I can’t imagine the Agititrix thought so either, or for that matter, your parents, friends, colleagues, etc.

But I am truly relieved that you and you pooch are well. (Thought you had two dogs?)

Deeply troubled by it myself.

I am glad you are okay. No knows more than you just how badly such a situation can go. And, if all is as it appears to be, this is a good example of how there are cops who do their jobs with courtesy and professionalism and understand that the people whose homes they are entering are just people, and not presumed to be enemy scum.

But, I also think 1) this is a pretty big coincidence and 2) “trust, but verify”. As a journalist, I really hope you are taking the name of the suspect that they mentioned to you and checking that he was a suspect (and not known to be somewhere else or already behind bars) and that they had some actual reason to think he was at your address. If you truly feel confident that this was just a coincidence, then there is no more to be said. But, for example, if you would give $100 just to hear five minutes of their conversation as they walked back to their cars, then you don’t feel confident that they weren’t screwing with you. I know that would be the easiest hundred I spent, even if all I ended up hearing was stupid prattle about sports and girlfriends.

They probably were taping you.

Round 2 is coming. Set up a voip line, call it from your cell during any police contact, let it record…the cop can’t confiscate it when you’re searched / arrested.

There are coincidences, and then there are conspiracies.

This one smells.

If I were Radley, I’d be using this as an opportunity for some investigative journalism.

Whenever you post a puppycide story, I am reminded of my mother’s experience with the Pennsylvania highway patrol in the early 1980′s. She got lost and flagged down a trooper to ask for directions. He walked over to the car and leaned in through the window to look at her map. Mom was alone in the car with her dog (a pit bull, no less), and the dog went nuts at this perceived threat. The cop jumped back, barely escaping with his skin intact. Then, HE apologized to HER, saying that he should never have leaned into the car and he understood that the dog was just defending her.

Oops! Can I say local color here?

A little history: Two years ago, we moved to the private lake we currently live on from one of Seattle’s more deplorable neighborhoods, where we had lived for four years. He and I were both unemployed when we were suddenly booted from a lease and, although we had the cash to post first, last and deposit, no current employment meant we were going to have a hard time finding a place. A distant relative of mine owned an apartment complex a few miles from where we were living, so, without much investigation, we took it.

Little did I know, this relative of mine was kind of a slum lord. It was no wonder he didn’t mind our lack of employment; he regularly rented to drug dealers. When we moved in, we were assisted by the very polite young men who lived upstairs… 13th St. Bloods or “OBZs” as they called themselves, characterized by the $100 bills tattooed on their forearms. These young men – who actually took fine care of us – would end up being the cause of my first personal experience with severe police misconduct and no-knock narcotics raids.

Anyway, the neighborhood was riddled with crime. In these four years, our complex of a mere 12 units experienced two shootings (one deadly), 3 full-on narcotics raids, two “drive-bys” and a couple dozen police visits due to domestic disturbances or assaults. Whenever there was a police presence, they would BARK at us to get back in our homes and to leave them alone. They’d never alert us as to when the danger had subsided.

If anyone is wondering why we didn’t move as soon as we gained employment, it’s because we had acclimated to this strange but exciting new environment (we were only 20 when we moved in). If you’ve ever been to a BBQ in the ‘hood, you’d understand.

Fast forward to last week. I get a call at work from a bewildered boyfriend at home. “A house across the lake was burglarized by three armed men, but it’s okay, the police caught them.” “That’s great to hear,” I responded casually. “No, you don’t get it,” he said almost frantically, “A cop actually CAME TO THE HOUSE to tell us – knocked on the door like he was any other visitor. He’s going to ALL the houses on the lake. He didn’t try to come in or anything. He was chatty, Athena. CHATTY. Can you believe it?”

I chuckled because the guy was describing the situation as though he’d just seen a unicorn. But, I can’t blame him. Not everyone gets to experience the dichotomy that is police treatment of poor minorities versus police treatment of wealthy whites, and it’s awfully difficult to transition between viewing a specific uniform as being out to get you and that same uniform being committed to providing you with security.

Prank or not, I’m glad to hear these officers provided a positive example. I certainly sympathize with the situation.

It is ENTIRELY too big of coincidence, and defies the law of probability for this police action on April Fools’ Day, since it concerns none other than:

Renowned writer, blogger and commentator on Police SWAT team tactices and misadventures.

Who features prominently posts on police Puppycides across the U.S.

Provided recent extensive coverage of Mayor Calvo and the P.G.’s County LEO’s raid on his home, and subsequent puppycide of his two beloved but obviously ferocious guard dogs, his Labrador Retrievers.

Radley definitely got punked this a.m…….

“I don’t understand why other police forces can’t pull this off.”

Because it’s really f*ing hard to pull that off on a regular basis. What’s easy (strategically) is to go in guns a’blazin.

Like others have said, it isn’t necessary or right to heap tons of praise on the “good” cops, but I think it shows that the other side either doesn’t know what they are talking about or is lying when they talk about the necessity of their tactics.

Expect another ruse to come calling in the evening sometime soon. Remember to mod me up after Radley writes about it.

(I wish I was kidding…)