Georgia Homeowner Killed in Fruitless Drug Raid
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/oct/04/georgia_homeowner_killed_fruitle
From the article:
A Georgia SWAT team shot and killed an armed homeowner during a September 24 drug raid sparked by the word of a self-confessed meth addict and burglar who had robbed the property the previous day. No drugs were found. David Hooks, 59, becomes the 34th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.
The search warrant to raid Hooks’ home came about after a local meth addict named Rodney Garrett came onto the property two nights earlier and stole one of Hooks’ vehicles. Garrett claimed that before he stole the vehicle, he broke into another vehicle on the property and stole a plastic bag. Garrett claimed he thought the bag contained money, but when he later examined it and discovered it contained 20 grams of meth and a digital scale, he “became scared for his safety” and turned himself in to the sheriff’s office.
Garrett’s claims were the primary basis for the search warrant. But investigators also claimed they were familiar with the address from a 2009 investigation in which a suspect claimed he had supplied ounces of meth to Hooks, who resold it. Nothing apparently ever came of that investigation, but the five-year-old uncorroborated tip made it into the search warrant application.
And it was enough to get a search warrant from a compliant magistrate. Hooks family attorney Mitchell Shook said that even though the warrant was not a no-knock warrant, the Laurens County SWAT team did not announce its presence, but just broke down the back door of the residence.
Several shots were fired through a blind wall at David with the shooters not knowing who or what was on the other side of the wall. The trajectory of the shots, coupled with the number of shots infers a clear intent on behalf of the shooters to kill David Hooks.
after the shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation conducted an intensive 44-hour search of the property and came up with not one item of contraband.
I know that S.W.A.T stands for special weapons and tactics … I guess they couldn’t find a good word that included ILLEGAL TACTICS ?
Filed under: General Problems
DarelSay…sometimes these ‘no knock warrants’ are the DEA. and not just SWAT or the police. I suggest you look the no knock warrants and how many homeowners have died or been badly injured due to negligence of overzealous police depts and greedy CIs. Often addresses are not doubled checked amd there is no recourse for the homeowner. Dont get me wrong….there are great officers out there putting there lives on the line every day including my cousin 20 years with LAPD. But maybe in some instances, policies must be reviewed and changed to prevent unnecessary tragedies on both sides.
Steve’s post states a “Georgia SWAT team” shot the individual, not the DEA.
The whole idea of any law enforcement agency entering houses unannounced is an example of brute force, and brute force is permitted with a warrant. Are too many warrants issued? In my opinion (which means absolutely nothing) yes? But let some meth cooker blow up an apartment complex, and authorities would be asked why didn’t you do something, like a no knock SWAT raid, to stop it?
There are, in my opinion, perverse incentives for law enforcement officials to conduct these types of raids. These raids often result in lots of cash being directly pumped into police budgets which can be used to buy lots of high tech/high powered equipment. The existence of the equipment creates the desire to use it. Additionally, no candidate runs for office campaigning they would be “soft on crime”.
This type scenario is becoming ever more prevalent. There was an earlier report of a similar situation where a smoke bomb was thrown into a toddlers crib and the toddler was burned. What would anyone do if someone broke down their door and came into their house unannounced? As far as myself, I would be getting a gun and shooting at them. The whole idea of the DEA entering houses unannounced is an example of brute force and a complete disregard for human life.