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Are You A Dead Weight?
Posted on 06/02/2014 9:40:48 AM PDT by Altariel
CNN has updates on the story of the Georgia SWAT team that threw a flash bang while executing a no-knock warrant that severely burned a nineteen-month-old baby. Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell says the deputies involved are "devastated" and that they've been called "baby killers" and received threats. "All I can say is pray for the baby, his family and for us," the sheriff told CNN.
Terrell has insisted his officers and those of the local police department did nothing wrong and blamed the target of the warrant (not found at the house that was invaded) on the attack on the toddler. A chief assistant district attorney for the county, J. Edward Staples, says the target of the warrant could in fact be charged for the injuries the sheriff's deputies caused the toddler. In an obvious attempt to immunize himself and his office from liability, the sheriff has claimed the situation was unavoidable even as he attempted to offer reassurances that his SWAT team would be more diligent in the future. He told CNN that his officers "obviously would have done things different" (IF they knew there was a child in the home), like go in through a side door or not use a flash bang.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
Full Title: Sheriff in Burned Baby Raid Wants Your Prayers; Target of Warrant Could Be Charged For Injuries to Toddler
SWAT Nazis.
Nothing wrong? Since when do you fire a weapon when your not sure of your target. The one they wanted was not even there...
I don’t think the Sheriff knows what the word “unavoidable” means.
I suppose charging the a-hole who actually tossed the grenade is out of the question.
The whole damned lot of them should be indicted and prosecuted, including the idiot judge who signed off on it.
Throwing an explosive device into an occupied dwelling is an inherently dangerous act. In order to ensure that officers exercise due care, they should be strictly liable for any injury to innocents that result from their acts.
We couldn't have done anything differently - but from now on we'll do things differently. The keen mind of a JBT at work.
Law enforcement doesn’t do actual police work anymore. They’re trained in the “art of war” and utilize shock and awe tactics to subdue anyone they consider a threat: you, your dog, your 19 month old child, your parakeet... anyone but the actual perp.
They’re going to charge the OCCUPANT for the injuries caused by the grenade tossed by HIS officers?
Absolutely ridiculous and outrageous!
No such thing as a "stake out" any more?
They can't have officers watching the residence to verify their target is actually there?
Yeh not that they are getting death threats and a trillion dollar lawsuit to follow they feel devastated.
This is total BS. Why didn’t they know the subject of the raid was not home? Looks like they had zero intel on this. Why not just follow the guy and pick him up at work or at the store? Better yet why not just knock on the door in broad daylight and execute the warrant like they are supposed to do?
So no drugs, no arrests, the perp not home and they just had to do a no knock raid it was so extremely urgent.
For anyone who has not had the pleasure of visiting Cornelia, GA its a little teeny tiny town up in the foothills of N GA. If you blink you miss it.
No. They are going to charge the guy who wasn’t anywhere near the place.
Let that sink in for a minute....
Now that is real power, and it shows how crazy deadly the cops have become, and how corrupt and fascistic the system is against us now.
It sure doesn't inspire confidence that this horror resulting from a routine arrest, will result in fundamental change in anything.
That being said, if SWAT could charge Joe Citizen with a crime, even when Joe Citizen wasn't anywhere near that location, then we're all in trouble.
The only ones guilty of anything here is the SWAT team who didn't do proper due-dillegence before they played with their toys.
I thought there wasn’t a need for further investigation.
Also, we’ll make sure the one who made this YouTube video pays for the attacks at Benghazi.
I want to know what the warrant was for. Was the subject a violent offender on his way to prison for life? Was he on the run for murdering LEO? What history suggests SWAT was even needed? What determines the force of entry they plan to use and isn’t there any recon done to ensure the target is there?
Our Marines in Afghanistan weren’t allowed to enter residence with this much force unless they were under fire. Our combat rules of engagement are more strict than our LEO.
For these LEO to excuse this is really beyond the pale. I question how dangerous this family was considering they took in a family (relatives) whose house just burnt down. I’m not suggesting an arrest warrant wasn’t proper (though I don’t know the charges). But a swat team,... using explosives and a no-knock warrant? As another FReeper pointed out, if they were doing any surveillance, they should have known 1) the target wasn’t there and 2) there were children in the house. I SUSPECT THEY KNEW ONE OR BOTH and didn’t care.
I’d wager those charges get dropped. Probably just being used as leverage.
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