The Human Toll of Flashbangs
propublica.org
The Human Toll of Flashbangs
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Re: The Human Toll of Flashbangs
#2The use of flash bangs by law enforcement is horrifying. These tools were design for to support direct action missions by special operations forces, and are, essentially, burning thermite [1] (e.g. able to melt through an engine block). To be clear, a direct operation mission is the use of lethal force to kill or capture one or more individuals or perform high risk hostage rescue. In these types of military operations, the operators run a extreme risk of severe injury or death and the death of the targets is both acceptable and highly likely. The balance of the risks and the battlefield circumstances make their use acceptable. However, law enforcement is rarely permitted to operate under these types of conditions. Their goal should almost always be capture working under the Fourth Amendment presumption of innocence. As such, flash bangs are simply not congruent with law enforcement operations.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermite
Edit: grammer and thermite link
Re: The Human Toll of Flashbangs
#3"the police found about a tenth of an ounce of marijuana"
Wow, I'm so glad they're protecting us from these dangerous drug lords.
Re: The Human Toll of Flashbangs
#4Bou Bou was sleeping in a portable playpen at the foot of his parents’ bed when the Habersham County Special Response Team broke down the door to the room and threw a flashbang. The grenade landed on a pillow next to Bou Bou’s face. The blast blew a hole in his chest, severed his nose, and tore apart his lips and mouth.
That's horrifying. I can't believe that these things are allowed to be used with so little oversight.
In October, a Habersham County grand jury declined to indict the officers involved. “Some of what contributed to this tragedy can be attributed to well-intentioned people getting in too big a hurry,” the grand jury wrote in its findings.
What they call "too big a hurry" I call reckless endangerment.
Re: The Human Toll of Flashbangs
#5The use of flash bangs by law enforcement is horrifying. These tools were design for to support direct action missions by special operations forces, and are, essentially, burning thermite [1] (e.g. able to melt through an engine block). To be clear, a direct operation mission is the use of lethal force to kill or capture one or more individuals or perform high risk hostage rescue. In these types of military operation…
There's a recent case in Albuquerque where 2 police officers are being charged with murder. In the case the police disorient a guy with a flashbang then shoot him as he turns away
The police video shows Boyd talking with an officer who was seemingly trying to reach an end to the stalemate. As he picks up his backpack, Boyd tells the officer to keep his word, and not to worry about safety.
"I'm not a [f———] murderer," Boyd says.
Seconds later, a flash-bang grenade is fired at his feet. Boyd then stands facing the officers — and as he turns away from them, at least two officers open fire. Boyd was struck by live rounds, stun guns and bean-bag rounds — some of which were fired as Boyd lay on the ground saying he was unable to move.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/01/12/376767254/alb...
Re: The Human Toll of Flashbangs
#6OT: This is the third of fourth site in recent days that I've been on and thought I was on Medium. The designs all look identical. Medium's design is really nice so I'm not about to complain but it is a bit strange.
Re: The Human Toll of Flashbangs
#7The use of flash bangs by law enforcement is horrifying. These tools were design for to support direct action missions by special operations forces, and are, essentially, burning thermite [1] (e.g. able to melt through an engine block). To be clear, a direct operation mission is the use of lethal force to kill or capture one or more individuals or perform high risk hostage rescue. In these types of military operation…
For a more hilarious use of military tech by police, see this video by Doraville, GA police of their "track-y fun-box" (a.k.a. "tank," sorry for the ear-splitting levels):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kajhu7qgojU
Re: The Human Toll of Flashbangs
#8[deleted]
Re: The Human Toll of Flashbangs
#9I'm not sure if this belongs on this site. This is .. utterly political.
Reading that article leads me astray and I have to question the sanity of the persons involved, both on the acting side (police) and the justification side (spokesman, random "Yeah, criminals are dangerous and all" crap).
This is the prime example of a cultural clash, of an article that is relevant for the US of A only (I hope there's a debate over there and people that think this usage is okay are somehow considered sane, locally).
For a foreigner like me this is tragic. Every single example in that article was bullshit. Inexcusable and mind-blowingly stupid. I'm aware of the fact that I might be deluded and that the 'real world' - over there - looks different. But seriously, what do we have in common if this is acceptable and 'best practice'?
Re: The Human Toll of Flashbangs
#10Bou Bou was sleeping in a portable playpen at the foot of his parents’ bed when the Habersham County Special Response Team broke down the door to the room and threw a flashbang. The grenade landed on a pillow next to Bou Bou’s face. The blast blew a hole in his chest, severed his nose, and tore apart his lips and mouth. That's horrifying. I can't believe that these things are allowed to be used with so little oversig…
...and what they call "well-intentioned" I call "doing a job despite its moral indefensibility."
(and to be clear: I'm talking specifically about pre-dawn violent raids as a measure to ostensibly enforce drug laws, not policing in general)