exceptions to needing a warrant, hot pursuit being an obvious one. I have *no* problem with that. If the cops are chasing someone and that someone runs into my house and they see it, then they have every right – legally and morally – to run into my house after him.
Even when there’s a fugitive that they suspect of being somewhere, they can do the same. There was a case here last week where some guy in KC was arrested, but they were waiting for a warrant to search the house for stolen guns that they believed he had.
Had that been the case here, they would have said “where is he?” or something like that. They didn’t. There’s no reason to believe it was a legal search.
Bob, I think the assumption is that warrants are frequently obtained after the fact to justify fishing expeditions based on shoddy investigation. I think that’s probably actually the default, given that most judges seem to be nothing more than thinly-veiled badgelickers.
With all these botched raids and deadly raids on minor non violent offenders, and with all these warrants being handled in such a dubious way, I keep wondering why main stream media like 60 Mins, 20/20, Dateline, and major newspapers all over this country don’t pick this story up. It would surely inform the American public and Congress, too about what is going on with these SWAT abuses. And it would be a blockbuster story.
Do we have to wait until we have 50 Police States in this country before anyone acknowledges that we have a problem?
This is why what would have worked in Nazi Germany is what should be done here. Someone busts down your door, you shoot them first.
Yes lots of people will die, police and innocents alike. But then police will be clamoring for warrants first. It solves itself.
With all these botched raids and deadly raids on minor non violent offenders, and with all these warrants being handled in such a dubious way, I keep wondering why main stream media like 60 Mins, 20/20, Dateline, and major newspapers all over this country don’t pick this story up.
Because as a general rule, they operate on the idea that anyone accused is guilty based on nothing more than the accusation and they’re so far up the collective police ass that they don’t notice the smell anymore.
Don’t mean to threadjack, but Dr. Tabor will be requesting citizen review of the Ryan Frederick investigation and raid at the city council meeting in Chesapeake next Tuesday. Thought that anyone in or around southeastern Virginia/ northeastern North Carolina would want to know.
“But Mr. Brady refused to do so and asked if they had a warrant.”
Mr. Brady is my new hero.
Finally, a Brady who really is standing up to gun violence that matters!
Some conservative legislator should sponsor a new Brady Bill: a homeowner who has broken no law may not be charged for shooting cops who break into their home.
Did they have a warrant to show Mr. Brady? I no longer believe these “wrong address” assaults are mistakes. Perhaps they are used for the same purpose as killing every mouse-sized dog the predators encounter — just another way to terrorize people by psychologically destroying them; the point here being the absolute randomness of the act. Whether you commit a non-crime or not, you are not safe in your own home from predators who view the entire citizenry as enemies.
Ah, but Mike, there are so many laws that we’re all guilty of something…
Articles like these make me wish I could afford one of those missile silo’s that are supposed to be able to withstand a nuclear attack. At least SWAT teams don’t have nukes……yet.
Michael Chaney
“There are very few exceptions to needing a warrant, hot pursuit being an obvious one.”
“Even when there’s a fugitive that they suspect of being somewhere, they can do the same. There was a case here last week where some guy in KC was arrested, but they were waiting for a warrant to search the house for stolen guns that they believed he had.”
Hot pursuit, danger to life or limb (this includes to the police), destruction of evidence, possible escape, and consent. Those are the only things that a warrant is not needed, although a court can say whatever reason fell into one of those categories.
Possible escape is what I’ll guess they are saying is the case in KC; although from reading that story it would be a weak excuse. Being a fugitive alone is not a reason for a warrant-less home entry they would need an arrest warrant.
One other thing you may want to know is that when police enter on exigent circumstances, that does not allow them to freely search your home. Only something that is in plain view would/should be allowed as evidence.
As an example someone calls 911 gives your address saying they heard you beating your wife. When the police arrive they hear what sounds like a fight. They knock on your door and you open it, but refuse to allow them in. Because of the 911 call, and the sounds, they would be like any reasonable person in believing there was a domestic disturbance happening, and would be able to enter your home to protect someone from further violence. They would be able to remove a spouse, and/or arrest a spouse for assault, but they would not be able to go into your bedroom and start rummaging through closets to look for contraband.
“Did they have a warrant to show Mr. Brady? I no longer believe these “wrong address” assaults are mistakes. Perhaps they are used for the same purpose as killing every mouse-sized dog the predators encounter — just another way to terrorize people by psychologically destroying them; the point here being the absolute randomness of the act. Whether you commit a non-crime or not, you are not safe in your own home from predators who view the entire citizenry as enemies.” #15 louisa
louisa, I never really thought of that aspect, but I’m wondering now if that’s what is really going on with all these botched raids. How else do you explain the overwhelming senseless behavior, ineptness, and negligence that is going on today with so many botched and over zealous SWAT attacks on the citizenry? Is it all really a methodical plan to terrorize and psychologically destroy the “enemy” citizens of this nation? A way for “Big Brother” to keep us all in line with his agenda? It makes one wonder.
Or can SWAT cops and police departments really be this stupid? Either way it is pretty terrifying.
#19 Shay, I’ll bet FedEx makes fewer mistakes with addresses than cops. What happens when the cops invade a black person’s home when they know they are looking for a white person, or invade an 80-year-old’s home when they are looking for a 20-year-old? In spite of the obvious physical differences, what do they do? FIRST, they continue brutalizing the victims, sometimes for hours, THEN they check the address. I don’t think that is an accident.
//louisa, I never really thought of that aspect, but I’m wondering now if that’s what is really going on with all these botched raids.//
I don’t know whether the officers involved are deliberately engaged in such a conspiracy, but the overall effect is the same. I do wish more people would overtly refuse to deify government agents who are killed while behaving in reckless or otherwise unreasonable behavior. Det. Shivers was, at best, a reckless fool. More likely, he and other members of his department enjoy terrorizing people. Regardless, those in power clearly favor such reckless terror tactics.