SWAT out of control once again...

[Magritte25]

Completely agree with wutitiz and totsuka. We have issues like this in my area too (NE PA) with corruption, lack of oversight/accountability and abuses of power. I think many people feel powerless when it comes to this type of situation.

[wutitiz]

Politicians love to have a little blurb on campaign signs saying "Police guild endorsed" or similar. Personally, I am far less likely to vote for a candidate who has that on his campaign signs. I'm not necessarily anti-cop or anti-union, but I am for sure anti-police union.

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by totsuka

There is a lack of accountability with incidents like this. A reasonable man would require that the officers that planned this operation be brought up on charges and require them to prove themselves innocent in a court of law. This is how our system of justice works and the police should be held to an even higher standard. If there is no accountability, the police will just continue to make mistakes like with due to a lack of punishment for screwing up. Fire a few, toss a few in jail, the rest will become much more careful.

Yes! Or compensate the victims using money from the Police Retirement Fund. That would cut down on the "errors".

[no1brownsfan]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

You never forget an incident like that. Intentional or not, that family was terrorized.
You cannot really understand until it happens to you.

It did happen to me but not by SWAT.

I got lost in a warehouse/industrial section of town while looking for a welding shop.
I was driving around in circles looking for the address.
Meanwhile..a robbery had occured there and the police were looking for the suspects.
(Didn't know that at the time).
I got stopped..thought it was a traffic stop (hey..that's the only reason I've ever been stopped while driving).
Surprise, surprise..cops had hands on holsters and yelled "get out of the car".
Got out of car. They asked for papers. I reached for pocketbook and they undid the snap on their holsters and they yelled "don't move". Just like in the movies my hands shot up in the air and the fear that hit me was nothing I had ever known. I thought I was going to get shot by them and die.

Guilty until proven innocent is NOT like fedex mis-delivering your package.

My situation wasn't nearly as bad, nor anywhere near as dramatic, but back when I was 22, my friend and I were coming home from a hot spot in downtown Cleveland called The Flats. I lived in the burbs, probably about 20 miles from the city. Well, we stopped for a late night breakfast, and since my buddy was the designated driver, he then drove me home. Going through my neighborhood the cops stopped us, and said they had a report of some vandalism in the neighborhood and that the car he was driving matched the description of his vehicle. So, the cop ID'd us, and we told him where we were, where we were coming from, and I simply asked a question and the cop was like "we'll ask the questions thank you." He then said he smelled alcohol (in which I was clearly the one drinking) and they started giving my friend crap, saying his eyes looked blood shot, and blah blah blah. I was like "dude you smell alcohol, because it's me, which is why he is the designated driver. He was driving me home, and I live around the corner." My friend was just over tired, but wasn't drinking. They let us go about our business, but it irked me that when I wanted to ask the cop a question that he shut me down like that.