Atlanta PD invades wrong home

Spectre

Staff Alumnus
(The following is an email sent from a local friend of mine. I have gone to the Fox website, but have not found a way to check prior stories, so I could verify this personally.)

This is information from a newscast I just saw on Fox5
( http://www.fox5atlanta.com/ ).

According to the report tonight (Wednesday, March 15, 2000; 10pm newscast's
opening story), last night the Atlanta police department (dressed in your
basic black, complete with matching hood, helmet, and--lest I
forget--matching drawn guns) broke in the door of the Barston family in
Atlanta. The family initially thought it was a burglary. The APD
restrained everyone present and put them in those plastic handcuff
thingies, including the 91-year-old grandfather (and from what I saw of him
on the report, even though he appeared not to be senile, they were not in
danger from him), and demanded to know 'where the drugs were.' The family
finally convinced them that they didn't have any drugs, although the police
did search some of the house.

Did I mention that the Barston's live in a duplex house? I don't know
exactly how the idea came to them, but APD then decided to go break in to
the other unit in the duplex house. Some minutes later, they came back to
the Barston's side and cut the cuffs off and left. According to one member
of the Barston family, the police didn't really say much when they left,
and did not apoligize.

The family has filed a complaint with the Atlanta police department.
 
Another success in the War on Drugs.

If you loved the War on Drugs, you're gonna love the War on Guns ...

We're going to just keep increasing those budgets for all this, aren't we folks? More seizures. More government jobs. More drugs and violence ... ooops.

Great public policy ... oh, ye suckers.
 
In Denver they've made an art form of no-knocks. It caught up with them recently. They shot and killed a man in his bedroom after kicking down the door of the wrong house. They have done 80-100 no-knocks in the last year!

:(
 
No-knocks are why I bought my first rifle, an SKS. I had no illusions about my riflecraft but wanted to be able to punch through. Then came a case in Oregon where a guy dropped three intruders with his ten-shot rifle only to be wounded by the fourth. I got a Mini14 then replaced that with an HBAR15+Mak90+Garand. Even so, I know my current place is not defendable, just hope to cost dearly to any nasties.
 
Another case of HUT HUT HUT. I'll bet the average drug bust by "dynamic" entry is under $100. And guns don't flush. Try it. And if the drugs are to the amount they would flush they shouldn't be there. Try flushing baggies of powdered sugar down a toilet and report back. The boys will play with thier toys. Bet they were a fashion statement to behold with all that black stuff with velcro. And ever item titled "tactical" on the box it came in.
We had a worse case than that here recently. The abuse marches on.




[This message has been edited by pluspinc (edited March 16, 2000).]
 
Had it happen to me,in living color,after I helped the SOB'S with the right information,to location they were looking for,they proceded to raid my house,by mistake.I live out in the sticks in Ohio. It can happen anywhere!!!
 
If this is true, it's another reason for ALL of those offensively involved in the War on Drugs, from the lawmakers to the law enforcers, to be so proud of their accomplishments. I salute all of you. Can you guess which salute I'm using?
DAL

------------------
Reading "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," by Ayn Rand, should be required of every politician and in every high school.
GOA, JPFO, PPFC, CSSA, LP, NRA
 
Most of these are tiny drug busts. They use informers, or make little buys undercover. I'm not saying that having a pusher next door is a nice thing, but I like the 4th amendment, too.
 
Most of these are tiny drug busts.

Indeed they are, at least the ones in which drugs are actually found. Know why?

1) The major players are protected by people with guns and bad attitudes. Too dangerous for The Fearless Drug Warriors.

2) If, by some miracle, TFDW *did* manage to shut down all drug production, trafficking, and use, they'd bring about their own unemployment. Can't have that, now can we? I mean, Gen. McCaffrey might actually have to go out and find a real job!
 
Read what Solzenietzin said about NKVD and apply. I do think that this cancer will keep feeding itself till it kills the host.
 
Can anyone tell me if any of the various litigations, brought on as a result of these 'invasions', are generally successful?
Often, the Media doesn't seem to follow up on these stories with the same tenacity as when they first became 'news'.
Hmmm...
Oh, excuse me, I'll be right back - there seems to be some sort of knocking at my front door... ;)



------------------
...defend the 2nd., it protects us all.
No fate but what we make...
 
The most dangerous year for police in "drug related" incidents is 1976, according to Dr. Lawrence Sherman of the U of Maryland. The most dangerous role for offices today is getting shot by other officers according to his study.
Oleg, I was raised on 16th & Chicago, just four blocks from Chi-Franklin. Know the area well.
Just last night a "dynamic" (doncha love the buzzwords?) went bad when a flashbang almost burned down a house and the people in it. A few years back same dept burned to death two old folks with one of those. And folks out in lah-lah land don't condone warning shots? I'll take warning shot anyday. NEVER heard of a house being burned down by one, or two people killed with ONE of them.
To save face they busted the four people in the house for "drugs" but all were released today "pending" charges. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
The flashbang is just a modern version of the warning shot. They are far from harmless and thus wrong house entries are devastating.
Legal actions against PD's are frequent, but most could be avoided by an apology etc. But few depts do that. They tell the innocent homeowner to "get over it" or something to that effect. We had one near us that did just that and it cost them over $100,000. A $100 gift certificate could have saved them that payment, and the homeowner said that in court. Bet they still don't get it.
 
To set the record straight, the "case in Oregon where a guy dropped three intruders" was _not_ a no-knock warrant. It _was_ a very tragic and traumatic event for the community and the agency involved. It started out at 1038 AM as an investigative contact (knocked, ID'd, got no response) over a grow operation. Visual and olfactory observations were made by the investigators on the scene resulting in their seeking a search warrant.

While that process was taking place officers still on the scene made additional observations which led them to believe that evidence was being destroyed. Knock, notice and ID was again made prior to a forced entry by uniformed patrol officers at 1148 AM into the front vestibule of the residence. 'Exigent circumstances' is the applicable legal doctrine.

The three officers who entered were shot through a door from the main living area into the vestibule. One was killed, two were wounded - one seriously. The suspect, who'd been wounded by return fire was eventually negotiated out by SWAT.

Evidence of the grow operation as well as the attempt to destroy that evidence was recovered from the scene.

I do not wish to debate those who might choose to research the incident (Portland, OR, 27 Jan '98) either the 'war on drugs' or the type of investigative contact used by the involved agency. I want only to ensure that the incident cited by Oleg is factually recounted.

[This message has been edited by SKN (edited March 17, 2000).]
 
Please note that I did not say that it was a no-knock (except of omission, so the clarification is in order). It did show that a ten-round fixed magazine was imperfect for defending against numerous attackers. A purely tactical lesson w/o taking sides as to who was right or wrong.

BTW, I hear that the grower "committed suicide" right after capture. True/false/suicide by shot in the back of the head?
 
The suspect was found dead, self asphyxiated by torn sheet, in the medical unit of the sheriff's custody facility at 0445 on 26 Feb 98. His wounds had required periodic monitoring of his medical condition for which he was last checked at 0130 that same morning.
 
Who determines the "self" in "self-asphyxiation"? Certainly no-one with a vested interest? Or, was it investigated by an unrelated agency?
 
I have no idea as to what truly happened. When I chimed in on the topic way back when, someone posted wondering why someone who fought back with such effect and determination would commit suicide. Not sure he had a point but I thought I'd get other views.
 
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