Twenty Gilbert police officers, some in masks and riot gear, stormed a home last week after receiving a tip that the owner was in possession of an ounce of marijuana.
The homeowner, Ross Taylor, is a card-carrying patient under Arizona’s new medical-marijuana law, which allows people to qualify to possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of pot legally.
A satellite TV installer saw the cannabis in a closet and informed the police. Within hours, without investigation, the police put together a military-style home invasion for an ounce of pot.
Why is it that some police are so pathetically eager to save the world from a couple ounces of marijuana that they’re willing to completely ignore the law to do so?
Although Senator Webb (D-VA)is not running for re-election, what has or will become of S-714, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009? Because of his impending departure, does this mean his bill is no longer a consideration in Washington? I have contacted my Senators and they both are co-sponsors, but will this prove to be little more than cover for appearing to do something about our police state?
On another note, do SATV installers get a bounty for turning in what they see in our homes?
I think that SATV installer should be hauled off for aiding and abetting eventual catatonia in that household…
20 armed SWAT for an ounce of legal weed…now that’s what I call good utilization of resources…someone should remind the Chief of that when he wants to increase his budget next FY…
Boycott DirecTV.
Police raid on Gilbert home sparks medical marijuana outcry
Disgusted. I wouldn’t care what happened in Arizona at all if I didn’t have a brother there. It took about two hours for the storm troopers to arrive. How much of an investigation did they conduct?
Sorry for the extended absence, but darkcycle has been one very busy hominid. Starting a business is exhausting. Especially so when you’re weak and feelin’ poorly. Not able to eat enough because of the stress, and often not able to easily medicate during my day now. Why am I doing this again?
I guess I can’t retire, I tried that and all I did was turn around and create another goddamn job for myself..
Quit your bitchin’ and get back to work! LOL
Best Wishes for your Business Darkcycle.
I wish these officers would I now it’s mean but they would get a form of tinnitus and hear Lindys No Knock Raid Song continually loop in there brains forever maybe they would suffer a little like they are making and terrorizing folks everyday with there SWAT RAIDS.
Thanks V.V. partnerships are a lot harder than being sole proprietor. I ran a consulting business on the side for years, and at one time VERY briefly, I owned a motorcycle dealership. Made money on one, lost everything but my socks on the other, let’s see if the third time’s the charm, eh?
As for the SWAT team? I wish nothing more than for them to achieve enlightenment. They should have the epiphany of rational though and reflection. Then they can live with the knowledge of their participation, reflect properly on the harm they cause, and never sleep again.
P.S. starting a business is like a difficult pregnancy. We have no idea if this baby’s gonna make it full term.
Snitch would have been great to put in the title.
Good reminder Pete, remain vigil for the brainwashed do-gooder snitches. The satellite person thinks and believes they got a moment of glory.
Will save my harsh words for another day, ugh … .
It has been said before but it bears repeating that the police will continue to break the law and abuse people until they are punished for doing so.
The problem is that the police are responsible for policing themselves, and they lack the integrity and character necessary to do the job. So until some outside force or federal agency starts smacking them down, the police will continue to break the law and abuse people.
I recommend two things: Write your elected representatives to complain, and shun the police. By “shun”, I mean don’t ever talk to a cop, don’t befreind them when off-duty, don’t let your kids play with their kids, don’t sit next to them in church, etc. Make them feel like they are outcasts. It sends a message even those dolts will get.
Protect & Serve (Themselves!)
True Dante, true, true, true.
Ohhh, so the guy owns a medical marijuana referral company. Now it makes sense.
But why would these cops stop? They love it! The strange thing about it is that there were 12 of them… did of all of them get their kicks by pointing their assault rifles at poor Mr. Taylor?
Back at the precinct…”Don’t worry Johnson,” says the chief, “We’ll let you pick the next house.”
Why not just call in a tank and have it level the house — ya know, just to be on the safe side?
God Bless that DirecTV satellite TV installer, he shall forever go down in the annals of history as a true American Patriot.
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The Mexican Civil War officially* crossed into the US yesterday, June 19, 2011. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
(*status of official certified by Duncan20903 event certifications, inc.)
I don’t think there are many people who have anything resembling a clue about just how nasty this could become. Frankly I’ve seen the type of monsters that the black market can create and fathoming the potential harm is beyond my ken, so how could we reasonably expect the Know Nothing prohibitionists to have a grasp of the concept?
Be careful what you wish for, you just might have your wish granted. I think the weatherman should issue a severe shitstorm alert.
Duncan,
Once you’ve taken that big, final step into serious outlaw status, everything you do after that is a freebie. They are already going to either lock you up for life or execute you, so you have no reason not to open fire if you think you can win the fight–or even if you think you CAN’T win the fight, because you have nothing to lose.
One of the worst discoveries the bad guys in Mexico have made is that cops die just like anyone else if you put a bullet in them. A fight with the police or even the army can be won.
In spite of all this, it is possible the Mexican cartels can be defeated by force. It happened in Colombia, sort of, and it may happen in Mexico, too. That doesn’t mean that drugs will go away, or that they won’t shift to other delivery routes. But it does mean that the current combatants in Mexico can possibly be defeated. The cost in lives will be tremendous, and victory is by no means certain.
Of course, we here know that the easiest way to defeat them is to legalize drugs, cut off their money supply, and then round up the weakened cartels.
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Paul, I agree. I’ve been saying for a number of months now that it wasn’t a question of if the violence would spill onto American soil, but only a question of when. Now the only question left is “how much?” Perhaps I’m reading too much into this, but I’m amazed at how sanguine people are. It’s as if they live in a country that has only had a couple of isolated instances of enemy military incursions in the last 70 years and the thought of actually having a war fought on their home soil isn’t even within the realm of possible. Already I see the ignorati engaging in chest beating, screaming “close the borders” “gun them down” “blah, blah, blah” and once again ignoring the hard reality of black market smuggling takes the path of least resistance as well as the fact that their methods have been proven to be epic failures. Do you think if we managed to close the border that the cartels might go Morocco Mole and dig tunnels, or perhaps build submarines to transport their product? Smuggle shit into Canada and move it into the US over the northern border?
Either I’m overestimating the potential danger of an actual war happening on our soil or everybody else is underestimating the potential. You mention the Colombian cartels being “defeated”. The Colombians were malignant narcissists no doubt but I don’t recall them as being as bloodthirsty as the Mexicans. You might also want to consider the possibility that the Mexicans helped us defeat the Colombians in order to take control of the business. They were providing “contract services” to the Colombians back in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
I admit it, I’m scared. I think this situation has the potential to get very, very ugly, very, very quickly. I’ve got my fingers crossed hoping that I’m totally mistaken. But for christ sake these people have the money AND the strategic location which neither Taliban or the Columbian cartels had.
Strange policy on the part of DirecTV. I talked to a Comcast guy once who said they’re not allowed to discuss what they see in people’s homes, stuff like triple-beam weighing scales and so forth.
A few polite letters to DirecTV’s president might reduce incidents like this one in the future. Guaranteeing consumers’ privacy isn’t that big a deal if the idea is to provide a competitive edge to Comcast.
Sue the satellite dish installer for violation of the man’s privacy rights and spread the news all over so assholes like that will get the message.
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Don’t know about protect and serve? Poppycock. Why just the day before yesterday the Border Patrol arrested an 86 year old woman, who is an American citizen, for smuggling on the southern border. Would you really have them let gangsters get away with the murder of innocent children instead?
http://tucsoncitizen.com/view-from-baja-arizona/2011/06/21/us-customs-report-june-20-2011/
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The satellite bung needs to mind his own sorry life and all the pigs need brain transplants.
You’ve gotta wonder if these are the same people that used to advise that if you don’t like the law the way it is, change it. Some people are slow learners, but for the Gilbert police, there really is no cure for stupid. Identify and fire the people responsible for the decision to send a SWAT team into the home of a medical marijuana patient. Ask for a citizen’s committee to be set up to draft rules for circumstances that would require the use of a SWAT team. Other than the immediate jeopardy of an officer we should require that all SWAT team use in our communities undergo some form of judicial review. In Tucson a SWAT team recently murdered a marine war hero under similar circumstances. Don’t let it happen here.