I'm a former federal agent who, by nature of the type enforcement we did, kicked a helluva lot of doors in during my time.
And no, I damn sure wasn't ATF--whom I don't even consider to be law enforcement.
Just from my experience and that of other agents I worked with, here are a few thoughts, advice, answers, etc. Bear in mind that I've been out of the jackbooted thug business for quite a while, so things may have changed.
Ok, let me start by saying my motivations for this post are that I constantly see on the news that in home invasions, perps yell, "It's the Police!" ect....
They come in all black, and one could easily interpret them as legitamate police.
So what is the responsible action for a homeowner to take as the door is being kicked in, and a few guys are yelling they are the police and to get down?
The responsible action is to get yourself down on the flloor, in as non-threatening/non-hostile position as possible as quick as possible.
When we raided a home, we had to first verify the address against the tenants/owners/residents. Those Treasury boys have a history of kicking in wrong doors . . . Secondly, we would often call the house or have our CI call the house to verify that the occupants were home and available to be arrested.
We had some pretty serious training at both Quantico and some at FLETC on dynamic entries. Plus, in my office in Miami, the team I was on was made up of almost all ex-military guys who were either MP/SP, specop, etc. So we'd all had a LOT of prior training and actual experience in dynamic entries, crossing fire, etc etc.
When such a team kicks your door, they're going to move on you quick. Just by the weaponry they carry and the way they handle it, plus the authoritative tone of voice and the presence of an obvious team leader will tell you this is the real deal.
These two-bit thugs who dress up as cops and raid houses are bozos, carry questionable hardware, and have no obvious leader. Fat lot of good that does you if you're watching TV and half-dozing when your door comes flying off the hinges and people start screaming PO-LEECE!
But, going to a non-threatening position will 99-times out of a hundred help you more than it will hurt you. Remember: if the scumbag thugs kill you while looting your house, it just went from simple burglary/robbery to capital. And in Texas, you will die for your transgressions.
Even if they *are* police, if they don't serve a warrant they are home invaders and IMHO should be dealt with accordingly. (the law of course disagrees with me on that point.) But it's probably a moot point because they have the drop on you.
Guess what? I didn't always need a warrant to kick in your door and arrest you. I could follow you from the scene of a dope buy that I watched you make or filmed you doing, call the rest of our crew in, and kick your door down while announcing who I am and who my partners were.
And if you tried to "deal with me accordingly," you'd lose in all sorts of bad ways, including the worst of ways that is permanent.
If you have done something wrong or you have warrants on you (be they for parking tickets or capital murder) or you owe the IRS money or you gave an STD to the Senator's significant other . . . and you've ignored all summons, calls, subpoenas and the other hundreds of ways local law enforcement gives you to comply and NOT get raided and jacked up . . . then don't be surprised if you get a very early morning visit that ends up very unpleasant.
As I've said repeatedly: "I'm amazed at the number of so-called gun owners who whine incessantly about not enforcing the existing laws that we have--then whine incessantly when we DO enforce them."
They told us at Quantico that if we wanted praise or gratitude for the job we were taking on, to quit and go join the Fire Department. They were right twenty something years ago, and they're still right today.
That's why you need layers of defense. Reinforced wooden doors with massive deadbolts that will take some time to breach. Dogs. Outdoor lights. Things to give you time to react.
If you're talking about reacting to burglars or home invaders, I agree with you one hundred percent. If you're talking about reacting to legitimate law enforcement paying you a visit, I would wonder why you--specifically--are so paranoid.
I am not a huge fan of today's law enforcement and I have been openly critical of them at times here and elsewhere. BUT, I've also been in their shoes many, many times. I didn't see a lot of hands waving in the air volunteering to take my place in the armpits of Miami, Kingston, Mexico City, Detroit and other sewer-holes passing as cities when I turned in my badge and credentials.
Fact of the matter is, there is a lot of pure-D crap circulating about "you could be next" when it comes to having your door kicked in. Yep. You could. You could also be struck by lightning right after you cashed in your ten-million dollar winning lottery ticket in which Mother Mary appeared in a cloud of Unique smoke and gave you the numbers.
Odds are about the same. Arm and protect yourself from the criminals. Your odds of having to deal with them are a helluva lot higher than having to deal with law enforcement. Provided, that is, that you don't have outstanding warrants, tickets, etc. If you (generic you) do and you're ignoring them, then you're an idiot.
The real cops SHOULD have "POLICE" markings that are very noticeable on vests, helmets, shields, and should be yelling "POlICE - SEARCH WARRANT"
My raid jacket was dark blue with yellow all-caps letters. It said POLICE on front and back, along with SPECIAL AGENT. It had the acronymn for my agency above the words SPECIAL AGENT. On the front, it had a replica of our shield. Only place you could get them was from our agency--and we had to sign all kinds of paperwork, receipts, etc for everything and anything we were issued or bought that had our agency's ID or acronymn on it.
Now, this was pre-internet days. I agree that it's probably all too easy to fake some raid jackets. But if you stop and think about it, it would also be even easier--and cheaper--to also fake a search/arrest warrant.
A lot of tactical teams have gotten away from the black and have gone to OD green or camo uniforms so black isn't always an indication.
My normal "uniform" was a long ponytail, ugly beard, sometimes an eyepatch, a cowboy hat, old faded Levis with grease stains, some sort of a HD t-shirt and a leather vest. When it was time to invite ourselves into a scumbag's home, I dressed up and wore my best bullet-proof vest--which was black with white letters that said POLICE and then XXX and then SPECIAL AGENT, and of course, a replica of our shield.
I always wanted to look my best when I was inviting myself into my newest arrestee's home.
Unless there is a specific threat, most search warrant require officers to KNOCK and ANNOUNCE prior to entering.
True back in my day. But like I said earlier, we usually called to ensure that someone was home--also worked to make sure we were at the right house as we used the reverse directory and cross-referenced the phone number with the address.
Don't know how the poor guys do it these days with everyone having a cell phone and a lot of people having a cell phone in lieu of a house phone.
AND . . . what I haven't seen mentioned here yet is the "severity" of the warrant. We used to call them "Level" warrants. A Level III barely warranted a knock before we were kicking doors, windows and getting in as fast as we could. That meant we were going after some bad, dangerous dudes.
Can't remember when the wrong home ever got raided on a three-warrant because we were also REQUIRED to maintain a minimum of twelve hours surveillance specifically ensure that we DIDN'T raid the wrong house.
When we'd do our level one warrants, half or more of the time, I'd knock on the door and announce, "XXX, we have a search warrant. Open up so we can talk please,"
We had ample identification and at that point, it was up to the occupants as to whether or not they wanted our visit to upgrade a level or two.
1. Don't move
2. Pray that if its the bad guys, you don't get killed anyway
3. Pray that if its the good guys, you don't get killed anyway
If it's the good guys and your a good guy, ain't nothing wrong with praying--I do it everyday, myself--but why would you pray you don't get killed
anyway?
Maybe I'm missing the hundreds, or even thousands or daily instances in which the police botch the raid, but go ahead and shoot the good guys anyways . . . you know, since they were in the neighborhood and it would only be the cops' side of the story to tell, and so on.
Good grief. And some gun owners wonder why some (even rank and file) police don't think they should have CCW?
With the overuse of SWAT teams for relatively minor drug warrants, and an increasing reliance on inherently unreliable informants with almost no oversight, botched raids happen all too often
Shoulda stopped right there, because up to this point, you're spot-on correct.
and innocent people do get killed. If you have a gun in your hand, you will almost certainly be killed no matter how reasonable it may be to assume it is not the police, but in fact the bad guys.
This is one-hundred percent horse you-know-what.
If'd I'd shot, let alone KILLED, every single person that had a gun pointed at me or who was brandishing a gun during the course of my LE duties, I'd have more blood on my hands than most two-bit African warlord dictators.
Now if you FIRE that gun at me, you just bought the farm, son.
When you raid a home, ala SWAT or SOG or SRU sytle, you have a thing called Rules of Engagement that you are required to go over before you even leave your staging area. And unless the target home or subject of the warrant has a known history of shooting at people, especially cops, every effort will be made to command him to PUT DOWN THE BLEEPING BLANKETY BLANKING GUN,
NOW!!!!!
So where all these innocent people that are being killed so often by police because they're botching so many more raids these days than ever before?
Does it happen from time to time. Unfortunately it does. Any time is one time too many, no argument from me. But does it happen with the frequency that you are stating it does.
No.
As far as the law is concerned, until you know that it is the police, it's a free fire zone for both sides. Completely irresponsible and any blame for these lay squarely on the police. It sucks when police get killed during these raids, but it is very hard to feel sympathy for them.
Wrong.
If I announce "POLICE-SPECIAL AGENT!!! GET YOUR HANDS UP, RIGHT NOW!!!" and you still point a weapon at me and then try to later use the line (assuming that you'd still be vertical and breathing, that is) that I didn't stop and show you my credentials or you couldn't get close enough to read my badge numbers (which were on the back of our badges), your defense IS NO defense.
Hey, you can still say that you "didn't know that I was REALLY the police--coulda bought that jacket anywhere, had my badge forged, anybody can grow their hair long, and hell, this is the South where EVERYONE has fancy guns."
You'd have a long time at Level three or four FCI to think about your position afterwards.
I strongly, strongly, strongly suggest you get MULTIPLE opinions from the prosecuting side on what you just wrote as fact before you go throwing it out like fact.
Folks, this is a forum that promotes the responsible ownership of firearms and prudent thought and planning when it comes to defending ourselves, loved ones and neighbors.
If you're going to bash the police, then do it with facts rather than conjecture, hearsay and opinion based upon emotion or "well, someone TOLD me" kind of stuff.
I was one. I'll criticize when and where I know for a fact that it's warranted. We can complaint about LE attitudes--as I do quite often--but we also need to look in the mirrors and make sure that it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black, ESPECIALLY in teh gun-owning community which has prided itself for decades and decades for being amongst the most patriotic, law-abiding and unselfish citizens this great nation has ever produced.
Most cops are hard-working men and women who truly believe in what they're doing. It's more than just a job. For many, they feel it is a calling.
For damn sure, it's a high-risk calling. A golf pro can have a bad shot and take a Mulli-whatever (I don't play golf, obviously). A cop has a bad shot and he/she is very likely done.
They get one chance.
Why make it any rougher? If you have outstanding matters that need taken care of, then take care of them. If you have scumbag neighbors next door who are into dope or stolen goods or whatever, then let the police know. Give them your name and your address and stress what your house looks like. All kinds of ways to minimize your already remotely slim chances of being greeted at O-dark-thirty by a bunch of black-clad cops.
Common sense, folks. Commons sense.
Jeff
