I am getting tired of these reports!! How in the heck are we going to stop it! And where did the (bogus?) charges come from?! I will be watching this very closely. Now, at least there is a case to work with that the cops did not die! Maybe, just maybe, there is a chance that this guy can catch a break! It might be the right platform, from which to launch a national program, to disgrace the practice! That is, if the charges are bogus. If they were created out of thin air, it would be an additional benefit for those of us who would fight the bullying from these type of officers!

And, by the way, aren't the cops taught to stay out from in front of the door and out of the line of fire? Why are they all getting hit when the victims, of the house invasions, shoot through the door?

Why is it that the crooked gov of Illinois gets a phone call asking him to allow himself to be arrested and gets arraigned just hours after and pays $4500 for bail ?

A 20 year old kid in my city just had flash bang grenades thrown into his house and roughed up at gunpoint for having 16... 3 inch marijuana seedlings,spent 4 days in jail before he was arraigned and had to come up with $15,000 to get out.

Wake-Up America !

This type of warrant has proven itself fatal on more than One occassion. Is It Justifiable ? You can bet with certainty that in this case. The police will be found innocent of any kind of wrong doing. And the person trying to protect his or her family will be found guilty. Historically, police, when found to be lacking evidence in such type of a heinous act. Will produce evidence. Its a time honored tradition. A tradition that must be stopped. The question is; "How"?

Perhaps when the police mistakenly Kick-In the door of one of their own?

How many more cops and innocent citizens need to get shot before police departments realize that militarized, SWAT-style entries into American homes are too dangerous to be justified when used to enforce something as trivial as drug warrants?

Cops are expected to believe these raids result in fewer police injuries and casualties.  Maybe they’re expected to believe this malarkey to distract them from the fact that SWAT raids are really much cheaper than putting someone under surveillance for hours or days at a time to learn their habits and enact an incident-free arrest outside a suspect’s home.  The bottom line is still the dollar.

Along with the cost-cutting use of SWAT, the profit incentive is definitely a big deal for training SWAT officers.  Jeremy Scahill’s best selling book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, notes that many SWAT officers receive training at Blackwater USA’s 4000-acre training facility perched next to the black waters of the Great Dismal Swamp in Moyock, North Carolina.  Blackwater’s SWAT training programs link SWAT to the military industrial complex.  That training connection, along with other problems such as corporate-run, privatized prisons, are reasons for major concern.

The fact that police departments and prison guard unions get so many recruits from military retirees adds another troubling link to the military’s alliance with the profit-hungry military industry.  The military itself (if not the military personnel) is of course officially anti-drug.

We’ve already witnessed how the California prison guards union acts to maintain status quo drug prohibition in California.  Blackwater USA, a non-government, for-profit business, and dozens of other companies like it, have millions in hard cash to pay lobbyists who access the highest levels of government to influence drug enforcement decision-making as it affects the profits of these corporations—profits from SWAT training in this case.

If there is any good news, it’s that commercial enterprises, unlike the government, can more easily be sued in court.  Blackwater USA and other security companies have a legal obligation to quickly respond to the hazardous consequences of their flawed training services.  And Blackwater, as attorneys like to say, has deep, DEEP pockets.

These lawsuits would create political momentum favoring drug law reform. Vital information would be exposed concerning drug enforcement decision-making processes at different levels of government.  Law firms choosing to do battle with Blackwater and similar mercenary companies will effectively be launching a new front in the war on the War on Drugs.  Certainly, legal professionals will gain the sincerest appreciation and support from the 100-million cannabis smokers in the U.S. for aiding in the defense of everyone’s cherished rights to life, liberty and the various pursuits of happiness that remain threatened by cultural invasions of paramilitary profiteers.

Giordano

Policies of prohibition, not drugs, maim and kill police and citizens. Change the laws of prohibition and most of these belligerent actions go away.

We asked for change and we will soon have a president that ran on the platform of change. Let those who advocate for change; be there to help to create the change that we so desperately voted for. Let us not allow these “change agents” to become incumbent politicians that are afraid to make changes that might upset their chances of being reelected.

Be appalled at the strong arm tactics of prohibition but always remember that they use legitimate power to enforce a law that we have the power to change.

"Marijuana, Inc." a one hour documentary will be aired on CNBC this month. It will be January 22nd and 25th, at 9:00 AM and 1:00 AM (EST). Meanwhile, it would be nice for all the marijuana friends getting this to go to the You Tube video and leave a positive comment on this subject, which you can do by going to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUQOQyNx-rU – that is of course – if you have something positive to say.
Send this to everyone on your email list for them to add their positive comments on this subject also.