Video of the raid on Kim Dotcom's house - General

[video][URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMas0tWc0sg[/URL][/video] Regardless of your feelings on MegaUpload being shutdown, I think we can agree that the show of force was BEYOND excessive, especially for someone who posed very little threat. Why bring automatic weapons and police dogs to bring down someone like this?

Two guys in uniform walking up to his doorstep would have done the same job. Ridiculous.

[QUOTE=salmonmarine;37145455]Two guys in uniform walking up to his doorstep would have done the same job. Ridiculous.[/QUOTE] No it wouldnt, if you listened to what Kim said, he has an entire house alarm system, a shitload of guards and security, and a button he pressed that alerted everyone in the house and on there phones. Two guys wouldnt have done anything. Still, this was pretty bullshit, they didnt need that many people, hes not a hostile guy, hes just like the equivalent of a drug king pin, except with downloading, and not drugs.

[QUOTE=HoodedSniper;37145509]Hes just like the equivalent of a drug king pin, except with downloading, and not drugs.[/QUOTE] Except he's not. Not even close. MegaUpload was a legitimate business that was used for an illegal purpose by a large number of users and exacerbated by Kim Dotcom turning a blind eye and likely earning money from the process. Also, what on earth would his "security force" have done if two officials arrived with a warrant for arrest? If they were even halfway decent, law-abiding people, they would have stepped aside and this whole situation could have been handled peacefully. I mean seriously, it's not like Kim Dotcom is a vigilante with a private security firm that would actively attack officers of the law. He owned a fucking website.

[QUOTE=HoodedSniper;37145509]No it wouldnt, if you listened to what Kim said, he has an entire house alarm system, a shitload of guards and security, and a button he pressed that alerted everyone in the house and on there phones. Two guys wouldnt have done anything. Still, this was pretty bullshit, they didnt need that many people, hes not a hostile guy, hes just like the equivalent of a drug king pin, except with downloading, and not drugs.[/QUOTE] The only reason he pressed the alarm was because he didn't know who they where since it was so unexpected. I am sure the security guards wouldn't have shot at police. This isn't the movies.

[QUOTE=HoodedSniper;37145509]No it wouldnt, if you listened to what Kim said, he has an entire house alarm system, a shitload of guards and security, and a button he pressed that alerted everyone in the house and on there phones. Two guys wouldnt have done anything. Still, this was pretty bullshit, they didnt need that many people, hes not a hostile guy, hes just like the equivalent of a drug king pin, except with downloading, and not drugs.[/QUOTE] What are you talking about. The security isn't going to do shit to the police.

[QUOTE=HoodedSniper;37145509]No it wouldnt, if you listened to what Kim said, he has an entire house alarm system, a shitload of guards and security, and a button he pressed that alerted everyone in the house and on there phones. Two guys wouldnt have done anything. Still, this was pretty bullshit, they didnt need that many people, hes not a hostile guy, hes just like the equivalent of a drug king pin, except with downloading, and not drugs.[/QUOTE] Implying that he's a criminal gang-lord who's security and guards would actually engage with or try to subvert the police? The guards are there under legal contract to protect the property from vandals and criminals, not help Kim escape from the police.

They seriously brought that much manpower to take down a rich nerd.

Looks like they were just seizing an opportunity to actually do something.

I don't think it was really wrong to arrest him, considering how he himself went about it. He became excessively rich off of other people's property, and that's a crime, and a logical crime at that. Look at that fucking house, are you kidding?

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146045]I don't think it was really wrong to arrest him, considering how he himself went about it. He became excessively rich off of other people's property, and that's a crime, and a logical crime at that. Look at that fucking house, are you kidding?[/QUOTE] Arresting him is one thing, but a militarized raid on someone who presented no tangible threat? Fucking absurd, and downright terrifying. Also, he was renting that house; he didn't own it.

[QUOTE=JeanLuc761;37146060]Arresting him is one thing, but a militarized raid on someone who presented no tangible threat? Fucking absurd, and downright terrifying. Also, he was renting that house; he didn't own it.[/QUOTE] Yeah definitely, but they must have had something to worry about, maybe they legitimately did worry the guards would shoot at that, likely by accident of course, but its better safe than sorry. There's a billionaire family in my town with a house that looks less menacing that his, and I know for a fact that Kim's not a billionaire...so, yeah that makes sense that its just a rental.

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146076]Yeah definitely, but they must have had something to worry about, maybe they legitimately did worry the guards would shoot at that, likely by accident of course, but its better safe than sorry.[/QUOTE] Sorry, but I think that's a very dangerous mindset to have. All that was necessary here was for a couple officials to walk up to the door and say "Mr. DotCom, I am sorry to inform you but we have a warrant for your arrest. Please come with us." That's it. The security force wouldn't have resisted, there would have been no violence, and it all could have gone down peacefully. An armed raid like this is so far beyond "excessive force" that the very notion of passing it off as acceptable is horrifying. They should NEVER be allowed to do this, and I mean [I]never[/I]. This is not a drug lord, a mafia boss, or a terrorist leader. This is a businessman who ran a website whose users uploaded copyrighted material. That's it. The behavior displayed by the NZ police is abhorrent, and whoever was in charge of that raid should be disciplined or fired.

[QUOTE=Marbalo;37146102]What the fuck [B]Why would guards shoot at police officers with an arrest warrant?[/B] You people seriously need to lay off the action films.[/QUOTE] Only in an action film are people perfect and know what is happening when

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146076]Yeah definitely, but they must have had something to worry about, maybe they legitimately did worry the guards would shoot at that, likely by accident of course, but its better safe than sorry. There's a billionaire family in my town with a house that looks less menacing that his, and I know for a fact that Kim's not a billionaire...so, yeah that makes sense that its just a rental.[/QUOTE] That doesn't rationalize the choppers, attack dogs, and multiple vans of police officers. [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Clementine;37146128]Only in an action film are people perfect and know what is happening when[/QUOTE] "This is the police."

[QUOTE=JeanLuc761;37146126]Sorry, but I think that's a very dangerous mindset to have. All that was necessary here was for a couple officials to walk up to the door and say "Mr. DotCom, I am sorry to inform you but we have a warrant for your arrest. Please come with us." That's it. The security force wouldn't have resisted, there would have been no violence, and it all could have gone down peacefully. An armed raid like this is so far beyond "excessive force" that the very notion of passing it off as acceptable is horrifying. They should NEVER be allowed to do this, and I mean [I]never[/I]. This is not a drug lord, a mafia boss, or a terrorist leader. This is a businessman who ran a website whose users uploaded copyrighted material. That's it. The behavior displayed by the NZ police is abhorrent, and whoever was in charge of that raid should be disciplined or fired.[/QUOTE] But to the law, is he any different? He profiteered, according to the law, from illegal material, to them he is no different, of course that is simply not true, but I don't think the cops were told that. [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=soccerskyman;37146130]That doesn't rationalize the choppers, attack dogs, and multiple vans of police officers. [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] "This is the police."[/QUOTE] Why would they do it if they didn't have any fear? There is no rationalization as to why they would do it out of spite, its a waste of resources to do something like that with no real reason..so...I'm sure they had a reason.

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146140]But to the law, is he any different? He profiteered, according to the law, from illegal material, to them he is no different, of course that is simply not true, but I don't think the cops were told that. [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] Why would they do it if they didn't have any fear? There is no rationalization as to why they would do it out of spite, its a waste of resources to do something like that with no real reason..so...I'm sure they had a reason.[/QUOTE] By that logic, a common thief would also require a full attack force.

[QUOTE=Marbalo;37146160]Police car pulls up near the house, informs the guards that they are police and have a warrant for the arrest of Kim. Bam, problem solved.[/QUOTE] If it was that simple then why didn't they? Why would they do this overly complicated raid? What purpose does that have?

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146140]But to the law, is he any different? He profiteered, according to the law, from illegal material, to them he is no different, of course that is simply not true, but I don't think the cops were told that. [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] Why would they do it if they didn't have any fear? There is no rationalization as to why they would do it out of spite, its a waste of resources to do something like that with no real reason..so...I'm sure they had a reason.[/QUOTE] I don't care if the officers on the ground weren't told, whoever was in charge of the raid knew EXACTLY who they were going after, what he did wrong. They even had the layout of the entire house, right down to the panic room. Also, they DID have a reason. Want to know what it was? It was more or less an excessive display of force to demonstrate that you don't [B]fuck[/B] with the MPAA/RIAA, or they're going to raid your home and destroy your livelihood. There is NO REASON to have raids like this over something like copyright infringement. This was done purely to send a message, so far as I can see it.

[QUOTE=soccerskyman;37146170]By that logic, a common thief would also require a full attack force.[/QUOTE] When they raid a thiefs house don't they have the SWAT team? I feel the larger force is just a result of the massive house

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146140]But to the law, is he any different? He profiteered, according to the law, from illegal material, to them he is no different, of course that is simply not true, but I don't think the cops were told that. [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] Why would they do it if they didn't have any fear? There is no rationalization as to why they would do it out of spite, its a waste of resources to do something like that with no real reason..so...I'm sure they had a reason.[/QUOTE] The reason was to send a message to the public. A fear-inducing one.

[QUOTE=soccerskyman;37146184]The reason was to send a message to the public. A fear-inducing one.[/QUOTE] But...I didn't know they used excessive force until like a year since it happened, and this is just some random youtube video...so their message didn't really work out...

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146180]When they raid a thiefs house don't they have the SWAT team?[/QUOTE] If he was armed, then yes, they would send a SWAT team. Otherwise, they wouldn't even raid in the first place.

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146202]But...I didn't know they used excessive force until like a year since it happened, and this is just some random youtube video...so their message didn't really work out...[/QUOTE] The use of excessive force was never brought into question until now. I believe Kim Dotcom said that the officers physically assaulted him, which started people questioning "What kind of force did they think they needed for this?" Lo and behold, now we have this video showing the raid.

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146202]But...I didn't know they used excessive force until like a year since it happened, and this is just some random youtube video...so their message didn't really work out...[/QUOTE] Weather or not you got the message is irrelevant.

I do agree though that the force was excessive for who Kim is, though, but apparently the law treats people who run sites where users do illegal things as if they were drug cartel members, so.

They acted like he was hiding plots of terrorism

[QUOTE=Clementine;37146232]I do agree though that the force was excessive for who Kim is, though, but apparently the law treats people who run sites where users do illegal things as if they were drug cartel members, so.[/QUOTE] [IMG]http://glynnesoaps.com/soap_blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/flip-flops.jpg[/IMG] [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] [sp]Hint: You're flip flopping[/sp]

The charges against him are bogus anyways, he didn't actively do shit, he turned a blind eye. You can't arrest someone for operating a legitimate site that has some idiot users.

[QUOTE=No Party Hats;37146498]You can't arrest someone for operating a legitimate site that has some idiot users.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately, it seems that you can.