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Originally Posted by The Avon Lady
The lack of apology is much ado about nothing and the headline is very misleading.
To quote from the first article: "In this day and age, people have to apologize, but as soon as you apologize, you put yourself in a defensive position legally," Officer Hal Dalton, city police spokesman, said after a media conference. No one's trying to be intentionally sinister here, unless you count the attorneys who helped create such an atmosphere. 
Lawyer jokes always welcomed! :p |
Lets count the ways this op. went wrong:
-Wrong address: The intended address was across the street (which they raided right after they realized their mistake, the obvious result being that it was empty), so they DID have the right address printed on the warrant but apparently somebody is incapable of reading the proper address.
-Method of arrest: I'm not surprised (sadly) at the ineptitude and incompetence displayed by the leadership in this situation, as it doesn't take alot of manpower to verify intelligence information before making a raid (stakeout anyone?), nor does it take much effort to arrest the individuals (as per the warrant) by arresting them once they arrive at their home or place of work. What was used here was a battering ram and stun grenades on the basis of a drug warrant with faulty or outdated intelligence.
The chief should be sacked and the commander in charge of this debacle should be sacked, mistakes like this get people killed and there are more than enough incidents of this kind of event floating around the internet. Such events like this lead to mistakes like the woman in Atlanta who killed 3 LEOS using a no-knock warrant (and lied to the judge get that warrant) in order to make a drug bust with planted evidence and faulty intelligence.
Our LEOs' are NOT paramiltary forces, and they should not be playing "Commando Cop" on the job. They can play weekend warrior on their own time, out of uniform, and not using any official capacity as a LEO whatsoever.
-Unwarranted abuse of the occupants: The occupants did not resist and were unarmed. The woman was 4 months pregnant and being roughly handled by the LEOs', and her husband got a boot in his nuts. (As for whether the occupants are legal residents or not remains an open question for now). Why the husband deserved a boot in the nuts if he didn't resist smacks of a bully in uniform, hence "Commando Cop".
-No knock warrants for drug charges are an especially dangerous abuse of the no-knock warrant. Surrounding a residence and knocking on the door is more than enough to arrest a person suspected of dealing in drugs and they'll shoot whether there is a no-knock warrant or a knock-warrant issued or not. If someone were to burst into my home and begin assaulting me, I'm already going to be responding with lethal force (it's not as if crooks won't yell "police" to throw you off guard) before I realize my mistake and realize that these men invading my home aren't a bunch of brawling thugs coming after me with the intent to kill me and my family.
-Refusal to apologise: Refusing to apologise for a mistake you've already made is more than damning to your reputation, it completely shatters it. For example, if I accidently bump someone elses vehicle and put a dent in it, I'm going to apologise and pay for the damages I caused (this is how one avoids lawsuits). If I were to cause that same damage and refuse to take responsibility or apologise for it, I'm going to be dragged into court and lose more than I needed to because I felt I was above the law.
Comments such as "What's the big problem we raided the wrong place, we didn't kill anyone...." don't go over well in court and should not be taken as an excuse to make the same mistake again. Thank you Mr. Spokesman, I don't expect to hear any complaints when the same event happens to you when we meant to raid the house next-door. (Sack him). Many police chiefs have forgotten that they are in a position to protect and serve (this is the intent of a police force, but thanks to the PRC ruling on LEO cpacity this is all but destroyed). The police chief is NOT to use his position to grand-stand arrests to convince the legislature that his dept. deserves more money because of an impressive arrest and prosecution record. If you are in a position of authority I expect you not to abuse it.
And borrowing the words of a friend:
"Unfortunately, there are a lot of bullies in law enforcement. It just depends on the attitude of the guys at the top. If they insist on "professional" behavior then that's what they get. If they tolerate groin kickers, then that's what they get.
Sounds like Annapolis needs a new Mayor and Chief. "
In wrapping up my rant I should point out that I'm NOT a cop-hater, I'm a hater of incompetent bureaucracy and people who are inept, careless, and dangerous to the public in their command. I know there are good people in LE who still want to do the right thing, but are caught in the middle or suppressed by the system or are forcibly "retired" from LE.
