Pubdate: Tue, 12 Feb 2008
Source: Desert Dispatch, The (Victorville CA)
Copyright: 2008 Desert Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.desertdispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3218
Author: Scott Shackford, editor
Referenced: Fatal Shooting of Officer Leaves Neighborhood Numb 
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n071/a04.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/SWAT
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?246 (Policing - United States)

UNNECESSARY SWAT RAIDS PUT ALL PARTIES AT RISK

It may be easy for Barstow residents to dismiss the concerns of 
Charles Sherman. Sherman, an ex-con, was burned in his bed by a flash 
bang device thrown in a SWAT team raid by sheriff's department 
deputies one early morning in January.

Deputies were supporting the Barstow Police Department as they 
executed search warrants related to an attempted murder investigation.

So far, Sherman has not been charged with anything related to this 
attempted murder, nor were the inhabitants of three other homes 
searched implicated (though five were charged with suspicion of drug 
possession).

There's little sign a SWAT team was needed to execute this search 
warrant. The Barstow Police department searched Sherman's home quite 
peacefully two weeks prior to the raid, where they found a box of 
ammunition and later charged him, as he's not allowed to possess 
firearms or ammunition.

What should concern Barstow residents who don't have criminal records 
is the reason why these tactics were pursued. According to Barstow 
Police Lt. Albert Ramirez, a "credible citizen informant" led police 
to believe that Sherman might have guns in the residence.

Let's take a quick trip to the other side of the country. Right now, 
in Chesapeake, Va., Ryan Frederick is in jail, charged with murdering 
a police officer. On Jan. 17, a police SWAT team converged on 
Frederick's home after an informant told police he was growing 
marijuana, according to the Virginian-Pilot.

Based on this information, the police organized an evening raid. 
Frederick, who was apparently asleep, said he thought somebody was 
trying to break into his home. The circumstances are not fully clear, 
but he ultimately shot one of the officers as they broke down his 
front door. The officer later died.

The police did not find a marijuana-growing operation in Frederick's 
house. He was growing tree saplings in his garage apparently. He had 
a slight amount of marijuana for recreational use, a misdemeanor. His 
first one.

According to the Virginian-Pilot, Frederick was afraid because 
somebody had broken into his garage three days before the police 
raid, which may well explain the source of the informant's claims. As 
a result, an officer is dead and a man who believed he was protecting 
his home from an intruder may stand trial for it. The community is 
coming out in support of Frederick, but it's a tragedy all around.

SWAT raids should be intended as a tool of last resort, when lives 
are endangered and there is no other way for authorities to safely 
enter a home or building. Even in the appropriate circumstances these 
raids can be deadly for all involved. A SWAT officer was killed last 
week in the Los Angeles area in a raid trying to stop an apparently 
mentally ill man who killed three members of his own family.

When authorities misuse these raids - for whatever logical reason - 
to execute search warrants, they put themselves and sometimes 
innocent people at risk. Some may argue Sherman doesn't count as an 
"innocent" because of his past and his record, but that informant 
could have pointed authorities to anybody. Innocent people have been 
killed in search warrant raids.  Property has been destroyed. Next 
time it could be you having an explosive device lobbed in your bed 
while you sleep. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake