Comments on: Another Isolated Incident

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:24:53 +0000

W T F,

my friend delivered pizzas in college. He mounted fog lights on his bumper so they shined at the house numbers as he drove by.

By: supercat

supercat — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:22:47 +0000

“COP” is a perfectly reasonable acronym to use… “Criminal On Patrol”

Too cutesy, and it sounds sarcastic. A government agent who performs an unlawful action is no less of a criminal than would be anyone else performing the same action. If a cop conspires to commit e.g. an unlawful break-in where someone gets killed, the cop is a murderer and should be called such. Not just a “criminal on patrol”.

By: alexa-blue

alexa-blue — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:22:26 +0000

wtf #4: if pizza guys deliver to the wrong house, there are consequences.

By: Ignatius

Ignatius — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:20:57 +0000

But Major Mark Robinett of the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, who is in charge of warrant sweeps, said he was told that officers had a difficult time reading the addresses because of overcast skies.

Okay. Caveman Og can’t read number on house clearly from street. Prior to entering front door with force, approach house. Now, look at number again. Number closer now. Overcast sky still problem? Caveman Og use flashlight. Or light match to make light if flashlight pointed in wrong direction.

By: Mel David

Mel David — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:08:54 +0000

WTF said: “I’ve never had a pizza delivery guy accidentally deliver a pizza to my house — rain, snow, dark of night, etc. The pizza guys always gets the pizza to me.”

As an experienced pizza delivery guy, I can say that sometimes we DO go to the wrong house. The only difference is that we apologize and correct ourselves, instead of pulling out guns and telling sickly senior citizens to lie on the ground.

By: Dave Krueger

Dave Krueger — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:01:19 +0000

#26 Andrew Williams

I remember this from reading Harlan Ellison’s columns for the LA Free Press: Since the word aardvark means “earth pig,” how ’bout we start referring to the boys in blue as “varks?”

I think it’s imperative that we don’t pick a name that reflects badly on some other species. I’ve already heard rumors that there is unrest in the pig community that they are being slandered by having their honorable name tarnished by its association with a class of creature markedly inferior by most standards of comparison. I need not point out that, in some parts of rural America where pigs actually outnumber humans, an uprising could lead to a pig take-over and even secession. If that were to happen, what would we do? Send in the police? I doubt the pigs would take kindly to that final insult. Pigs are known to eat people, you know…

By: Andrew Williams

Andrew Williams — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:46:12 +0000

I remember this from reading Harlan Ellison’s columns for the LA Free Press: Since the word aardvark means “earth pig,” how ’bout we start referring to the boys in blue as “varks?”

By: Light

Light — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:33:44 +0000

“COP” is a perfectly reasonable acronym to use… “Criminal On Patrol”

By: supercat

supercat — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:08:19 +0000

I wish people would stop using the term “cops” in stories like this and start using “badged criminals”. If someone breaks into 744 Evergreen Terrace without a warrant for 744 Evergreen Terrace or exigent circumstances sufficient to justify such break-in, that person is a burglar. It doesn’t matter whether the person is a government agent, and it doesn’t matter if the person has a warrant for 742 Evergreen Terrace. A cop’s official duties cannot legitimately include actions which are forbidden by the Constitution (Supremacy Clause), and a cop who is not carrying out official duties cannot legitimately claim exemption from laws which would apply to anyone else (Equal Protection clause, and prohibition of titles of nobility).

The only reason there are so many badged robbers is that the government and news media protected. Badged robbers should be called what they are, so that people will recognize them and treat them as they deserve.

By: Max D.

Max D. — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:24:21 +0000

They were “awoken”? That’s not even a word. How about “awakened”?

By: Aspasia

Aspasia — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:58:09 +0000

That must have been some powerful bad fog if it covered the numbers on the house itself.

Do the LEO even TRY to come up with good excuses anymore?

By: Terrorific

Terrorific — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:48:27 +0000

And if it were sunny they would have blamed the glare on the mailbox numbers.

Is there anything good about police anywhere?

By: Timothy

Timothy — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:45:18 +0000

“But Major Mark Robinett of the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, who is in charge of warrant sweeps, said he was told that officers had a difficult time reading the addresses because of overcast skies.”

Seems like the police department ought to stop hiring so many goddamned illiterates.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:16:59 +0000

It’s amazing how UPS and FedEx workers can get addresses correct all day long but these guys have one address to get correct and somehow cannot.

By: Jim Collins

Jim Collins — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:47:49 +0000

What I meant was that if the cops were worried about the wrong person seeing them when they checked out the house number, they could always disguise somebody as a pizza delivery person.

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:32:39 +0000

#2 And this is the only way this crap will stop. If every cop in the country starts thinking that this raid might be his last, only then will things change. Prison, hospital, or morgue, I no longer care as long as they are off the street and unable to terrorize peacable citizens anymore.

By: James F

James F — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:16:49 +0000

What I find most interesting about this story is the comments. The second comment is from someone representing themselves as a police officer, who gives the standard spiel about “Our job is mucho dangerous, if you saw what we see, you’d run and hide, etc.” And there are multiple comments replying to the officer with contempt. Maybe this sort of issue is beginning to gain traction with the public.

My favorite of the replies:

“You dont see the carnage that we see

Yes, but apparently we see house numbers that you don’t.”

By: MadTom

MadTom — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:12:51 +0000

Of course they don’t have flashlights! They spent their budgets on armored personnel carriers and grenade launchers.

By: SusanK

SusanK — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:12:51 +0000

Does he get props for not calling it an “isolated incident”? Clearly not isolated if the skies were overcast, that happens lots and lots.

By: Aresen

Aresen — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:01:48 +0000

Q: What is the difference between a SWAT team and the KGB under Stalin?

A: The KGB would knock before entering at 3 AM.