The next day, hoping for an apology, he called Detective Steve Larson, a contribution to the NTF from the California Highway Patrol office in San Luis Obispo who led the raid. He should have left a note, and that's all I wanted him to say. By the end of the conversation, Pitesky felt even worse about the situation, so he followed up with a formal complaint to the CHP and a meeting with NTF commander Craig Wright. During a New Times interview with Wright and Ernie Klevesahl, Grover Beach's police chief and chair of the NTF Board of Governors, the county's two top drug cops were dismissive of Pitesky's desire for an apology. This guy has gotten more attention than he deserves.
Respect works both ways.
The Pitesky raid wasn't a mistake, Wright argues, because they had a valid search warrant for that address. What NTF did that day was legal and done in the name of the hallowed cause of trying to eliminate drug users from free society. That's the scariest part. But that's doesn't make it right. Other presidents had made similar statements, but it was President Bush's prime-time declaration that changed things.