thanks for your time,

Where’s the Explorer Scout SWAT-Team Wannabe Program going?

http://injusticeinseattle.blogspot.com/2009/05/national-police-misconduct-reporting.html

Posted in Police Militarization | 83 Comments »

Fifth Circuit Says No SWAT Teams for Regulatory Inspections
Monday, May 11th, 2009
It’s a “Well gee, you’d hope so” sort of victory, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that using a SWAT team to conduct an administrative or regulatory search is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The case stems from what was clearly a drug raid conducted on a bar in Louisiana by the Rapides Parrish Sheriff’s Department. But the raid was conducted under the auspices of an alcohol inspection, which allowed the department to get around the need for a criminal search warrant.
The Fifth Circuit ruled such a raid violates the Fourth Amendment, and is allowing a civil rights suit against the officers involved to go forward. From the opinion:
“Taking plaintiffs’ factual allegations as true, defendants did not enter Club Retro as would a typical patron; instead, they chose to project official authority by entering with weapons drawn in a S.W.A.T. team raid. They lacked any particularized suspicion or probable cause when they subsequently searched Club Retro, its attic, and the separate apartment and seized and searched all of its patrons and employees. Thus, defendants’ entry and search was not a reasonable acceptance of Club Retro’s invitation to the public. Any other conclusion would be an invitation for S.W.A.T. team raids by law enforcement officers of any business that is open to the public and would severely undermine the Fourth Amendment protections afforded to owners of commercial premises.
“We are likewise not convinced by defendants’ second argument that they conducted a permissible administrative inspection. Although Louisiana statutes and Rapides Parish ordinances authorizing administrative inspections may have provided justification for an entry and inspection of Club Retro, no such law permits the scope and manner of the raid that plaintiffs allege occurred here…
“Administrative inspections, by their very nature, require more limited, less intrusive conduct than is alleged to have occurred here. We thus conclude that defendants’ S.W.A.T. team entries and extensive searches, as described in the amended complaint, unreasonably exceeded the scope of Louisiana and Rapides Parish administrative inspection laws. Any other conclusion would allow the administrative inspection exception to swallow the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement for searches of private property.”

Why should any sane citizen be vehemently opposed to the militarized Explorer Scout mentality? Because it leads DIRECTLY and irrevocably (learn your history, nay-sayers!!) to what this court case addressed.

Some people don’t need training to be bully’s, it came naturally. Haven’t the PD’s a large enough pool to choose from? Or are they just trying to gain credibilty by saying “over 50%” of our officers were former scouts and explorers. Can’t help but ask if Testilying is going to be a new merit badge. Only offered on Sundays.

Exactly. We all know that there are a myriad of ways to be extremely violent without any guns brought into the equation. We all also know that the presence guns do not automatically equal violence. Nothing good comes from the mentality that physical violence needs to be initiated to “shut someone up” for talking “too much” or saying something you object to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploring_(Learning_for_Life)

Little bastard also stole out of my shop, and I proved it. I fired him, and got flack from the local police force. I stood my ground, showed proof. They backed off, but he remained in the PE.

Imagine my shock and surprise.

i was yanking your chain, kinda. I’m a firm believer that society started downhill as soon as people decided that assholes were allowed to be assholes without fear of retribution and that started because people were afraid to take care of things themselves. People want to believe they’re better than the animal in their DNA, but they aren’t.

#71 Oatwhore

I love how they are in Imperial, CA learning how to be Imperial Stormtroopers.

Haha! Good catch.

You hit the nail on the head. They aren’t being prepared to be police officers and they’re learning about law enforcement in the traditional sense. They’re really learning how to be storm troopers. They aren’t learning about solving crimes or tracking down robbers and rapists. They’re learning how to be mindless attack dogs.

They aren’t learning how to deal with terrorism, they’re learning how to deal out terrorism.

Nice ad hominem, there. Standing on the principle that you shouldn’t harm someone who isn’t hurting you is weakness? Do you realize that taking your remarks to their logical conclusion leads to justifying attacking innocent people? Maybe you better rethink this.

… the … non-initiation argument [is] always a bad argument and a quick way to get killed, or at a minimum, get an ass beating.

You seem to be confused about the concept. Non-initiation doesn’t mean waiting until there is actual contact. A credible threat of violence against an innocent person is the initiation of force. Point a gun at your neighbor’s wife and he has every right to shoot you. He’s not initiating force. You did that.

I’m not even going to bother trying to discuss the rest with you. Pearls before swine.

Maybe if the police actually showed restraint and maybe if there wasn’t a new story every fucking day about police misconduct and false arrests for breaking laws that don’t exist, then maybe I wouldn’t care.

You mean like the El Monte police officer kicking a suspect in the face after the suspect was on the ground with arms and legs spread? That kind of abuse? I bet that shuts them up too.

Tokin42,

Here is what’s disgusting and reprehensible, We’ve relegated ourselves to a police state because we’re too afraid to take care of ourselves.

Yes, and applauding these young Explorers for what they are doing isn’t going to help, but continue the problem. You are being amazingly inconsistent.