More police SWAT excess

[krispos42]

Thankfully, nobody got killed or injured, but two officers took shotgun blasts to their body armor, and their buddies fired 22 rounds in response. While raiding the wrong house, of course.

7 Minneapolis officers on leave after raid on wrong house
Associated Press

Article Last Updated: 12/17/2007 09:41:00 PM CST


Seven Minneapolis police officers were on paid administrative leave today as investigators try to determine what went wrong with a raid on a non-suspect's home that ended with two of the officers getting shot but nobody injured, authorities said.

Vang Khang grabbed his hunting gun to protect himself, his wife and six children when they heard someone burst through the back door early Sunday, Khang said tonight. He fired three shots, hitting two members of the SWAT team, but they were unhurt thanks to their bulletproof vests and helmets. Officers returned fire, but nobody in the North Minneapolis house was injured. Police released Khang after taking his statement.

Lt. Amelia Huffman, the head of the department's homicide unit, said the officers went to the house listed in the search warrant they were executing, but it turned out that they were acting on information from a source that was wrong. The source had provided other information that was accurate and officers had nothing to make them question its veracity, she said.

<snip>

"The whole family is badly shaken and still trying to understand what happened," Moua said. She and Khang showed reporters six broken windows and 22 bullet holes. A bedroom door frame and wall were also peppered with holes from the shotgun blasts.

<more>

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_7744723

The Pioneer Press also ran this story in response to the incident.

Botched police raids not so rare
RUBÉN ROSARIO

Article Last Updated: 12/17/2007 11:25:11 PM CST


Homeowner Vang Khang and two cops could have left a North Minneapolis home in body bags early Sunday morning instead of by their own power.

<snip>

He <Balko> said many more incidents like the Minneapolis case might go unreported because they "disproportionately affect low-income people who are either terrified or do not want to complain about'' such police intrusions.

A frequently cited study by Eastern Kentucky University criminologist Peter Kraska estimates "no-knock'' warrants soared from 3,000 in 1981 to more than 50,000 last year, the overwhelming majority triggered by anti-drug-trafficking crackdowns.

Balko, a senior editor with Reason magazine, wrote in 2006 that at least 40 people have died following such botched raids "since SWAT teams began proliferating in the late 1980s."

<more>

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_7747199?nclick_check=1

Radley Balko has this to say about it in his blog. It's good, and pretty short and concise.

The headline says, "Two Officers Are Saved by Bullet-Proof Vests." It could just as easily have read, "Police Screw-Up Terrorizes, Nearly Kills Couple and Their Six Children."

<excerpt from related Minneapolis Star-Tribune story. The Strib now requires registration to read most of their stuff so I don't usually quote them anymore>

That last line translates to, "Admit nothing. Cover your ass in case of a lawsuit."

Come on. You nearly killed innocent people because you wrongly raided a home based on bad information. I don’t care how or where that information went bad, it’s pretty clearly a "mistake."

<snip>

The catch-22 comes when the suspect, like Mr. Khang, or like Cory Maye, or like Cheryl Lynn Noel, justifiably feels threatened and acts in self-defense. Then "we need the element of surprise," dubiously morphs into, "They should have known we were the police."

<more>

http://www.theagitator.com/2007/12/16/another-isolated-incident-15/

And, just for shits and giggles, try out the "SWAT Overkill: The Danger of a Paramilitary Police Force" article in Popular Mechanics.



http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/4203345.html



This guy could just as easily been returning fire with a deer rifle instead of a shotgun. And a bolt-action .308 or .30-06 or .270 will blast right through most body armor, as they are vastly more powerful than any handgun or AK-47-type gun, media portrayals be damned.

40 people a year are killed a year doing this. I bet if it was 40 cops a year instead, the damn policies would change.

[zabet]

1. ....

"Our homes are supposed to be our castles.
The police shouldn’t treat them like enemy camps."

:thumbsup:

[hootinholler]

2. kicking for more exposure. n/t

[Echo In Light]

3. America is in deep denial over just how authoritarian and militant it is

[formercia]

6. 40,000 trained by Blackwater

using federal funds. Your tax dollar at work.

[virginia mountainman]

4. Or "sabo" rounds..

That many deer and bear hunters use...Would have sliced and diced, those vests.

[krispos42]

12. Dunno about that

Sabots follow the "heavy and slow" formula, and they have a lot of frontal area, so they don't have much sectional density. Might not penetrate. But I bet it would hurt like hell through the body armor, like a non-armored person getting hit with one of those beanbag rounds at close range.

A Mini-14 or AR-15 carbine loaded with Nosler Partition bullets, on the other hand, would give both expansion and penetration to the .223 round. Might work. So might those "flechette" rounds that the Army tried in Vietnam. I understand they penetrate well but don't wound very much.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flechette

[formercia]

5. My home defense shotgun is loaded with Brenneke slugs

I've had real criminals try to do a home invasion. If someone wants to talk with me, they can come with a warrant and knock politely. I recommend broad daylight. My responses at 4 in the Morning can be unpredictable.

[Flatline]

9. At 4 a.m. someone broke the door into my apartment I wouldn't hesitate

grabbing my knife and sword and using it first then ask questions after.

[Mugu]

15. I agree.

If they are worried about the loss of evidence, wait for the people to leave the house and grab them on the street. Then serve the search warrant. There are very few instances when a violent nighttime entry is required. And just hollering "POLICE" while dressed in black ninja costumes and carrying weapons is not enough to convince to me that they are indeed police.

Regards, Mugu

[ellisonz]

7. I hope he sues the shit out of that department.

[Th1onein]

8. When is enough going to be enough?

When they kill a few kids?

[High Plains]

14. Or when they kill a few WHITE kids?

[kickysnana]

10. Question about t acting on tips.

Many years ago we lived near a college, next to a small older St Paul apartment building where two families were dealing drugs. At one point they were paying on one side and having people run over shrubbery into our driveway to allow them to distribute the product out a window on our side of the building. We parked our car blocking the driveway as soon as we noticed and luckily they did not vandalize it. Neighborhood kids then dubbed it "Crack McDonalds". More than once someone very disoriented came to our door looking for product.

After we became aware of the problem we called the local police and were told that we would have to document our claim. We had to write down times, license numbers of deliveries and visitors.

We pointed out that our living room was on the opposite side of our home from that house and the size of the house shrubbery etc prevented us from having a clear view fo the parking area. Add to that on the other side were to large houses that served as a temporary residence for out of town people in our city for extended medical treatment, plus they shared the parking area. We could not see the main entrances of either of these buildings and could not determine which building visitors and deliveries were using. We explained that they could on the other hand put a surveillance van for a day and get enough for a warrant. We never had the same cars parked on our street and people walked to the college and stayed sometimes until midnight during exams. The medical vistors sometimes also had cars. It also appeared that anyone who showed up could buy.

About 2 years later there was a swat raid on the apartment and the activity stopped.

So on who's word do they make these "mistaken" raids? They always blame it on incorrect "tips" but my experience is that is not likely.

[formercia]

11. Sloppy work

There are professionals that take the time to do it right, make some buys to document the activities. The Keystone Cops on the other hand, are looking for a quick fix, just like the hop heads buying the dope.

I'm afraid Blackwater is training the Keystone Cops variety. Departments get free federal money to let Blackwater train their force in 'Iraq Tactics' and not good criminal investigation techniques.

[High Plains]

13. And those idiot Mpls cops want to use SWAT on pot growers, too!

http://www.startribune.com/local/12359411.html

Stanek said well-armed SWAT teams are used to bust indoor pot operations because "these high-grade marijuana growers are protecting these crops at any cost."

Oh, yeah, those heavily-armed, trigger-happy pot growers.