EVT1
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Post by EVT1 on Jun 2, 2013 20:14:50 GMT -5
Well, I've been trying to call attention to this kind of thing with my conservative "law and order" type friends for a very long time. The police have a right and a duty to execute the search warrant as ordered. I understand that they have training, and procedures mostly to protect themselves and the public- however, at some point a law enforcement officer has to see the situation for what it is and use his or her brain. It's clear that non-compliance was due to a physical impairment that made the man unable to comply with the order. The use of the tazer was inappropriate- and yes, the police need to be exempt from personal liability for negligent behavior, especially gross negligence and/or reckless disregard for human life. It doesn't sound like it was even absolutely necessary to cuff the man- it would seem to me that he was in such poor physical condition that he posed no threat to the officers. He wasn't otherwise non-compliant, so it seems they should have instructed him to get up and escorted him outside where they could have cuffed him standing at the side of a squad car, or in the front yard. Then there's the whole matter of the underlying "war on drugs" which is at the root of this whole incident. It seems some people are hell bent to process the coca plant into a powder which they can snort up their noses to get high. The drive by some people to use drugs seems to be impossible to impede through laws and their stringent enforcement. The drive also to produce the product(s) which are in high demand, and for which people are willing to pay the artificially high prices due to the war on drugs and the inherent risks is equally uninhibited by the law. In the name of stopping people from smoking, injecting, and snorting whatever they will to get high, we have turned whole sections of America over to production, distribution, and sales syndicates-- armed to the teeth and prepared to kill anyone who gets in their way. Tough as it may be to swallow, we are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we can't stop people from doing self-destructive things. And it's an inappropriate use of government power to try. The drug laws, like the failed alcohol prohibition before them, have caused more problems than even the strictest enforcement could possibly prevent. It's time to re-think barging into people's houses with guns, and killing them in search of the forbidden product of a south American plant- or any other plant. Damn right. They need to stop these no-knock 5AM warrants as well- securing drug evidence does not require such dangerous tactics for all involved. Plus they regularly hit the wrong house and shoot innocent people. That price is too high to justify this continuing. There are better ways- I recall a woman who was passed out or asleep in her car- and had a pistol laying on the console- so what do the cops do? All point their guns at her and startle the hell out of her and shoot her to death the minute she moved. Sometimes a little independent thought can save a life- they didn't know if she was drunk, suicidal, anything other than she had a weapon within reach. They could have backed away and woke her up with the sirens from a distance. The problem with pulling back on the drug war is the same problem with pulling back on the military. Too many people rely on it continuing as is- police departments, the DEA, private prisons, and all of the other support companies to the drug war. Perpetual war- that sounds familiar.
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OldCoyote
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Post by OldCoyote on Jul 19, 2013 8:10:50 GMT -5
With the release of photos by the Rolling Stone and pictures by the Mass. police officer of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, raises the question of police ethics again.
Should Rolling Stone published the picture on the front page?
Should the police officer have released the pictures at the boat showing the wounded suspect?
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mmhmm
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It's a great pity the right of free speech isn't based on the obligation to say something sensible.
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Post by mmhmm on Jul 19, 2013 8:36:17 GMT -5
It's an ugly mess, isn't it, oldcoyote? I read this morning the officer who released the photos has been suspended, with a hearing to determine his status scheduled for next week.
Should Rolling Stone have published the picture? IMO, they should not have done so. Emotions were still raw, and the families were still grieving. Quite a few of those who were wounded were still coming to terms with major changes in their lives due to lost limbs. Sometimes, as I see it, it's more prudent to stop, think, and do nothing.
Should the police officer have released the pictures of the wounded suspect in the boat? Again, I would say: No, he should not have released those photographs. At a time when emotions are still at fever-pitch, photos like that are incendiary. They serve no good purpose. We're all capable of reading the shooter has been captured, wounded, and has been taken to hospital. We really don't require a gory picture to get that point across. At least, I don't.
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OldCoyote
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Post by OldCoyote on Jul 19, 2013 9:05:15 GMT -5
In the last gun battle at the boat with hundreds of rounds fired, The bomber was unarmed.
All of the rounds fired from hi powered assault rifles were the police shooting up the neighborhood. That bothers me. No one questions the fire power but fires someone that releases pictures.
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billisonboard
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Post by billisonboard on Jul 19, 2013 9:23:59 GMT -5
I question the use of the term "released" in this situation. Stole and passed on would be more accurate.
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mmhmm
Administrator
It's a great pity the right of free speech isn't based on the obligation to say something sensible.
Joined: Dec 25, 2010 18:13:34 GMT -5
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Today's Mood: Saddened by Events
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Post by mmhmm on Jul 19, 2013 9:32:45 GMT -5
In the last gun battle at the boat with hundreds of rounds fired, The bomber was unarmed. All of the rounds fired from hi powered assault rifles were the police shooting up the neighborhood. That bothers me. No one questions the fire power but fires someone that releases pictures. I can certainly understand your concern, oldcoyote. With what had happened, all the people who were hurt/killed, one policeman shot dead and another injured, a carjacking after which the younger brother literally ran over the older brother, I imagine the police were pretty edgy, to say the least. They had no way of knowing whether the suspect was armed, or not, or whether he had another bomb ready to greet them. I don't know about "shooting up the neighborhood". I hadn't really followed all that so I'm not aware of just how bad it really was.
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Virgil Showlion
Distinguished Associate
Moderator
[b]leones potest resistere[/b]
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Aug 23, 2013 15:01:16 GMT -5
Bumped for testing purposes. Please disregard. - Virgil
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OldCoyote
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Post by OldCoyote on Sept 13, 2013 9:53:24 GMT -5
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