TheAgitator.com
Columbia, Missouri Police Chief: “I Hate the Internet”
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010Columbia, Missouri Police Chief Ken Burton is apparently frustrated. At another press conference yesterday, a reporter asked the chief what he has learned from the international attention generated by the YouTube video of his department’s SWAT team conducting a drug raid last February.
His reply: “I hate the Internet.”
I’ll bet he does. For two-and-a-half months, Burton and his department were quiet about the raid. That’s likely because, as I wrote yesterday, the raid was really no different from the tens of thousands of similar raids conducted every year, and that are probably conducted by his own department a couple of times per week. Within days of the video hitting the web, Burton was forced to hold several press conferences, and has now laid out several reforms to the way SWAT raids will be conducted in Columbia in the future. I suppose it’s possible those reforms were brewing all along, and the timing of him announcing them after the video went viral was mere coincidence. It seems at least plausible, though, that the dread “Internet” sparked some actual policy changes, here.
Unfortunately the changes—while small steps in the right direction—still miss the point. Burton says his department will no longer conduct SWAT raids at night. They won’t conduct raids in homes where children are present. Suspects will be under constant surveillance until the raid is carried out. And raids will be conducted within a shorter period of time from when police get the initial tip about a suspected drug dealer. But the Columbia Police Department will still conduct volatile, violent, highly aggressive forced-entry raids on people suspected of consensual, nonviolent drug crimes. That is what’s wrong with the YouTube video. Changing the time of day of the raid doesn’t change the wildly disproportionate use of force.
Burton and his department have also criticized web commentary on the video, citing both death threats aimed at members of the SWAT team and an abundance of what Burton calls “misinformation” about the raid.
He’s right. I saw both. In particular, the description that accompanied the YouTube video (which today topped 1 million views) described the pit bull the police killed as crated when it was shot. It wasn’t. (I should disclose that I passed on this bit of incorrect information to several people while discussing the raid before discovering it was incorrect, though I didn’t put it in print). And death threats, even from keyboard commandos posting on Internet discussion boards, are inexcusable.
That said, Burton is deflecting. When the video first went viral, his department’s spokesperson acknowledged that the police didn’t know a seven-year-old boy was in the home, but explained that the department has to carry out drug raids quickly before dealers can move their supply. That was, as Burton would put it, “misinformation.” You might even call it a lie. At the very least, it was another example of a police spokesperson reflexively defending the department before knowing all the facts. Eight days passed between the time the police were tipped off to the alleged marijuana stash and the time they conducted the raid.
As I reported yesterday, according to Brittany Montgomery, the mother and wife in the home at the time of the raid, the police initially gave the family a copy of the video in which the audio and portions of incriminating video had been removed. That sounds like “misinformation,” too. Montgomery also wrote that when her neighbors inquired with the department about the raid, they were initially told it was a drill, and that no shots were fired. That too was “misinformation.” (The department didn’t return my call, so I haven’t been able to get their response to these two allegations.)
“Misinformation” coming from police department officials acting in their official capacity is a hell of a lot more troubling than misinformation disseminated on Internet discussion boards and in blog comment threads.
As for the death threats, yes, they’re an unfortunately ugly part of often-anonymous Internet discourse. But Burton’s men were just captured on video firing off seven rounds into a home just seconds after they’d broken into it. This, despite the fact that there was nothing in the home that posed a lethal threat to them. (Yes, some pit bulls can be dangerous, but not to an armed SWAT team bedecked in full body armor.) One of those rounds missed its intended target (the pit bull) and struck an unintended target (the Corgi). According to Montgomery, there are now bullet holes in the walls of the house. There were other people in that house who weren’t suspects, people the cops weren’t aware of before they started firing their guns, including a child. That seems like a pretty reckless disregard for human life.
But Burton would have us believe that the real outrage here is the faux “if they try to come to my house and do that, I’ll kill them” Internet bravado that came in response to the video, not the very real violence actually depicted in it.
That’s fine, Mr. Burton. We don’t like you either.
Translation from cop to English:
“I hate the internet” equals “I hate the truth being exposed”.
It really says something when a public servant (the chief of Police!) who is supposed to honor the truth ….. actually hates it.
Just another reason for the general public to distrust the police.
Protect & Serve (Themselves!)
But Burton would have us believe that the real outrage here is the faux “if they try to come to my house and do that, I’ll kill them” Internet bravado that came in response to the video, not the very real violence actually depicted in it.
I thought you said “death threats”. That’s not a threat, Radley, that’s a promise.
Of course he hates the internet. “Sunlight is the best disinifectant” and Mr. Burton is part of the infection.
We keep demanding policy changes be applied to SWAT raids in response to these fuckups, and now we’ll finally get them.
1) Never release video of SWAT raids to anybody for any reason, ever.
2) Actually, scratch #1 and never take video of SWAT raids in the first place, it’s not like it’s needed in a court of law when the cops can just make up whatever story they want after the fact in the absence of video. It’s not like judges, juries, or anybody else will doubt them. Video only serves to constrain the official story to something loosely resembling reality, and that type of inflexibility has no place in our new professionalist cop shops who’re fighting legions of child raping terrorists 24/7.
Burton has a point. Anybody who’d anonymously threaten somebody else on the internet is a real scumbag.
These are the people that even the old codes of manners provided for.
—
THE “CUT DIRECT”
For one person to look directly at another and not acknowledge the other’s bow is such a breach of civility that only an unforgivable misdemeanor can warrant the rebuke. Nor without the gravest cause may a lady “cut” a gentleman. But there are no circumstances under which a gentleman may “cut” any woman who, even by courtesy, can be called a lady.
On the other hand, one must not confuse absent-mindedness, or a forgetful memory with an intentional “cut.” Anyone who is preoccupied is apt to pass others without being aware of them, and without the least want of friendly regard. Others who have bad memories forget even those by whom they were much attracted. This does not excuse the bad memory, but it explains the seeming rudeness.
A “cut” is very different. It is a direct stare of blank refusal, and is not only insulting to its victim but embarrassing to every witness. Happily it is practically unknown in polite society.
—
Perhaps it will return.
The death threats are an extreme example of a very reasonable thought: bad things should happen to bad people. That’s why there are police in the first place. Sure, people on the internet aren’t sure of the details of the case, but neither were the cops.
He ain’t gunna reform dick.
Scratch that, the reform will to be to lawyer up, releasing no information and denying the existence of any video in the future.
Police departments all across the country will do this.
By and large Americans are a patient lot and will endure much. As a result the police have been used to docility and compliance for far too long. Spare me the false outrage for someone stating that they will defend their home from black clad ninja wannabe invaders. Everyone has a natural right to defend themselves, their loved ones, and their property. That right trumps man’s law regardless of what the bullies in blue would have you believe. If I have harmed no human being to include their property and they come crashing through my door in the middle of the night I have every moral right to defend my home and hearth. I will unequivocably do so. That is not a death threat, that is natural law.
I have heard the following statement expressed elsewhere that SWAT members better start seriously considering because more and more people are starting to come to that realization based on the current state of our judicial system.
“The Supreme Court has decided that when it comes to ATF [you may insert SWAT, etc.] misconduct the only right you have is to an unfair gun fight.” – Mike Vanderboegh
Indeed Mr. Vanderboegh is correct. Expect to see the results of this realization start to come into play soon by normally law abiding citizens who no longer trust the judicial system or an out of control and tyrannical Law ENFORCEMENT apparatus.
Radley,
I’m always impressed with your ability to stay focused and on point with your messages. It’s easy to get caught up in the anger, but you always manage to stay focused on the real issue at hand, even when others are distracted. Keep up the good work.
Don’t blame the messenger (the internet) for the message: a message the LEO’s wrote and edited through the raid and their repeated “misinformation.” Sorry that people do not like it and are unhappy, but if you have nothing to hide, then you shouldnt mind the internet, right?
Thanks especially to ClubMedSux, reminding us of how the police in Missouri treat death threats and harrassment when they are the ones on the giving, and not the receiving end.
straight out of the cop pr manual- deflect attention away from the real issue and come up with a few meaningless solutions to ‘try’- then wait for the storm to pass.
the cops won’t fix themselves- which is why I think it’s still business as usual in cop land.
“if they try to come to my house and do that, I’ll kill them”
Are all the “death threats” of that nature? Seems more along the lines of a declaration of intent to defend one’s self.
SSDD
And on the viral ride … uh…. rides!
I had read that the evidence aside from the 2 informants was a baggie and some paraphernalia that had THC residue on it. I didn’t want to comment without seeing the documents. To wit, the document:
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/media/multimedia/2010/05/10/media/Affidavit_Kinloch_Court_search_warrant.pdf
Note the boiler plate look to all this. Not that the informants are not identified in any way, nor is there any way, without requesting more information, to find out how trustworthy these informants are.
I wonder just how many felonies this detective is committing here?
The evidence? A baggie and some stuff with residue on it? CALL IN THE SWAT TEAM! That means thousands of pounds of dope are there right now! Wait, no… it means the guy is a recreational pot user and threw away an empty baggie.
How the fuck do you go from “A baggie with residue” to “A huge shipment of pot”? That baggie better be HUGE! I don’t see a note concerning the size of the baggie in there.
I think that my assertions about how shoddy these ‘investigations’ are is the true condition in the “Drug enforcement world” I think lying is routine, making up shit and putting it onto boiler plate affidavits is routine.
Find a guy with drug priors, line up some dirtbags to inform on him, get a bullshit search warrant, then send in SWAT.
//Seems more along the lines of a declaration of intent to defend one’s self.//
Government personnel who act deliberately to deprive others of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, do so illegitimately. Government personnel who search people’s houses in unreasonable fashion do so illegitimately. The Supreme Law of the Land is very clear on these points, even though some members of the Nine try to pretend otherwise.
A person who breaks into an occupied dwelling for the purpose of accosting the occupant is a robber, and should be regarded as such. Shooting robbers should not be controversial.
//A person who breaks into…// should be //A person who /illegitimately/ breaks into…//
Helmet-cams on every SWAT officer
Speaking of the case ClubMedSux refers to, I wonder what happened to Sgt James Kuehnlein (busted for threatening to make up charges). Google didnt help.
The fact that they tried to cover this up is alone proof that they know they did something horribly wrong. So Burton hates the Internet? Well too bad for him, we have this little thing called the Freedom of Information Act. Which means we can find out what happened, call Burton and his SWAT team idiots, and hope that maybe there will be some repercussions for what the idiots did. It’s not likely though, unfortunately. After all, they are cops, and cops never do anything wrong! In a perfect world, maybe…not a world where a seven-year old child will be scarred by memories of men in black suits with big guns killing the family pets and shooting holes into the house. It’s a good thing none of those rounds they fired off hit the kid. All this over an empty baggie and some ‘residue’. Burton and his SWAT team don’t deserve their badges.
@#2
My very first thought.
I bet the cop longs for the days when he could get away with anything without a million people finding out about it in a matter of days.
If the cop is afraid of what he might do becoming widespread knowledge, I would suggest that he find another line of work.
Perhaps Congress.
Yeah, I bet he hates the Internet. Now he has to do his job and not just phone it in.
Police Chief Burton claiming that criticism has come from three groups, marijuana legalization advocates, animal lovers, and:
I think there are increasing many legitimate reasons that a growing portion of the American population hates police, and Burton’s dept is helping do their part. If want to stop increasing legitimate fear and hatred of those in your line of work, stop acting like a privileged gang in blue. Respect the constitutional rights of those you serve, quit attacking people who’ve harmed nobody, and quit exempting yourselves from investigation and consequences when your own harm others.
That said, Burton is deflecting. When the video first went viral, his department’s spokesperson acknowledged that the police didn’t know a seven-year-old boy was in the home, but explained that the department has to carry out drug raids quickly before dealers can move their supply.
Yeah. That makes sense. The self-proclaimed good guys putting lives at risk to protect evidence of a non-violent crime sounds perfectly logical. Yessiree. That fits right in there nicely with policies like high speed chases on busy roads to catch someone who didn’t pull over for a traffic violation.
#6-Holy fuck shit. That video makes me want to start a vendetta. Jesus.
This is top notch reporting, esp. the parts about the dogs, and the chiefs slow reaction.
Except for the porn parts, which Chief Burton loves.
“And raids will be conducted within a shorter period of time from when police get the initial tip about a suspected drug dealer.”
Tip.
Suspected.
Excuse me … but is that all it takes to have pigs do a no-knock dynamic entry at your home in full body armor with M-4′s and MP5′s?
Hell, I’m loading my semi-auto shotgun with slugs and since I don’t do drugs, I will consider anyone who breaks into my home as unlawful intruders … whether they yell police or not.
Tip?
Suspected?
Geez … I can just see these gorilla’s going ape: Come on guys oh goody lets get some we might get lucky and find some pot!
Then they go and get plastered on alcohol at their cop party celebrating their pot bust.
Message to Chief Burton: Stop blaming the messenger, STFU, and address the underlying seriousness of the message.
claiming that criticism has come from three groups, marijuana legalization advocates, animal lovers, and people that hate us anyway
I guess that covers about 90% of America.
The thing about these bust down the door and start shooting raids is that there is absolutely no point in them. If there is a substantial amount of marijuana in the house they are not going to flush it all down the toilet. If there is just a roach clip and some empty baggies you shouldn’t be fucking with the people anyway.
This is crazy and it is going to have to be stopped.
Speaking of death threats, how about the death threats from cops in online venues when embarrassing footage of police misbehavior is posted?
http://lippard.blogspot.com/2007/05/national-police-week-rampage.html
Found some more interesting interesting information on the internet. Unlike Mr. Burton, I love the internet :-)
Tom Dresner, the deputy chief of the Columbia, MO, Police Department (and head of the SWAT Team), is the founder of HKPRO.com. He teaches a training course on the HK MP5 submachine gun. I wonder if they practice on live dogs?
Oopsies, forgot the linky-linky:
http://www.hkpro.com/mp5-smgcourse-houston.htm
Radley made a really important point on this video that needs to be re-enforced.
The problem here isn’t that the Columbia, MO police or police chief are thugs, or are doing some out-of-the-ordinary, horrible thing. They’re not.
The problem is, this is the way the war on drugs is implemented in the US in 2010. We citizens and voters and taxpayers ought to know about this, just as we really ought to know what the war on terrorism looks like. And we need to ask: Is this really what we want? Is it really worthwhile to have no person in the country be secure in his own home from the police, in order to make the police a little more likely to get hold of the evidence they need for a drug conviction? How many kids can I make watch their dog being shot by the cops, per low-level drug dealer successfully sent to prison, before it stops making sense?
This ultimately isn’t even about the war on drugs. It’s about the right tactics to use. Some tactics make it easier for the police to get evidence and for the prosecutor to get convictions, at the cost of a lot of collateral damage. We ought to be demanding that those tactics be used very, very sparingly.
This is what happens when you have police unions: ARROGANCE
[...] Radley tries to explain it. [...]
Are there other videos of SWAT raids by this police department that have not been released? Or was this the first one they filmed? Is anyone asking for the other videos, if they exist?
The example “death threat” given is not reprehensible. Not anywhere close. Mere internet commando bravado? Most assuredly. But not reprehensible.
Cops “just doing their jobs” is what is reprehensible.
the Columbia Police Department: To Serb & Detest
as in “let’s Serb these motherfuckers”
Uh Oh! This site looked very interesting, and I am new here brought by the Columbia SWAT raid video. I went through the comments of the original video post and some of the other posts and am disappointed at some of the calls for violence against the police. That doesn’t seem to be the way to get things done. Mr. Balko seems a reasonable sort, but many of the comments reflect anti-Americanism and some hatred of the things that made this country great.
Judge Andrew Napolitano asks Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid, “When are the cops who did this going to be arrested and put in jail where they belong?”
TimTomato #38,
The vast majority of posters, here, completely support the kind of individual liberty and severely restricted government which T. Jefferson and others of the Founding Fathers tried to assure later generations of Americans, including us.
No one who is a regular here is anti-America, nor do we hate those things that truly made America great, what we all hate are those things which have stunted America’s greatness, things such as an overbearing, intrusive, authoritarian, punitive and greedy government.
I’m sure most of the “Death Threats” (!!11!ONE!!11!) were more like the comment I sent via the city’s website: A wish that the jack-booted thugs in question come to personify the high rate of suicide inherent in “The Job.”
Here’s a hint for the apparent idiot-savant in charge of CPD: “Wishes” and “Threats” ain’t the same thing…
DD
It’s been said before, but warrants repeating: this wouldn’t have happened if there had been no drug laws. <a href=http://www.drugwar.com/blackfiends.shtmThe laws were created directly as an instrument of official oppression of minorities, a final leftover of a much more prejudiced society, the last of the (supposedly defunct) Jim Crow laws. All the drug raids prior to this one and all the future drug raids are results of leaving these racist laws on the books.That we still have them is a national disgrace and an affront to anyone who values personal liberties and civil rights.
Don’t bother whacking at the branch; pull this poison tree up by the roots…lest its’ equally poisonous fruit injure future generations. It’s long past time to retire the DrugWar.
Sorry,this is the link. It’s unbelievable that this racially bigoted insanity has been enshrined into policy and allowed to go on for almost a century.
SWAT is anti-American. They are stormtroopers who intentionally wage war against citizens by recklessly dispensing violent force in situations that don’t call for it.
The rampant abuse of police power is most certainly not one of the things that “made this country great” and hating it is not only not unAmerican, it’s a civic responsibility.
I might also point out that the things that really made America great are largely extinct, thanks to those who mistakenly think that America’s greatness is because of government rather than in spite of it.
@TimTomato
Lurk moar, as they say on teh hated internetz.
In a properly functioning republic (and we are not one any longer) the correct and lawful manner in which a warrant for arrest/seizure is proscribed in part by the 4th Amendment;
first, the warrant has to be sworn in the form a lawful affidavit, attesting to the crime. That means anonymous informants don’t cut it. You have a right to face your accuser. Your accuser should not be some dirt-bag who is in jail and has cut a deal with the cops to get his own sentence reduced.
That affidavit is then presented to a judge or grand jury for review. If it is found to be proper and necessary the warrant is then issued and should describe the place to be searched or person or thing to be seized. That means if the warrant is for the arrest of John Doe, there is no need to look inside every drawer in the house. He doesn’t fit in there.
Next, the actual service of the warrant would be to knock on (not knock down) the door and present the warrant to the occupant for them to read it. So if they have the wrong address (as frequently happens) there will be no wrong doing to innocents. If John Doe is not home then the policeman can wait for him…Outside in his police car.
If the warrant is for a large quantity of some “illegal” substance then how likely is it that it can be flushed down the toilet? Really? can you see a large marijuana grow being flushed down the toilet?….or pounds of the stuff?
There is no need to for violent forced entry other than for the bullies in blue to get their jollies and for the citizenry to be threatened and intimidated….and it seems to me that is why they do this shit the way they do it.
Good investigative skills would reveal if there are children in the home, or pets or if the subject of the warrant is prone to violence requiring alternate measure to be be employed. Alternate measures can include surveillance of the subject and apprehension of him/her while off premise.
timtomato@#38, “anti-American”? You best read some history! It is the cornerstone of our system of governance to question everything those in government do and to demand answers.
windy@40, to “overbearing, intrusive, authoritarian, punitive and greedy. I would add contemptuous of the intent of the Founders and thereby lawless. As the Constitution was to be the “SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND”.
I can only hope all this attention to this case and subsequent heat brought upon this gang of goons will begin a national discussion to reform the manner in which SWAT teams are employed and to put an end to this senseless war on drugs that has amounted to nothing shy of a war on liberty and the American people.
First we had “The internet/tv/video games/movie made me do it!” defense.
Now we have “The internet made me look guilty!” defense.
Good thing neither of them actually absolve the guilty party of guilt.
Wait, you mean these actually WORK? Crap.
Love the deflection from Burton.
No it’s not militarization and Bill of Rights erosion, it’s NORML, PETA, and Ice-T lyrics that are the problem here.
And #38, the internet acknowledges and thanks you for your concern.
[...] make would be to retire his SWAT team and stop running paramilitary assaults against people. via The Agitator [...]
In related news, cops and DEA agents raid the wrong double wide and cause a 76 year old lady to have a heart attack. I think the chief’s attitude is telling–he basically assumes anyone wanted on a drug charge is violent because they are facing time in jail/prison, so that justifies charging in with guns drawn. WTF??
http://www.ajc.com/news/woman-suffers-heart-attack-526079.html
As usual the media fails to ask any real questions and just parrots the police.
I think the judge really showed how to stay calm and keep hammering the issue- he had the mayor backed up and wasn’t giving him an out.
we may see some good stuff come out of this!
bsk@50
0nly if you’re a cop
#38: what exactly is unamerican on this site?
The USA was founded on principles of personal and property rights, due process and accountability, and the rule of law. Each, and all, of those principles are violated in the vast majority of SWAT raids and in too much police behavior in general.
Go read the Declaration of Independence, the US Const, the Federalist Papers and debates of the time. The arbitrary and brutal nature of the British soldiers (the police of the day) is one of the most frequent themes.
For example:
4th Amd: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures , shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue , but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The Federalist papers spend a lot of time on the dangers of standing armies and the risk to freedom.
The Federalist 28 (by John Hamilton) speaks to the dangers of unchecked state power
“If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no source left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defence, which is paramount to all positive forms of government; ….The usurpers, cloathed with the forms of legal authority, can too often crush the opposition in embryo. ”
So, faced with an unchecked and violent behavior of law enforcement, what do you think the original founders would have advocated?
Balko makes a point about the reforms not addressing the “widely disproportionate use of force”. Repealing anti-drug laws may be a wonderful thing with many benefits, but with respect to the use of SWAT the direct lesson from these cases is that the police have no idea about how to serve a warrant.
In most of these cases they could simply avoid the confrontation altogether. In this particular case they wanted to search the residence for evidence of drug trafficking. Well, why the hell do you need to do that while they are home? Just show up at 1:00 in the afternoon when everybody is at work or school and search the place. No violence, no confrontation, no shooting. You don’t even need to break down the door. Just bring along a locksmith.
When serving a warrant for a felony arrest, don’t bust in and confront the subject in his home, approach him in the driveway, or follow him to the gas station or whatever. Use uniformed officers to frab him up where he is unlikely to be armed and is in an indefensible position. You won’t even have a fight… he’ll just come along quietly in almost every case.
That way you can reserve the use of SWAT teams for potentially violent confrontations that are initiated by the criminals, not by the police. If you have a violent felon suspected of murder using firearms and he doesn’t leave his home, then you can use your SWAT teams and make a rational decision as to whether it makes sense to go in paramilitary style or just surround the place and wait for him to surrender.
johnny@34
the last picture is the scariest.
#6, ClubMedSux. Great link. I used to post on a cop blog a few years ago. I used to get death threats. Threats to my family. These so called defenders of the law threatened to come to my house and rape my wife and children. These guys are all scumbags. Every single cop I have come in contact with (my father was a cop) hates the very Constitution they swear to uphold. They view as an impediment to their job. They despise anyone that would possibly actually know what the Constitution says and insist on exerting their rights. Again. Cops are scum. There are no good ones. They hate you all and consider every citizen a potential perp.
Charlie-
I don’t mean to deny your experiences, as they are your own and I take you at your word that they are true. But not every cop is scum. There are good cops out there. There are intelligent, thoughtful, well-meaning men and women who generally care about the people they are protecting. At times they are called upon to enforce laws, orders, or edicts that we might otherwise disagree with, but this is a function of the job. I’m not talking about “just following orders” and engaging in egregious abuses such as the one mentioned here. We may not like the drug laws but, at present time, they are the laws and cops are charged to enforce them. Does that mean they should act as they did in this video? Absolutely not. And not EVERY drug case goes this way. But far too many do, reflecting much larger issues that extend beyond this particular SWAT team.
There are also a lot of well-meaning cops who aren’t particularly bright. I’ve met a lot of cops who really want to do the right thing but genuinely don’t know the laws or larger issues relating to Constitutional rights and the like. I don’t know where this failing occurred (and it certainly is an inexcusable failing), but it is a correctable one and hopefully could salvage the careers of what would otherwise be good officers of the law.
I think we should be careful to not paint with broad brushes. Good cops exist. They should stand up and protest this shit the loudest, because it is there name that is being dragged through the mud as a result of these thugs. That they don’t is obviously a small indictment on them but I don’t think it justifies the criticism you offered.
FYI Radley et al — Link to go green on Fark within an hour.
Thinking of other people who probably hate the Internet.
Scooter Libby. Nixon. Hitler. NAZI’s in general. Kim Jong Il. Bill O’Reilley.
Mary Beth Buchanan. Runaway prosecutors in general.
Quite a dodgy crowd.
The quickest way to take the power from the out of control LEO’s is to take from them the very laws they hide their activities behind. Decriminalize Pot ! Regulate it as we do alcohol. I’m not a pot smoker….I choose not to be of my own accord not because the law says so. No law against personal usage means no dealers which means no SWAT team kicking down doors for money to pay for all the toys to continue kicking down doors. Really very simple.
A second possibility is to elect a DA who is unwilling to press charges for non violent personal usage pot crimes. Then the bust is a waste of man power and money…….we are the ones in control….if the police dept is out of control replace the city counsel and fire the chief and the offending officers.
The internet didn’t shoot your dog, asshole.
Do you really think that the government wants laws to be observed?
They want laws to be broken.
You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunch of boy scouts you’re up against.
This is not the age for beautiful gestures.
The politicians are after power and they mean it.
They know the real trick, and you’d better get wise to it.
There is no way to rule innocent men.
The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals.
Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them.
One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.
Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens?
What’s there in that for anyone?
But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted!
Then you create a nation of law-breakers and you can cash in on their guilt.
Now, that’s the system, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much more independent and free.
(With apologies to Ayn Rand)
I just skimmed through all these comments and might have missed something, but I don’t think a single one of you boobs said anything about the criminals inside the house. Would anyone of you brave keyboard commandos bust into a criminals house, not knowing what you were up against? Do you think Cops have no desire to go home to thier families after a night of trying to rid the country of scum like the ones in that house? It would be funny as hell to have some crack house spring up next to all you cop haters’ houses and see how loud and long and whiny you demanded the cops come in and raid the place.
Here’s a point you never hear mentioned… timing a drug raid for potentially violent drug dealers at 5 AM is *inviting* a confrontation. The idea that drug dealers sleep a normal schedule (thus the 5 AM “get ‘em while they’re disoriented from sleep” idea) is ludicrous and shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the target.
Someone above (#57) suggested these raids should take place around 1 PM… he’s right, because that’s when most of these people would be asleep. if they had kids, they’d be at school or elsewhere, and there’s the added advantage of having broad daylight to perform the search.
Wow, after reading the warrant I feel like I need to take a shower. It doesn’t so much bother me that the 2 unnamed informants may very well be completely made up, or the fact that their primary piece of evidence was an empty baggy that could have been placed in the garbage by someone walking down the sidewalk that morning. It’s that the investigator pointed out no less than 5 times that it was believed to be “High Grade” marijuana. WTF difference does that make? Is it any less illegal to have ditchweed than “High Grade?” Do you not get a DUI if you were getting drunk on Natty Lite as if you were drinking “High Grade” Sam Adams? If it was low grade ditch weed, would they have not had to have shot his dog in front of his 7 year old child? I wonder if the 7 bullets they shot into his dog were “High Grade” amunition? I hope they were, because all of our tax money bought those bullets.
You use the word “misinformation”. That just means “wrong, likely by accident.”
“Disinformation” is the word you should use, as it conveys the sense that the falsehoods are knowing and deliberate.
Where do these cops breed? They aren’t human in their cowboy like gangsterism, and I’m guessing they breed in pile of rotted leftovers from McDonald’s.
Everybody acts like the death threats are so out of line. If anybody had any real interest in justice they would go splatter these pigs brains. Every time this happens we should go and publicly lynch these people.
This will continue and will not change.
YOU are the enemy.
What you feel does not matter. What you think does not matter. What matters is what is and what is are police kicking in the doors of familys late at night dressed to kill.
Because potheads are evil. Much more evil than killing a family pet. Much more evil than the unsolved rapes and murders on the books.
Live with it or take a stand.
Its obvious what stand the police are taking. Shoot first, cover up later.
Keep eating the propaganda its soo good for you.
@mguns “Would anyone of you brave keyboard commandos bust into a criminals house, not knowing what you were up against?”
Of course not, that is why I would have ordered the residence to be surveiled for 24-48 hrs. prior to the raid. You must assess your threats, the chief has admitted as much. You might possibly be able to take down the suspect remotely or observe the upstream supplier. This was inexcuseably shoddy police work.
@ #66 Mguns
First off, the house being raided was not a crack house. If you watch the video it looks like a well furnished family home in which an occupant allegedly smoked pot. Thus, your reasoning that there was a dangerous criminal residing within is ridiculous. Individuals guilty of the recreational consumption of marijuana are lots of things. They may be stupid, tell you their latest genius ideas which border retardation. But they are not violent. I have heard of 0 cases of a pot smoker committing a violent offense while under the influence of the drug.
And from this, since you apparently did not grasp this so far, follows the critique of this police raid. Since there was no danger to the public at large, individuals within the residence or anyone what is the justification for this disproportionate use of force. The officers in the video discharged their firearms 7 times in the presence of children! I could understand such actions if a suspect brandished a firearm (not the case) or in another way the safety of the officers or the people in the premise was being endangered. Note how the police chief, whom you’d probably love to defend, in this instance is not able to bring a single mitigating factor forward to justify the use of lethal force here?
Thus, please go back to sleep. There you can dream of a state where Gestapo like stormtroopers rule supreme and goosestep down streets eliminating all who oppose them. Leave the real world to the rest of us.
Thank you.
#66. MGuns. I don’t call 911. EVER. FOR ANY REASON. I don’t care if cops want to go home or not. Quit. Get another job. You called the Montgomery’s scum. Fuck you.
The chief hates the internet almost as much as he hates animals.
#66: “Would anyone of you brave keyboard commandos bust into a criminals house, not knowing what you were up against?”
No, and neither should the SWAT team. An INVESTIGATION should be done so you DO know what you’re up against
Unfortunately, this is all too common.
Check out http://www.cato.org/raidmap/
The fact remains that the corgi was dealing smack.
I avoided watching the video when it first came up becaue Radley talked about how upsetting it was. I was more up for it today, but the YouTube screen for it just stays black. There is no screen shot or play button, etc.
Is that what the “Green light” on FARK reference was about. Could someone please explain want went down. Did YouTube censor the video on orders of the Gestapo, or what?
Where can I see the video now? Thanks.
Alarm off. I found it linking to Andrew Sullivan’s blog. Wish I hadn’t. The PD seems to have a special voice mail they refer all irate callers to.
A better way to get the point across might be to harass the court that issued the warrant. I also called the city manager for an interview for the blog.
I’ll check out that link provided to the docs. Seems in most parts of the country these days, a dumb judge would sign a confession to being the Ted Bundy reincarnate if some dumb cop stuck it in front of him. We also need DAs who will vigorously prosecute cops and seek the highest penalties. Otherwise, they go.
As we all know, deterrence is important in the law, and these judges need to be deterred from signing all but the most compelling warrants.
My stomach sunk when I listened to those dogs scream, and to the male victim when he first realized his dog had been shot. Now my blood pressure is up and I’m going to make a margarita to calm down.
Wish we were all together here in Cabo to enjoy one together (cop defenders excluded). Cops down here would not even dream of pulling this stunt. Plus, if we wanted to take a stroll, we could take the margaritas in to-go cups.
Every time I read a story like this, it gives me pause for thought.
I am not a westerner originally. I came here from a country which, a few generations ago, suffered greatly in a war. During this war, almost one in five of my countrymen died.
The things I see happening in America, to Americans, today… are the things that happened in my country, right before things became really bad. The crazy thing is, there are those among you who welcome the coming bad times with open arms! Eager to surrender your individual rights under the delusion that you are still somehow free. There are those among you who cheer as the authorities grow broader and broader in their identification of what it means to commit crime, and as they round up ever-growing numbers of the populace for essentially harmless acts. When their definition expands to include you, I can promise, you will not cheer so loudly then.
Three per cent of your populace is in prison or on parole. Are they all criminals, or have you created enough byzantine laws and regulations that an ever-growing segment of your populace finds itself trapped in your legal system?
I worry and pray for you all. I also plan to leave soon.
Sooo are they recruiting cops from the jails now. God help you if you get pulled over for a traffic ticket and you’re a little slow to sign it. That’s a tasering!!
Maybe after these cities pay out millions in damages, they’ll clear out
the scum.
Re: mguns
I don’t necessarily side with the argument that “this wasn’t a crackhouse.” Just because the suspect lived in the suburbs doesn’t mean he should be assumed to be non-violent. That just invites profiling of various sorts and implies this WOULD be acceptable if the general circumstances were better.
Yet, the larger point is that maybe cops shouldn’t be busting into a house without knowing what the situation is. As someone pointed out, sufficient recon would have demonstrated that this was not a house of violent offenders (better than the assumption that it wasn’t based on neighborhood and what-not). If cops don’t know what they are getting into, they shouldn’t be getting into it. Look before you leap, no? Now, if this was a ransom situation or it was suspected that there were hostages being held against their will and in imminent danger, MAYBE time is not on the g’ment’s side. But, without any real reason to think this, why not take an extra day or so to fully vet the situation before acting? Is that so hard? Isn’t that what DETECTIVES get paid for… detecting stuff?
Too bad there’s no video of the execution of this search warrant:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/26/local/la-me-fresno-shooting26-2010feb26
“A Fresno County sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot and two other officers were wounded Thursday in an all-day confrontation with a barricaded arson suspect in the tiny unincorporated community of Minkler, 20 miles east of Fresno.
Reedley City Manager Rocky Rogers told the Associated Press that one of the wounded officers was Javier Bejar, of the Reedley Police Department. Rogers said that he was on life support and not expected to recover.
The standoff started about 9:40 a.m., when two deputies and an agent from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection tried to serve a search warrant on the man.”
See, this wasn’t a SWAT operation — just two deputies and a fire inspector tried to serve a search warrant at 9:40 in the morning.
One of the deputies and another officer who responded to the emergency were killed.
The lesson is that cops NEVER KNOW when exectuing a search warrant what they will encounter. They prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.
Its not a matter of “militarization” – its a matter of officer safety.
So what if it “looks bad”? All those officers in Missouri went home to see their families that night, and no one in the house was injured.
Fresno Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier’s wife and two kids never saw him again after he left for work on the morning of Feb. 25, 2010. At least his kids are young adults, and had 20 plus years to be with him.
Reedly Officer Javier Bejar, a US Marine Corps veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, was only 28 years old when his wife saw him for the last time.
Context Radley — context.
#70 “If anybody had any real interest in justice they would go splatter these pigs brains”
I think that is wrong! There are better ways, and you taint the good people that read this site.
Context Radley — context.
Context indeed. The guy was suspected of arson, a violent crime. He also had fired his gun at his neighbors.
That’s pretty clearly someone who presents an immediate threat to others.
I’d have had no problem with the SWAT team serving that arrest warrant.
In fact, it would have been preferable. You do understand the difference between violent and nonviolent crimes, right?
I’m for protecting cops as much as anyone, so long as we aren’t violating the civil liberties of everyone else in the process.
The lesson is that cops NEVER KNOW when exectuing a search warrant what they will encounter.
They also never know what they’ll encounter when the pull someone over. That isn’t an excuse to play soldier every time someone’s stopped for speeding.
I’m sorry for what happened to these police officers. But it’s not an anecdote that cuts against my argument about SWAT teams.
The broader context is also to ask how many innocent civilians or otherwise nonviolent criminals (e.g. Ryan Frederick) die from over-aggressive police actions. Indeed, in the Frederick case, it was the over-aggressive police action that led to the police officer’s death.
#84
“Its not a matter of “militarization” – its a matter of officer safety.”
I hate that excuse! You serve the warrants to serve and protect the public, or that is suppose to be the reason. No question police work can be dangerous, esp. when you serve uneeded warrants!
[...] Columbia, Missouri police chief: “I hate the internet” (The Agitator) [...]
“The lesson is that cops NEVER KNOW when exectuing a search warrant what they will encounter. They prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.”
Maybe cops should, ya know, know a little bit about what they’re doing, no? Obviously, there are always unknowns. But, if we are really concerned with officer safety, shouldn’t the hire-ups do everything they can to best ascertain the threat level instead of sending cops in blind?
I see things haven’t changed in Columbia. I lived there, over 20 years ago, as a MU student. One year, I rented a room in the back of an older woman’s house. Riding my bike home late from campus one night, I saw an occupied car parked across the street from the house. I thought it odd, but forgot about it by the time I got my bike locked up and into the warm apartment out of the cold.
I awoke early the next morning to banging on the door. As I opened it, one burly Columbia cop barged past me,shouting, “Where is he?” While another pinned me to the wall.
I had NO IDEA what the hell they wanted or who they were after.
Turned out, it was a case of completely mistaken identity. I shared a last name in common with the guy they were after.
What a bunch of morons.
My fear is that this is the golden age of the internet. In the not too distant future governments will take over (national security, kiddie porn, etc.) and the truth will no longer be free.
I live in a small town, with a large drug problem. Yes a DRUG PROBLEM not weed (thought we have grow houses) I’m talking Meth! Meth Dealers, Forced entry, nope, can go BOOM. Meth is very explosive ergo no forced entry. Okay this video, Dogs are behind a Baby Gate, which means the SWAT team did a few No Nos. The Baby Gate is de facto evidence of a minor thats one, Two the Barking dogs is de facto evidence of, imagine this, DOGS. There is no sign of animal control! The only not so bad guy in this is the Officer that asked for a Ambulance, for the dog. BTW if I were a K-9 unit and saw this video, I would be before IA to complain. Shoot a K-9 officer is the same as shooting Officer. That is president for a murder investigation. The Law cuts both ways. My two cents.
I hope the thug cops and their families are personally sued into bankruptcy. I bet if the people in that house weren’t white, they would have been shot dead like the poor dogs.
Really the problem here is who is in charge. The students in this town should get together with right thinking town folk, elect some reform mayor and fire police chief and officers and replace with those that are there to protect and serve.
shipwreckedcrew:
“Too bad there’s no video of the execution of this search warrant:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/26/local/la-me-fresno-shooting26-2010feb26 ”
“Mims said the suspect allegedly had set fires and, over the last few days, shot at nearby residences.”
What are the police priorities here? Being a hero or officer safety? This is what SWAT teams are for, all they had to do was request help from Fresno County.
Fresno County has a SWAT team, warrants like this are their JOB.
http://www.fresnosheriff.org/patrol/SWAT.htm
“The lesson is that cops NEVER KNOW when exectuing a search warrant what they will encounter. ”
That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
“Mims said the suspect allegedly had set fires and, over the last few days, shot at nearby residences.”
or…
“We found a used baggie in the trash, and have unsubstantiated rumors of drugs in the house”
Police logic: Hmm! We’ll send uniforms to the violent guy’s house, and a full SWAT team to the guy with the baggie!
Police stupidity is not an excuse for using SWAT raids on non violent offenders.
Lesson to be learned:
1) Cops are killed when they don’t use the tools appropriate to the job.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/26/local/la-me-fresno-shooting26-2010feb26
2) Cops are killed when they escalate previously non-violent situations without due cause.
http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/03/case-of-ryan-fredrick.html
@#86 shipwreckedcrew:
Are you sure it’s the crew that’s shipwrecked, and not your brain? Are you really trying to make the case that an arson suspect, and someone who has been found in the possession of a bit of marijuana are even playing the same game? The arson suspect allegedly deliberately endangered the safety and property of others. The pot smoker did what exactly? Get high? Oh no!
I’m really curious to know if you actually believe that these differing circumstances create the same environment for law enforcement officers to execute warrants in.
Nobody does well early in life and then decides to become a cop.
Unreality: Parent: What are you planning on doing with that Criminal Law degree you just earned on full scholarship?
Offspring: Since I hate the Internet so much, I am going to work in law enforcement!!!
Reality: Parent: You need to move out, you lazy Internet-hating slug!
Offspring: Hey that commercial says I can become a cop in just 6 months!!! If they let me shoot puppies, I’m totally signing up.
Chief Burton talks about “cop haters.” Raymond Chandler had an answer for him long ago, in his classic 1940s novel THE LONG GOODBYE:
For some strange reason he sat there perfectly still and let me say it. Then he grinned. “You’re just a little old cop-hater, friend. That’s all you are, shamus, just a little old cop-hater.”
“There are places where cops are not hated, Captain. But in those places you wouldn’t be a police officer.”
I had a friend back in the early 80′s that the police did the exact same thing to, shot his fucking dog with his baby girl watching, over a fucking weed bust.
I gotta tell you, I never met a cop that wasn’t a lying piece of shit with a superiority complex!!!!
“Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence. ”
-Sir Robert Peel
The irony is that communities like Columbia desperately need the police to intervene in actual crimes of violence. When the SWAT team was shooting the family dog, it’s likely that not far away, a real crime of violence was going down, and the victims would have been thrilled to see the police. I have to wonder if many police officers would prefer to break into a peaceful family home; dealing with actual violent crimes is hard work! It’s easy to terrorize a peaceful American family.
The Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrates that all cops are scum. To be more precise, all people given power turn into scum. Even very nice, randomly chosen people, when given power, turn into scum. Quickly.
“… the dread “Internet” sparked some actual policy changes, here.”
I must say that’s one of the oddest commas I’ve encountered in quite some time.
It sparked some actual policy changes here. That’s all.
Isn’t that the gist of the castle doctrine? That when someone comes into your home willing to use lethal force you are allowed to respond in kind? If so then the comment is neither unfortunate or despicable, but entirely understandable and even a good thing.
[...] information and commentary on this incident, the video, and the subsequent uproar, see here and here) Francis Ford Coppola Predicts YouTube Survival Seeds – The Survival Seed Bank Provides a Lifetime [...]
[...] http://www.theagitator.com/2010/05/12/columbia-missouri-police-chief-i-hate-the-internet/ [...]
Thank God for the internet. These bullying forces have been getting away with this type of activity for far too long. The internet is exposing the truth about things from illegal raids on homes to government corruption. The entire system is in the spotlight finally, its too bad it took two major wars, hundreds of thousands of dead humans and a crushed economy for it to happen. The truth about it all is very scary but none the less, it is true. Our older generations try to bury their heads in the sand still and pretend it is not happening. They depict the situation as our beloved system collapsing, but what is really happening is its becoming greater by having its flaws exposed to the world.
[...] Columbia, Missouri Police Chief: “I Hate the Internet” [...]
[...] Raid 2/11/2010. Cops Shoot Pets With Children Present And the Chief's response to that video: Columbia, Missouri Police Chief: “I Hate the Internet” | The Agitator UPDATE: Columbia Police Department still dealing with backlash about SWAT raid – Columbia [...]
[...] ever-predictable foreign policy positions (yawn), or Radley Balko’s admonition that “death threats, even from keyboard commandos posting on Internet discussion boards, are inexcusable” and other such condemnation of violent talk. I’m sorry, but death threats can [...]
[...] Paul’s ever-predictable foreign policy positions (yawn), or Radley Balko’s admonition that “death threats, even from keyboard commandos posting on Internet discussion boards, are inexcusable” and other such condemnation of violent talk. I’m sorry, but death threats can sometimes be [...]