Anler Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 (edited) One Deadly Drug Raid and Two Red Herrings Neither gun control nor uncritical support of the police can stop the violence required by the war on drugs. Jacob Sullum | February 6, 2019 After a drug raid killed a middle-aged couple and injured five narcotics officers in Houston last week, the head of the local police union blamed people who criticize cops, while the police chief blamed politicians who fail to support the gun control policies he favors. The real cause was a fundamentally immoral war on drugs that routinely requires violence in response to peaceful activities. Hours after the deadly attack on the home of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, Joe Gamaldi, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, condemned "the ones that are out there spreading the rhetoric that police officers are the enemy." He warned that "we're going to be keeping track of all y'all," and "we're going to be holding you accountable every time you stir the pot on our police officers." Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo later rebukedGamaldi for his "over-the-top" remarks. "Joe Gamaldi's emotions got the best of him," Acevedo said. "This had nothing to do with any of the stuff that he was talking about." Yet Acevedo could not resist tossing out his own red herring by criticizing "elected officials" who fail to address the "proliferation of firearms in the hands of people that have no business having guns." The Washington Post praised Acevedo for seizing on the horribly botched drug raid to reiterate his support for "sensible gun safety policies" such as "reinstatement of the assault weapons ban," "a ban on high-capacity magazines," and requiring that "unlicensed private dealers do background checks at gun shows." All of those policies were plainly irrelevant to the incident that supposedly illustrated the need for them. Neither Tuttle nor Nicholas had a criminal record that would have disqualified them from buying firearms, and the revolver that Tuttle reportedly fired at the police officers who invaded his home was not an "assault weapon." Nor was it capable of accepting a "high-capacity magazine." The actual circumstances of the shootout at 7815 Harding Street point to a different culprit. Based on an anonymous tip and the word of a confidential informant who claimed to have bought heroin from Tuttle, undercover narcotics officers obtained a "no-knock" search warrant that authorized them to break into the house without warning, which they did around 5 p.m. on January 28. The first officer through the door was carrying a shotgun, which he immediately used to kill one of the couple's dogs. According to the official police account, which we have to rely on because there is no body camera video of the raid, Tuttle responded by shooting the officer, who collapsed on a sofa in the living room. As Nicholas moved to disarm the intruder, police say, his fellow officers shot her. Tuttle returned fire, and he was also killed. Although press coverage of the raid generally portrayed the injured police officers as the victims, that surely is not the way it looked to Tuttle and Nicholas. Amid the noise and chaos, it is plausible that Tuttle did not even realize that the armed men knocking down his door, killing his dog, and shooting his wife were police officers. They were not wearing uniforms, and in any case Houston had recently seen a series of home invasions by robbers masquerading as cops. Nor is it clear that Tuttle and Nicholas, who had lived in the house for more than two decades, were actually selling drugs. Police did not find any of the heroin that their confidential informant claimed to have seen in the house the day before, and neighbors, who described Tuttle and Nicholas as "wonderful people" who "never bothered anyone," said they had not noticed any suspicious activity. Even if the neighbors were wrong and the police were right, the so-called crime they were investigating, which involved nothing more than the voluntary exchange of drugs for money, cannot possibly justify the armed assault they mounted. If police officers don't want to be portrayed as the enemy, they should stop acting like the enemy. Edited February 7, 2019 by Anler 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I just read to this part... “According to the official police account, which we have to rely on because there is no body camera video of the raid,” Unreal. Just unreal. How are officers ANYWHERE, IN ANY STATE still allowed to not wear cameras? Especially during contact with suspects. This is disgusting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry ginger Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Zambroski said: I just read to this part... “According to the official police account, which we have to rely on because there is no body camera video of the raid,” Unreal. Just unreal. How are officers ANYWHERE, IN ANY STATE still allowed to not wear cameras? Especially during contact with suspects. This is disgusting. yup, hope the victims family sues the PD just so that point can be pounded home Edited February 7, 2019 by Angry ginger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Highmark Posted February 7, 2019 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted February 7, 2019 Seems extremely weak evidence for that type of raid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anler Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 51 minutes ago, Zambroski said: I just read to this part... “According to the official police account, which we have to rely on because there is no body camera video of the raid,” Unreal. Just unreal. How are officers ANYWHERE, IN ANY STATE still allowed to not wear cameras? Especially during contact with suspects. This is disgusting. You know why. Those cameras are evidence. No drugs found at the house either. Surprised those dumb fucks didnt at least plant something to look good on the report... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cop Watch Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cop Watch Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mileage Psycho Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Some motherfucker kicks down my door shooting and the shit is going to hit the fan, what the fuck did these dickhead cops expect?? A "no knock search warrant" fucking Gestapo shit right there. Quote The actual circumstances of the shootout at 7815 Harding Street point to a different culprit. Based on an anonymous tip and the word of a confidential informant who claimed to have bought heroin from Tuttle, undercover narcotics officers obtained a "no-knock" search warrant that authorized them to break into the house without warning, which they did around 5 p.m. on January 28. The first officer through the door was carrying a shotgun, which he immediately used to kill one of the couple's dogs. According to the official police account, which we have to rely on because there is no body camera video of the raid, Tuttle responded by shooting the officer, who collapsed on a sofa in the living room. As Nicholas moved to disarm the intruder, police say, his fellow officers shot her. Tuttle returned fire, and he was also killed. Although press coverage of the raid generally portrayed the injured police officers as the victims, that surely is not the way it looked to Tuttle and Nicholas. Amid the noise and chaos, it is plausible that Tuttle did not even realize that the armed men knocking down his door, killing his dog, and shooting his wife were police officers. They were not wearing uniforms, and in any case Houston had recently seen a series of home invasions by robbers masquerading as cops. Nor is it clear that Tuttle and Nicholas, who had lived in the house for more than two decades, were actually selling drugs. Police did not find any of the heroin that their confidential informant claimed to have seen in the house the day before, and neighbors, who described Tuttle and Nicholas as "wonderful people" who "never bothered anyone," said they had not noticed any suspicious activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Jimmy Snacks Posted February 7, 2019 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted February 7, 2019 I saw that Joe Gamaldi dude saying all that shit....how about that fucktard go in front of the camera now and apologize while telling the truth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Still...this is mind boggling in this day and age. How are we not forcing LEO's to wear cameras? It'd doesn't need to be on all the time. I don't give a fuck what they do all day lone...but if it's not on while in potential conflict situations, well...this is just fuckery. Fuckery at the highest levels. Either you agree to wear one or, go find another job. How our municipalities allow this is simply amazing to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Jimmy Snacks Posted February 7, 2019 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted February 7, 2019 What a fucking idiot.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 2 minutes ago, Jimmy Snacks said: What a fucking idiot.... Unreal. I'm fairly pro-LEO. They serve a purpose. But, this "holier than thou" shit makes me gag. Deflect from your ineptness and appear to be the real victims. smh. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cop Watch Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mileage Psycho Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 55 minutes ago, Zambroski said: Still...this is mind boggling in this day and age. How are we not forcing LEO's to wear cameras? It'd doesn't need to be on all the time. I don't give a fuck what they do all day lone...but if it's not on while in potential conflict situations, well...this is just fuckery. Fuckery at the highest levels. Either you agree to wear one or, go find another job. How our municipalities allow this is simply amazing to me. The reason it needs to be on all the time is because you can't leave it up to the discretion of the LEO to make the decision to turn it on, an analogy is the store owner who requires all customers to show ID for liquor purchases, it eliminates any decision making by employees and it protects the store owner to some degree. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f7ben Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 6 hours ago, Zambroski said: Unreal. I'm fairly pro-LEO. They serve a purpose. But, this "holier than thou" shit makes me gag. Deflect from your ineptness and appear to be the real victims. smh. Fairly pro leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwytohell Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) Have a friend that owns a auto body / towing company , he has had video cameras front / rear plus inside the truck cabs of his fleet for three years . Huge insurance savings. He is now looking at body cameras that are sewn in to the drivers safety vests. Edited February 8, 2019 by hwytohell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member steve from amherst Posted February 8, 2019 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted February 8, 2019 20 hours ago, Zambroski said: I just read to this part... “According to the official police account, which we have to rely on because there is no body camera video of the raid,” Unreal. Just unreal. How are officers ANYWHERE, IN ANY STATE still allowed to not wear cameras? Especially during contact with suspects. This is disgusting. SOme has to do with cost. Biggest city in my state dosnt have them and is looking into them. Estimated cost 1-1.5 Million $ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member steve from amherst Posted February 8, 2019 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted February 8, 2019 Why a simple go pro will not work in their eyes is beyond me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Contributing Member Jimmy Snacks Posted February 8, 2019 Platinum Contributing Member Share Posted February 8, 2019 11 minutes ago, steve from amherst said: Why a simple go pro will not work in their eyes is beyond me. The State Cops here have dashcams but sometimes they just happen to malfunction especially when two of them are beating up an 85 year old man..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zambroski Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 18 minutes ago, steve from amherst said: SOme has to do with cost. Biggest city in my state dosnt have them and is looking into them. Estimated cost 1-1.5 Million $ That's nothing in the big picture. I don't care what it costs. It's time for this to happen. I see no reason that this shouldn't become the norm now. Hell, if I were a cop, I'd want one. 5 minutes ago, Jimmy Snacks said: The State Cops here have dashcams but sometimes they just happen to malfunction especially when two of them are beating up an 85 year old man..... If their shit is not working, they head in immediately to get one that does work (or turn it on). If they are "enforcing the law" while they know it is not working, it's grounds for immediate dismissal or, a two strike system (circumstances depending). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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