by Joseph Farah
Sept. 7, 1999
- -----------------------------------------------------
In March, 40 officers divided into 10 four-man teams swooped in with
helicopters in a pre-dawn raid to seize six suspects in Dorchester County,
Md.
The principal suspect, Robert Gootee, was hauled from his bed and led away
in chains. His wife was not allowed to call anyone, nor were her neighbors
allowed to come in to comfort her, for four and a half hours.
What was the offense that precipitated this action? Was the four-year
investigation that led to the armed raid concerned with terrorism, serial
homicide or a major drug ring? What type of criminal offenses were involved?
Who were these brave law-enforcement agents who defied death to make the
arrests?
You had better sit down.
Gootee was charged with possession of an undersized striped bass, striped
bass out of season, untagged striped bass, possession of summer flounder out
of season, failure to tag and check deer within 24 hours and possession of a
loaded weapon in a vehicle. The agents involved were from the state and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. And the target for the raid was the Golden Hills
Hunt Club.
Gootee, the club treasurer, was hauled away with such "evidence" as deer and
duck mounts and a framed photograph of his retriever bringing in a duck.
Eventually, 24 other club members were charged with related offenses,
including failure to wear sufficient fluorescent orange while hunting.
We're in serious trouble, folks.
Even as more Americans wake up to the reality of the dangers posed by the
gun-toting federales who brought us Waco, a new breed of armed-and-dangerous
green commandos is turning our forests into police states.
Check out a report in this month's issue of usually low-key Field & Stream
Magazine: "Looking for firepower, firefights and other fun stuff? Forget the
SEALs; Fish and Game is the place to be."
"Wardens may be watching too many cop shows. How else can one explain why
increasing numbers of them seem to reject their workday reality and the
routine of dealing with essentially law-abiding people in favor of a world
in which the everyday sportsman is an ex-army commando ready for a shoot-out
or a high-speed car chase?"
The story continues: "Recruits to wildlife law enforcement now spend more
time learning how to break down the doors of alleged poachers than how to
differentiate the various species of sunfishes. The April 1999 issue of
Wildlife in North Carolina describes the boot camp that would-be officers go
through in that state: 'Relentless physical exercise, material training and
plenty of barracks inspections are the norm for the first two weeks of
wildlife recruit school ... this includes 40 hours of firearms training as
well as many hours mastering defensive tactics to disarm suspects.'"
The piece goes on to explain that the rationale used by many agencies for
such official militancy is a claim that game wardens are "seven times more
likely to be killed during an assault on the job than any other type of law
officer." Trouble with that statistic is that there is no basis for it in
fact.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 1997, 65 law
enforcement officers of all kinds nationwide were killed in the line of
duty. Not one was a warden. Whoops!
There seems to be an active effort by government to portray hunters and
other sportsmen as dangerous hombres -- all potential killers. That was the
picture painted by some involved in the planning of the Maryland raid.
Richard McIntire, spokesman for the state's Department of Natural Resources,
explained: "We were dealing with people who are known to have weapons," he
said, "and who are proficient in their use."
Yeah, so? America is a land free precisely because the people have
historically been armed and self-trained in how to use firearms. The
Constitution not only protects the rights of individual Americans to bear
arms, it actually suggests -- and, I believe, accurately -- that it is akin
to a sacred duty for citizens to be armed and vigilant.
Of course, the picture of the woods as territory occupied by armed
anti-government militiamen and dangerous scofflaws doesn't hurt one bit when
it comes time to convince legislators that the green cops need more money
for training, weapons and manpower. (Remember, the initial assault on Waco
was a public relations dog-and-pony show designed to persuade Congress the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms needed more funds.)
It's not surprising, then, that after the raid in Maryland some American
flags in Dorchester County were flying upside down. Not surprising and not
unwarranted.
Sept. 7, 1999
- -----------------------------------------------------
In March, 40 officers divided into 10 four-man teams swooped in with
helicopters in a pre-dawn raid to seize six suspects in Dorchester County,
Md.
The principal suspect, Robert Gootee, was hauled from his bed and led away
in chains. His wife was not allowed to call anyone, nor were her neighbors
allowed to come in to comfort her, for four and a half hours.
What was the offense that precipitated this action? Was the four-year
investigation that led to the armed raid concerned with terrorism, serial
homicide or a major drug ring? What type of criminal offenses were involved?
Who were these brave law-enforcement agents who defied death to make the
arrests?
You had better sit down.
Gootee was charged with possession of an undersized striped bass, striped
bass out of season, untagged striped bass, possession of summer flounder out
of season, failure to tag and check deer within 24 hours and possession of a
loaded weapon in a vehicle. The agents involved were from the state and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. And the target for the raid was the Golden Hills
Hunt Club.
Gootee, the club treasurer, was hauled away with such "evidence" as deer and
duck mounts and a framed photograph of his retriever bringing in a duck.
Eventually, 24 other club members were charged with related offenses,
including failure to wear sufficient fluorescent orange while hunting.
We're in serious trouble, folks.
Even as more Americans wake up to the reality of the dangers posed by the
gun-toting federales who brought us Waco, a new breed of armed-and-dangerous
green commandos is turning our forests into police states.
Check out a report in this month's issue of usually low-key Field & Stream
Magazine: "Looking for firepower, firefights and other fun stuff? Forget the
SEALs; Fish and Game is the place to be."
"Wardens may be watching too many cop shows. How else can one explain why
increasing numbers of them seem to reject their workday reality and the
routine of dealing with essentially law-abiding people in favor of a world
in which the everyday sportsman is an ex-army commando ready for a shoot-out
or a high-speed car chase?"
The story continues: "Recruits to wildlife law enforcement now spend more
time learning how to break down the doors of alleged poachers than how to
differentiate the various species of sunfishes. The April 1999 issue of
Wildlife in North Carolina describes the boot camp that would-be officers go
through in that state: 'Relentless physical exercise, material training and
plenty of barracks inspections are the norm for the first two weeks of
wildlife recruit school ... this includes 40 hours of firearms training as
well as many hours mastering defensive tactics to disarm suspects.'"
The piece goes on to explain that the rationale used by many agencies for
such official militancy is a claim that game wardens are "seven times more
likely to be killed during an assault on the job than any other type of law
officer." Trouble with that statistic is that there is no basis for it in
fact.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 1997, 65 law
enforcement officers of all kinds nationwide were killed in the line of
duty. Not one was a warden. Whoops!
There seems to be an active effort by government to portray hunters and
other sportsmen as dangerous hombres -- all potential killers. That was the
picture painted by some involved in the planning of the Maryland raid.
Richard McIntire, spokesman for the state's Department of Natural Resources,
explained: "We were dealing with people who are known to have weapons," he
said, "and who are proficient in their use."
Yeah, so? America is a land free precisely because the people have
historically been armed and self-trained in how to use firearms. The
Constitution not only protects the rights of individual Americans to bear
arms, it actually suggests -- and, I believe, accurately -- that it is akin
to a sacred duty for citizens to be armed and vigilant.
Of course, the picture of the woods as territory occupied by armed
anti-government militiamen and dangerous scofflaws doesn't hurt one bit when
it comes time to convince legislators that the green cops need more money
for training, weapons and manpower. (Remember, the initial assault on Waco
was a public relations dog-and-pony show designed to persuade Congress the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms needed more funds.)
It's not surprising, then, that after the raid in Maryland some American
flags in Dorchester County were flying upside down. Not surprising and not
unwarranted.