• Officer Indicted For Lying On Warrant Application That Led To Toddler Being Burned By Flashbang Gren
    17 replies, posted
[quote] The local police union defended the indefensible: the burning/maiming of a toddler with a flashbang grenade, delivered during a no-knock raid in service of the Drug War. According to the union rep, burned toddlers are just the price society has to pay to keep the streets relatively free of criminals. [quote]"You have to draw the line between your right as a citizen to privacy and a community's right to live in a crime-free environment. You can't have them both," Mills said. [/quote] Thanks, but no thanks. Not only did the union defend these Georgia police officers' needlessly aggressive tactics, but it attempted to lay the blame for a burned toddler at the public's feet. And now, with a grand jury indictment being handed down, it appears the union was also defending a liar. [quote]According to the indictment, [Deputy] Autry falsely claimed a confidential informant who had provided reliable information in the past had bought methamphetamine from Wanis Thonetheva at his mother's house in Cornelia. In truth, the informant was newly minted, and it was his roommate who claimed (without verification) to have bought drugs at the house. That lie was the basis for the early-morning, no-knock raid during which 18-month-old Bounkham "Bou Bou" Phonesavanh, Thonetheva's cousin, was nearly killed by a flash-bang grenade that landed in the playpen where he was sleeping. [/quote] ..... The standard MO for drug-related warrants is to deliver them with as much violence, force and noise as possible, under the assumption that every drug dealer -- no matter how small -- awaits the arrival of police with barricades and an arsenal. This simply isn't borne out by the results of these raids, which often fail to turn up any weapons -- or at least none being wielded by the residents of the home. In some cases, there are also no drugs to be found, but this result rarely leads to the turfing of a CI or a less-violent entry when serving the next warrant. The deaths and injuries caused by drug enforcement aren't in danger of approaching the death and injuries caused by the drug trade, but the former is more disturbing than the latter. While we might expect a certain amount of violence from purveyors of illicit substances, we don't really expect as much from law enforcement. And yet we're seeing it occur on a far too regular basis. [/quote] [url]https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150723/13332731737/officer-indicted-lying-warrant-application-that-led-to-toddler-being-burned-flashbang-grenade.shtml[/url]
Good. Liberty and justice for one is not liberty and justice for all. That includes the police.
[quote]"You have to draw the line between your right as a citizen to privacy and a community's right to live in a crime-free environment. You can't have them both," Mills said.[/quote] Except you're not providing either... I think more people are in support of toddlers not being burned by gung-ho police officers then apprehending a suspected drug dealer; but these assholes try to spin the story that they're serving the public.
[QUOTE=Inspector Jones;48285566]Except you're not providing either... I think more people are in support of toddlers not being burned by gung-ho police officers then apprehending a suspected drug dealer; but these assholes try to spin the story that they're serving the public.[/QUOTE] [I]Serving the public some tasty chemical burns[/I] these are the exact reasons why the support for police is falling. Honestly if its not working (the war on drugs) then derp we might have to try something new.
I'm just glad they're going after the guy who caused the misguided raid and not trying to blame the officers who conducted it.
The police have officially said that security is more important than liberty. Fucking authoritarians.
[QUOTE=Disgruntled;48286838]The police have officially said that security is more important than liberty. Fucking authoritarians.[/QUOTE] The pendulum swings between Crime Control and Due Process, but never stops.
[quote]"You have to draw the line between your right as a citizen to privacy and a community's right to live in a crime-free environment. You can't have them both," Mills said.[/quote] Just goes to show that the police force believes that they're immune to committing crimes.
This article looks unbiased...
[QUOTE=reedbo;48296397]Just goes to show that the police force believes that they're immune to committing crimes.[/QUOTE] People forget that human beings are as fallible as the next person. Just because you have a badge and a gun, doesn't make you immune from the consequences of your actions, nor do they give you carte blanche to do as you like. Problem is, when you give people authority to enforce the law, some of them start to believe that they themselves are the law. That's what people always forget on the force, especially at the levels of administration.
Come on man! Flash bangin' a toddler is not cool.
imagine living in a society where every pulled over driver is a potential lethal threat and drug possession arrests are made via full on assault by a small army.
[QUOTE=Falchion;48297100]imagine living in a society where every pulled over driver is a potential lethal threat and drug possession arrests are made via full on assault by a small army.[/QUOTE] 2015 by gorge orwell
[QUOTE=Falchion;48297100]imagine living in a society where every pulled over driver is a potential lethal threat and drug possession arrests are made via full on assault by a small army.[/QUOTE] Don't all police use arrest teams like these? I sure hope so, because drug crimes often coincide with the use illegal fire arms.
[QUOTE=Satansick;48304385]Don't all police use arrest teams like these? I sure hope so, because drug crimes often coincide with the use illegal fire arms.[/QUOTE] 1. It's Falchion 2. Most drug warrants for things above marijuana tend to be done by SWAT because in the drug dealing game, chances are a person is going to have to defend themselves from other dealers or people who want their product. It's a formality at this point. You can't exactly deduce which group of people is "WORLDS FRIENDLIEST COKE DEALER" and just send a beat cop to knock on the door.
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;48296470]This article looks unbiased...[/QUOTE] This, pretty much. It's a terrible event that deserves attention, but can we get a source that reads a little less like an op-ed?
If you read the findings of the investigation, it turns out the two officers directly responsible for what happened in that raid were just reassigned to another division / county. It's a shame that they didn't even need to defend themselves, in that there was no real risk & that this was completely preventable if they had followed procedure. Starting to think they've become untouchable really.
Rubber stamps for no-knock warrants need to fucking stop.
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