391–400 of 464 posts
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Like in the the other European countries, too. If someone pulls a knife or even a pistol in Germany, the police will try its best to save even the offenders life - even if it takes hours.
Except when they're not. Just some recent example http://bit.ly/1jfqHbr
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This may sound silly, but it seems like there could be a MythBusters episode specifically on this to prove or disprove how likely these no-knock raids are needed to prevent an effective coverup of evidence. They could actually make some actionable data for public good.
Well, anecdotally, I've been in a house full of drugs when the cops showed up, and those drugs were gone before the cops stepped foot in the house. Yes, I had a not-so-optimal childhood.
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"they found pot flushed in some sewer trap?" How is that worse than "they found pot under the floorboards"?
It is not worse, it is still easier to throw a flash grenade in a crib. Worst case they get time off with pay while and internal investigation by their friends determine that procedures are followed.
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It's technically possible, but in practice that's never how it works. The entire purpose behind no-knock is to take them by surprise before they can even think about resisting. They use immediately overwhelming "non-lethal" force so that they never have to escalate to a "lethal" level. Obviously the definitions of these terms are imprecise at best. Believe it or not, this is the safest way to do "no-knock" for everyo…
What if, you know, they did knock, then the law-abiding gun owner would come and open the door, like in most of the civilized world. Or take them when they are out, wait for them to get home, etc. There are numerous ways to make an arrest without going all commando.
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It's technically possible, but in practice that's never how it works. The entire purpose behind no-knock is to take them by surprise before they can even think about resisting. They use immediately overwhelming "non-lethal" force so that they never have to escalate to a "lethal" level. Obviously the definitions of these terms are imprecise at best. Believe it or not, this is the safest way to do "no-knock" for everyo…
Unfortunately there are several stories floating around where the law abiding gun owner was at the far end of the house and had enough time to get a gun out and fire through the door at the calamity coming forth. Which has frequently lead to the death and/or life time conviction of said law abiding gun owner. This might be ok if it weren't for the frequency with which these law abiding gun owners had their homes mist…
The increasing militarization of police in the USA has seemingly had a significant (and hopefully unintended) side-effect: Police tend to treat suspects (and those around them) not as law-breaking citizens , but as enemy combatants .
> Police tend to treat suspects (and those around them) not as law-breaking citizens, but as enemy combatants. // Isn't that at least partly because they arm themselves as if they were enemy combatants and treat the police as such. As in this case where apparently there was an AK47 in the house.
When I read stuff like this, I'm really happy that I am not living in the US. It sounds so crazy to a European person, I can't really imagine how Americans manage to normally live their lives.
"I can't really imagine how Americans manage to normally live their lives." This is truly awful, but the vast majority of Americans will never be subject to a SWAT raid or anything like it (especially if they're not involved in illegal activity). Or terrorist attacks. Or mass shootings. Or etc etc. People are notoriously bad at estimating the probability rare but extreme events will happen to them. Of course, that do…
Given that you read stories about SWAT raiding the wrong residence because they misread the house number, it made worried that the same could happen to me.
Picture proof: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/AqKIhXOCIAEaG9D.jpg:large
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The police believe themselves to be at war with everyone. They'd kill anyone they pleased if they could get away with it.
I don't think that that's quite a reasonable take on things either--I do not believe that officers wake up every day going "Man, I hope I get to shoot some kids today". Such hyperbole makes it harder to understand their position and hence to effect useful change.
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In 2014 there have been two. In 2012, none. 2013 isn't even listed as an option. Deaths from cars hitting wildlife happens all around the country but I wouldn't say that's representative of the state of the country, nor do most of the citizens live in fear of this happening. These raids are a problem, yes, but in a thread with a European commenting that they think this represents America, your link doesn't really sup…
There was no death in this case (yet). The previous comment was referring to the raids in general (at least how I read it). And those are actually not all that uncommon.
