Jack Booted SWAT Raids
BY Herschel Smith
11 years, 9 months ago
Pasco SWAT team members on Tuesday broke down the door and searched an older couple’s home for their grandson. They searched for hours for Aaron Vineyard and the guns and stolen goods he allegedly was keeping, but didn’t find him or his loot in the home.
Carl Stark, 71, and his wife Juanita, 73, said they are furious that SWAT members broke into their house at 9808 Sholtz St., and shouted orders at them to get on the ground, breaking several decorations and a window in the process. They said their grandson, Vineyard, 36, lives in a trailer next door at 9812 Sholtz St., and they rarely see or speak to him.
At a news conference on Friday, Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco said he stands behind his deputies’ actions. Before the Tuesday night SWAT raid, he said, investigators were working with an informant to bring down a 12-man crime ring of which they believe Vineyard is a member.
Nocco said his men weren’t taking chances when they decided to search the home Tuesday night. The SWAT team got the house they meant to, he said.
“I have no regrets in the operation that was performed,” Nocco said. “The fact that we put safety first, we’re not going to apologize for that.”
[ … ]
Sheriff’s spokesman Doug Tobin said SWAT members’ actions “ensured the safety of all of those inside the house and deputies executing the search warrant.”
Safety first. Whose safety? The safety of his officers. In fact, the spokesman is lying. This wasn’t safe for anyone. No one benefited from these tactics, no one was caught, no evidence was flushed down the toilet, the police don’t know that the parents were connected in any way to the son’s activities regardless of what they say, and a lot of home wares were broken.
The better approach would have been to position detectives to find out when the son left his home, arrest him out in the open daylight, and execute a search warrant on the parent’s home by uniformed officers. The fact that a SWAT team was used to do this is a testimony to stupidity and thuggery.
Moving West, the following home invasion has some instructive value for us.
Ten armed men stormed into a home early Sunday morning demanding money and drugs.
The home invasion happened at a home in Edinburg around 1:30 a.m.
According to Edinburg Police, the gunmen demanded money and drugs.
An eyewitness told Action 4 News that the suspects were dressed in black shirts that said “S.W.A.T.” on the front.
This is a continuation of what we have observed before. Home invasions are increasingly being perpetrated by multi-man teams. Furthermore, they are frequently impersonating police officers.
Listen, LEOs (Ahem, I know you like to be called operators, but you’re not really operators. My son was an operator when he engaged in combat operations in Fallujah, Iraq.). I have no idea who you are when banging starts on my front door in the middle of the night. That’s one reason I have guns. Even if you dress and act like law enforcement, I cannot trust that because you might be a multi-man team impersonating law enforcement.
Do you see why I must return fire? Do you understand that if you ever do this to my home you will enter to a hail of bullets that your Kevlar won’t stop? Do you understand why it isn’t safe for you or me to conduct such stupid operations? Do you understand why you should see yourself as a peace officer and use detective work instead of this kind of thuggery to enforce the law? Do you understand that I cannot simply lay prostrate and allow anyone to do anything in my home because you have guns? It is my duty to protect my family. Do you understand that the safest approach is for you to return to being peace officers and leave room clearing in my home to me?
Do you understand?
UPDATE: Thanks to Mike and David for the attention.
UPDATE #2: Want an example of the attitude I’m talking about? Take a look at Law’s comment on this article. Near the end of the comment thread.
On February 13, 2013 at 8:08 am, Bill said:
I’m getting the distinct impression that they understand.
…They just don’t care.
On February 13, 2013 at 8:56 am, bubba said:
If anyone breaks into my home and they listen real closely they first might hear “SNICK!” and then “BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, ETC.!” and they will find themselves trying to swim through a wall of flying lead, .308 149 gr.
On February 13, 2013 at 10:49 am, Draco said:
Old 3006 M2AP bullets can be pulled to loaded into .308 brass. There is a lot of that around in certain settings. I would use 46 grains of W 748 powder with a large rifle magnum primer. The results are really good. Remember NIJ Level IV plates are good for one such rounds. After that the plate denegrates and is useless.
However, if you hit them in the hip you destroy the hip socket and most likely the femoral artery will be torn by the bone fragments. That means a bleed out in about 1.5 minutes if it is slow and the tango will be screaming his bloody head off, very demoralizing to his team members and they have to stop and take care of him or watch him bleed out screaming. There is no rifle plate designed to cover the hip joint.
Best to hide you guns outside of your house. Don’t tell anyone and make sure they are very secure. Don’t visit the place with any regularity. They don’t find anything they have to let you go and then you can retrieve you weapons. Sell them off if you have bought them through a dealer. The ATF tried to strong arm records from some dealers in my area so I know they will try/are trying to create a registration database useing the 7743 although they are denied by law, you know what such law abiding people some of these power mad idiots are. So sell the, at least on paper any signed bill of sale will do and you don’t have to have anything but a name that anyone can sign, make sure they don’t touch the paper with bare hands.
On February 13, 2013 at 11:15 am, Chuck said:
As John Mosby says over on his site, “hips and heads, kids, hips and heads.”
Also, one of these days, these guys are going to run into a baited ambush. When they start taking rounds in the back plate (or worse) from outside their perimeter, it will be a serious wake up call that playing soldier is not the same as being one.
On February 13, 2013 at 11:26 am, Some Crank said:
Call ’em spudsnaz or stossdonuttruppen.
On February 13, 2013 at 11:38 am, sean said:
Return fire? INITIATE it. You have the tactical advantage. “If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.”
If you’re like me, you aren’t engaged in anything that would warrant a visit from the police so they are there illegally and I have an inherent human right to defend myself and my family. Going all the way back to Magna Carta, you have the right to resist unlawful police entry….unless you happen to live in Indiana. ;)
And JFYI….the “Kevlar” you are referring to SWAT officers wearing is generally level IIIA with supporting Level IV rifle plates. These plates will stop even steel core .30-06….so aim for the crotch or head unless you have true AP (Armor Piercing) rounds like M2AP, M993 and M995 (.30-06, .308, 5.56 respectively) and not simply steel core.
On February 13, 2013 at 11:54 am, Phelps said:
Ditto Dragc. Pelvic girdle for every target. It’s as big a target as center mass, and once the pelvis is shattered, the threat is physically unable to stand or manouver. It doesn’t matter it is it an armored home invader or some guy trying to rob you on a street corner, pelvic girdle is always your best shot. Once he’s on the ground and unable to pursue, you can take cover until he surrenders or bleeds out.
As an added bonus, pretty much any goblin will surrender if he thinks you are going to blow his genitals off.
On February 13, 2013 at 11:57 am, Mark Matis said:
I hate to tell you, bubba, but when the pigs smash down your front door, they immediately follow with a flash-bang to stun you. THEN they burst in, and if you’re holding a gun, they will murder you.
On February 13, 2013 at 12:30 pm, HappyClinger said:
So, Mark Matis, did they do that to those old folks in this account? Either they did not, or they did and the newpaper censored that part of the victims’ statements.
On February 13, 2013 at 4:35 pm, Juan said:
Similar to what Chuck said, SWAT guys have not run up against anyone that has prepared for them. They have met resistance but not thought out preparation. Get inside their OODA loop. Give them something their SOP never concieved of.
On February 13, 2013 at 7:25 pm, Daniel Morseth said:
These are the simplest rules of engagement:
If you enter a home or attempt to enter a home without permission, you die.
Any homeowner will assume that anyone trying to break in is a criminal intruder who poses a direct threat to the life of the homeowner and should respond accordingly. To state the matter in the reverse – if you do not wish to be dead, then do not try to invade the homes of citizens.
On February 13, 2013 at 7:46 pm, bubba said:
Mark,
My brothers, cousins and sons won’t be visiting my home in the middle of the night. I have served both civilian and military LE and even though I may be of some advanced age I know just a couple of things. The direction of danger to the goblins will not be easily determined by the goblins.
On February 13, 2013 at 10:45 pm, J Hall said:
If the police continue to act like the occupying army of a conquered nation,it won’t be too long before the people play their part as the resistance.
And thanks to Obama,the NRA’s “Salesman of The Decade”,Americans can now truly be said to be better armed then many of the world’s largest armies,COMBINED.
What was it G. Gordon Liddy said?
Headshots…..Headshots.
That and pelvis shots.
Maybe pelvis followed by head,like a modern Mozambique or something?
Now,as a weight lifter by hobby,a suggestion of my own-
A weight tree,a triangular metal frame with steel tubes welded to hold the weights,makes excellent and inconspicuous cover when loaded with large diameter steel weight plates.
Just a thought…….