*Update* SWAT shooting of 11 year old in botched raid

[TAZ]

I think I am going to have to agree with scud on this one. At least in part. Chances are that the officer in question really did have an ND and did not mean to kill the kid. I'm still naive enough to believe that all cops arent killers. He probably got bumped and squeezed the trigger. As such he should be charged and tried for manslaughter, unless evidence appears that he did infact choose to kill the kid. The family should get a good lawyer and sue the cop, the department, the city, the feds and anyone involved in the raid. Someone asked why the city/tax payers need to be held accountable for this tragic misuse of force. The answer there is because we elected and appointed the officials who are abusing us. In the long run WE are the ones who are responsible for what happens to us. WE are the ones who should be removing these a**holes from office. But WE are the ones who put up with it and in MANY cases even AGREE with the policies.

I agree with scud that the SWAT type raids and general misuse of force is used for intimidation purposes. Anyone in their right minds knows that the justice system is weak and cant get/keep convicted killers behind bars much less dissuade others from breaking the law. So we have resorted to having the LE agencies try to do the disuading through the use of force. This is in my opinion wrong and leads to many unintended consequences, one of which being the total and absolute distrust of LEO's. We can see this unintended consequence here on this board, inhabited by law abiding people. What do you think the average not so law abiding person feels like??? This is not a very good situation, but unfortunately one that will continue.

------------------
"Liberty is never unalienable; it must be redeemed regularly with the blood of patriots or it always vanishes."
-R.A. Heinlein

 

[Donny]

I do not know SWAT, or police tactics, OK.

If the WOD is an effort to "Protect the children", then so be it.

Next time you "serve" a warrant at a house, go into the exercise with the understanding that there are children on the premises, period. I don't give a damn if the pchief of police told you personally there were none in the house.
And if there are kids in the house, you make it your first priority to then remove all the children from the house before you do anything else. So that there won't be another "accidental" shooting like this.

Ok, here's one to weigh out.
You go into a Gun Store, and ask to see that piece over there. The attendant retrievres the item you describe, and does what with it?

Anyone worth their salt, or knows anything about firearms, would check the weapon, insuring it's empty and safed.
Then, and only then, hand it to someone else for their inspection. That person should then repeat the procedure.

I'm not in the habit of trusting my life to someone else. It's a matter of trust that comes from knowledge of people, and their ways.

I've a brother-in-law who I wouldn't want to be in the same room with, if he had a firearm in hand. And he used to be LEO! Clumsy as an Ox, and has had a few "accidental" misfirings while hunting...
No, I don't hunt with him anymore, and he knows why.


[This message has been edited by Donny (edited September 20, 2000).]

 

[JimR]

Saw this comment in another forum, thought it was an excellent commentary on the state of affairs that seems to exist after an event like this:

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>My point is just that if we are supposed to disarm ourselves, give up our right to defense and leave that to the professionals, who are supposedly better at it, those professionals should be held to a very high standard. If some private citizen had killed that boy, he would find himself in jail for a long time. Since it was a police officer, we'll be told, "Well, he's only human you know. It's a stressful job and people do make mistakes sometimes." In other words, we find the amateur held to a higher standard of ability than the professional.

At least when a doctor is incompetent, you can sue him for malpractice. It seems you can only make a case stick against the police if you accuse them of racism.[/quote]




[This message has been edited by JimR (edited September 21, 2000).]