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Justice for Sal
Reason ^ | January 17, 2011 | Radley Balko

Posted on 01/30/2013 9:16:28 PM PST by Altariel

Last week The Washington Post reported that Sal Culosi's parents have reached a $2 million settlement with Fairfax County, Virginia, police Detective Deval Bullock, who shot and killed the 38-year-old optometrist during a January 2006 SWAT raid on his home. The unusual settlement reflects the outrageous facts of this case, in which an unarmed man suspected of nothing more than betting on sports was recklessly gunned down during an unnecessarily violent operation.

The SWAT team came to Culosi's house because another Fairfax County detective, David Baucum, overheard him and some friends wagering on a college football game at a bar. "To Sal, betting a few bills on the Redskins was a stress reliever, done among friends," a friend of Culosi's told me shortly after his death. "None of us single, successful professionals ever thought that betting 50 bucks or so on the Virginia/Virginia Tech football game was a crime worthy of investigation." Baucum apparently did. After overhearing the wagering, Baucum befriended Culosi. During the next several months he talked Culosi into raising the stakes of what Culosi thought were friendly wagers. Eventually Culosi and Baucum bet more than $2,000 in a single day, enough under Virginia law for police to charge Culosi with running a gambling operation. That's when they brought in the SWAT team.

On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team moved in. Moments later, Bullock, who had had been on duty since 4 a.m. and hadn't slept in 17 hours, killed him. Culosi's last words: "Dude, what are you doing?"

(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: culosi; donutwatch; police; salculosi; swat; virginia
Full Title: Justice for Sal

After five years, the family of a Virginia optometrist killed by a SWAT team finally gets some closure

1 posted on 01/30/2013 9:16:33 PM PST by Altariel
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To: Altariel

The Taxpayers of Fairfax County are guilty? How much jailtime will they recieve?


2 posted on 01/30/2013 9:17:50 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: GeronL

Ironic title, isn’t it?


3 posted on 01/30/2013 9:40:19 PM PST by Altariel ("Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!")
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To: GeronL
GeronL: "The Taxpayers of Fairfax County are guilty? How much jailtime will they recieve?"

You hit on a major issue. The SWAT member who did the deed might pay with a reprimand or maybe even lose his job, but these settlements don't get to the heart of the problem. All they do is punish taxpayers for inept police.

Why in the world was SWAT involved in the first place? Did Sal Culosi have a violent record? Was the nature of his crime itself violent?

I've long ago reached the conclusion that any interaction with police is potentially negative, perhaps even deadly. They are best avoided at all times. Seriously. There are plenty of cases of perfectly innocent people saying the wrong things at the wrong times to police and going through tough times because of it.

Never, ever volunteer information, lie, or consent to a search when interacting with police!
4 posted on 01/30/2013 9:41:11 PM PST by CitizenUSA (Why celebrate evil? Evil is easy. Good is the goal worth striving for.)
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To: Altariel
They just needed some practice for the gun confiscation raids.

$2 million of someone else's money stolen at gunpoint is a small price to pay.

Pony up, Fairfax County taxpeasants - or your serf azzes will be the next to get shot by the SWAT team...

5 posted on 01/30/2013 9:42:00 PM PST by kiryandil (turning Americans into felons, one obnoxious drunk at a time (Zero Tolerance!!!))
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To: CitizenUSA

If the county is guilty then those who are running and working for the county should pay up from their pockets not the taxpayers


6 posted on 01/30/2013 9:50:26 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: GeronL

GeronL: “If the county is guilty then those who are running and working for the county should pay up from their pockets not the taxpayers.”

I agree, but good luck making that happen. In other words, don’t hold your breath.


7 posted on 01/30/2013 9:54:03 PM PST by CitizenUSA (Why celebrate evil? Evil is easy. Good is the goal worth striving for.)
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To: CitizenUSA

All your questions are actually answered if you took the time to read the article.

The second half of your post is agreeable.


8 posted on 01/30/2013 10:00:30 PM PST by AlmaKing
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To: AlmaKing
From the article: "It (the police report) also conceded that in hindsight sending a SWAT team after an unarmed man accused of a nonviolent crime probably was a mistake, although it did not fault the department for doing so."

My questions were rhetorical, as in what kind of police department would send SWAT without first asking those sorts of questions?
9 posted on 01/30/2013 10:13:43 PM PST by CitizenUSA (Why celebrate evil? Evil is easy. Good is the goal worth striving for.)
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To: Altariel

Sal was my eye doctor when I lived in the area. I’ll never forget this.


10 posted on 01/31/2013 3:29:31 AM PST by chalkfarmer
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