The law-and-order Republican crowd has expressed outrage about the use of an excessive show of force in the Elian Gonzalez raid, and rightfully so. One cannot help but wonder, though, where this crowd's outrage is in the many other cases when, as a matter of routine, law officers (dressed in military-style combat gear, carrying combat assault weapons and using military combat tactics) kick down doors in the middle of the night without knocking, scream at the top of their lungs, threaten occupants with death, destroy property and conduct a house-wrecking search, and then find nothing illegal on the property. Any resistance to this sort of invasion can lead to instant death. Do I detect a note of hypocrisy here, or is it just politics? Joe A. Moake, Bedford [end]
The recent killing of Troy James Davis, 25, by the North Richland Hills police should compel us as a society to focus on the insane "war on drugs." Apparently the police legally killed an individual over what is essentially a misdemeanor violation. The police received a tip that marijuana was being grown at the Davis family's North Richland Hills home. The sensible response would be to send an officer to investigate the rumor, and if it were found to be true, to issue a citation. A conviction would have, in all probability, resulted in a small fine. This is the law. [continues 130 words]
