From: bressler@iftccu.boeing.com (Rick Bressler)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns
Subject: Re: No charges filed in SWAT killing
Date: 13 Aug 92 18:17:27 GMT
Organization: Boeing Commercial Airplane Group

>The Seattle Times for August 8th has a front-page story entitled
>"SWAT Killing: No Charges  //  State finds no negligence despite
>split inquest jury".
>

This thread grew rather quickly on my machine.  I have lots of opinions
on this one, since this happened more or less in my neighborhood.

My biggest question is:  What the hell ever happened to the line,
'This is the police.  You are surrounded. Come out with your hands up.!'???

In short, why did they use DEA drug raid tactics on a simple arrest?
Why were both the police officers and innocent citizens endangered for
no apparently good reason?

As far as the officer is concerned, I know a friend of his.  Tony is
(according to this person I trust) a good guy.  He isn't a cowboy of
some sort or anything like that.  I'm sure he feels as badly as anybody
involved.  Probably at least as bad as those kids.

Did he do anything wrong?  Probably not, in my opinion.  At most he made
a very human mistake.  Perhaps not even that.  I've done enough role
playing and training to realize how quickly it happens.  Look at it from
Tony's viewpoint.  He has been told to storm this house that contains
vicious murderers.  He has been told that they are armed and dangerous.
If you think that you aren't going to go into that situation 'adrenalin
pumped' you aren't human or you have no knowledge at all of what really
happens to people under stress.

In such a situation being startled, for example, can cause your fingers
to contract with up to 50 lbs of pressure without you even realizing it.
No firearm has a trigger that requires much more than 25% of that force
to operate.  This is called the startle reaction.  Perhaps Tony made a
mistake, but it may have been only having his finger on the trigger.
There are other psychological forces of equal importance at work as well.
I think there are at least four ways of making somebody involuntarily
contract muscles.

When that poor lady burst into the room, Tony didn't fire intentionally
and probably will never remember pulling the trigger.  No cover up, just
human psychology.  It is very unlikely that ANY of us would have reacted
much differently in the same circumstances.

I submit that not only was his action not criminal, it was probably
completely human and predictable.  This doesn't mean that I think this
situation should have happened or that I don't think there is an
appropriate place to put the blame.  I just happen to think that placing
all or even a significant portion of blame on Tony is stupid, short
sighted and ignoring the real issues.

>>It is really the governing authority of the SWAT unit which needs to be
>>disciplined here.  A police force which sends armed units into an
>>expected deadly encounter solely on the basis of a telephone tip from
>>an anonymous or in any way questionable informant is grossly negligent.
>>A large civil liability award is a good way to get their attention on
>>that point.

Hey, my taxes are already high enough!  This got my attention without me
being fined.  Who the hell do you think the 'government' around here is?
I agree that family needs to be taken care of. I have no problem
with that.

On the other hand where does the blame lie?  At a first approximation
I'd say with the police official that ordered that kind of a raid, with
the DA who requested the warrant on such flimsy evidence, and the Judge
that issued it. If anybody needs to pay punitive damages, it is them.

Unfortunately, judges aren't really accountable, the DA isn't directly
responsible and the police are just going to say it's an unfortunate
mistake.  Sure maybe SOME people will remember at election time, but I
doubt many of us will.  We'll just remember that poor officer.

Remember, each of you.  Any time you permit these 'storm trooper'
tactics be used for any reason, YOU are partially at fault.  The blame
extends to some extent to each of us.  I feel fairly safe in stating
that this situation resulted from gross violations of reasonable police
operating procedures and the constitution itself.

Rick.
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns