This sort of thing is becoming more and more common. Check this:
This story was in a recent publication:
UNREASONABLE SEARCHES AND SEIZURES
The Rising Use of SWAT Teams is Bad, But its About to Get Worse
This past term, the Supreme Court ruled in Hudson v. Michigan that evidence seized in an illegal raid can be used against a defendant at trial, even if police had disregarded the requirement to knock and identify themselves before entering. Taking away the only disincentive for these raids is likely to exacerbate an already unsettling trend: the rise of paramilitary tactics in police departments across America. Nearly every U.S. city now has a SWAT team, as do many small towns. Below are some examples of raids gone wrong and the tragic consequences.
FAIRFAX, VA
In January 2006, a SWAT team apprehended Sal Culosi, a local optometrist accused of betting on sports with an undercover detective. As Culosi came out ot meet the officer and pay the debt, the SWAT team descended. One officer's gun apparently discharged accidentally, hitting Culosi in the chest and killing him instantly. Culosi had no prior criminal record and no history of violence. Police found no weapon at his home. A Fairfax police department spokeswoman told the Washington Post that the department serves most of its warrants with a SWAT team, even for nonviolent crimes. One leading criminologist estimates the number of SWAT call-outs each year in the U.S. has increased more than 1300 percent since 1980, to 40,000 per year, or about 110 per day.
SUNRISE, FL
In August 2005, a SWAT team raided the home of Anthony Diotaiuto, a bartender and part-time student. Police say the team was necessary because Diotaiuto owned a legal, licensed and registered handgun. Diotaiuto had no history of violence and one prior conviction for marijuana possession as a minor. Police say that as they raided the home, Diotaiuto met them in the bedroom with a gun and they opened fire. HIs bullet-riddled body was found in a closet. Police discovered two ounces of marijuana. Raids are extremely violent and confrontational, and on dozens of occasions, non-violent offenders have been killed in cases of mistaken identity or mistaken intent.
OMAO, HI
In March 2005 police mistakenly broke into the residence of Sharon and William McCulley on a drug raid. The McCulleys, home with their grandchildren at the time, were thrown to the ground at gunpoint. William McCulley, who uses a walker and has an implanted device to deliver electrical shocks to his spine to relieve pain, began flopping around on the floor when the device malfunctioned from the trauma. Police then erroneously raided a second address before finally arresting several men for distribution of marijuana. There are now hundreds of documented cases of "wrong-door" raids, during which SWAT teams have entered the wrong home, terrorizing innocent people.
DUNDALK, MD
In January 2005, a SWAT team in Baltimore County descended on the home of Cheryl Lynn Noel at 5am, after finding marijuana seeds in the family's trash. (Raids are generally conducted late at night or early in the morning.) When officers entered Noel's second-floor bedroom, the middle-aged woman sat upright in her bed, frightened, holding a handgun that she owned legally. A SWAT officer fired twice from behind a bulletproof shield, hitting Noel in the chest, then fired a third shot at close range. Noel died at the scene. Friends and acquaintances described Noel as a person who ran a Bible study group on her lunch breaks. Research has turned up more than three dozen cases in which wholly innocent people have been killed in paramilitary raids.
LEVITTOWN, PA
In February, 2004, police raided the home of James Hoskins, looking for his brother. Police broke down the bedroom door, and an officer fired after mistaking for a gun the T-shirt Hoskins was using to cover his genitals. The bullet ripped thorugh Hoskin's stomach, small intestine, and colon. Hoskins didn't learn that the intruder who shot him was a police officer until he awoke from a coma weeks later. Police arrested Hoskin's brother for possessing a small amount of marijuana. SWAT teams were once used only in rare emergency situations such as hostage takings or bank robberies; now the're used most commonly to serve drug warrants. SWAT raids are also often conducted on tips from confidential informants who are notoriously unreliable.
PRENTISS, MS
In December 2001, police stormed a small duplex on a tip from a confidential informant that drugs were inside. In one apartment they apprehended Jamie Smith, a known drug dealer, and found a substantial amound of marijuana. In the other, 21-year-old Cory Maye was asleep with his 18-month-old daughter. When police kicked down the door, Maye mistook them for criminal intruders and fired his gun. His bullet struck and killed officer Ron Jones, the son of the town's police chief. Maye, who had no prior criminal record and no history of violence, was later convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.
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As a legal gun owner, a mistake on their part like this will most likely end with someone (us) losing their life.
This story was in a recent publication:
UNREASONABLE SEARCHES AND SEIZURES
The Rising Use of SWAT Teams is Bad, But its About to Get Worse
This past term, the Supreme Court ruled in Hudson v. Michigan that evidence seized in an illegal raid can be used against a defendant at trial, even if police had disregarded the requirement to knock and identify themselves before entering. Taking away the only disincentive for these raids is likely to exacerbate an already unsettling trend: the rise of paramilitary tactics in police departments across America. Nearly every U.S. city now has a SWAT team, as do many small towns. Below are some examples of raids gone wrong and the tragic consequences.
FAIRFAX, VA
In January 2006, a SWAT team apprehended Sal Culosi, a local optometrist accused of betting on sports with an undercover detective. As Culosi came out ot meet the officer and pay the debt, the SWAT team descended. One officer's gun apparently discharged accidentally, hitting Culosi in the chest and killing him instantly. Culosi had no prior criminal record and no history of violence. Police found no weapon at his home. A Fairfax police department spokeswoman told the Washington Post that the department serves most of its warrants with a SWAT team, even for nonviolent crimes. One leading criminologist estimates the number of SWAT call-outs each year in the U.S. has increased more than 1300 percent since 1980, to 40,000 per year, or about 110 per day.
SUNRISE, FL
In August 2005, a SWAT team raided the home of Anthony Diotaiuto, a bartender and part-time student. Police say the team was necessary because Diotaiuto owned a legal, licensed and registered handgun. Diotaiuto had no history of violence and one prior conviction for marijuana possession as a minor. Police say that as they raided the home, Diotaiuto met them in the bedroom with a gun and they opened fire. HIs bullet-riddled body was found in a closet. Police discovered two ounces of marijuana. Raids are extremely violent and confrontational, and on dozens of occasions, non-violent offenders have been killed in cases of mistaken identity or mistaken intent.
OMAO, HI
In March 2005 police mistakenly broke into the residence of Sharon and William McCulley on a drug raid. The McCulleys, home with their grandchildren at the time, were thrown to the ground at gunpoint. William McCulley, who uses a walker and has an implanted device to deliver electrical shocks to his spine to relieve pain, began flopping around on the floor when the device malfunctioned from the trauma. Police then erroneously raided a second address before finally arresting several men for distribution of marijuana. There are now hundreds of documented cases of "wrong-door" raids, during which SWAT teams have entered the wrong home, terrorizing innocent people.
DUNDALK, MD
In January 2005, a SWAT team in Baltimore County descended on the home of Cheryl Lynn Noel at 5am, after finding marijuana seeds in the family's trash. (Raids are generally conducted late at night or early in the morning.) When officers entered Noel's second-floor bedroom, the middle-aged woman sat upright in her bed, frightened, holding a handgun that she owned legally. A SWAT officer fired twice from behind a bulletproof shield, hitting Noel in the chest, then fired a third shot at close range. Noel died at the scene. Friends and acquaintances described Noel as a person who ran a Bible study group on her lunch breaks. Research has turned up more than three dozen cases in which wholly innocent people have been killed in paramilitary raids.
LEVITTOWN, PA
In February, 2004, police raided the home of James Hoskins, looking for his brother. Police broke down the bedroom door, and an officer fired after mistaking for a gun the T-shirt Hoskins was using to cover his genitals. The bullet ripped thorugh Hoskin's stomach, small intestine, and colon. Hoskins didn't learn that the intruder who shot him was a police officer until he awoke from a coma weeks later. Police arrested Hoskin's brother for possessing a small amount of marijuana. SWAT teams were once used only in rare emergency situations such as hostage takings or bank robberies; now the're used most commonly to serve drug warrants. SWAT raids are also often conducted on tips from confidential informants who are notoriously unreliable.
PRENTISS, MS
In December 2001, police stormed a small duplex on a tip from a confidential informant that drugs were inside. In one apartment they apprehended Jamie Smith, a known drug dealer, and found a substantial amound of marijuana. In the other, 21-year-old Cory Maye was asleep with his 18-month-old daughter. When police kicked down the door, Maye mistook them for criminal intruders and fired his gun. His bullet struck and killed officer Ron Jones, the son of the town's police chief. Maye, who had no prior criminal record and no history of violence, was later convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.
-------
As a legal gun owner, a mistake on their part like this will most likely end with someone (us) losing their life.