# Purported Video of "Evacuation" During Boston Bombing Search **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 23, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495 "2013-04-23T14:50:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/61 "2013-04-27T12:32:40Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > A person looking out his own window is not a “threat” that needs assessing. Pointing a gun at this person is aggravated assault. > > I don’t disagree that the cops do a dangerous job, but that’s what they signed up for in policing a free country. You just can’t jerk everyone around in the name of your own safety. I must respectfully disagree. In a neighbourhood where it is believed a known cop-killer is hiding, \*everyone \*is a potential threat, whose intentions must be determined. The police could not afford to ignore that person and simply presume that because he was looking out the window of a house he was not the suspect. (If the cops had swarmed out of their vehicle, barged into the house and wrestled the watcher to the floor to assess his threat level, you would have a point. But covering an unknown person for a few moments during a sweep of an area is a reasonable and appropriate response.) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/62 "2013-04-27T12:40:14Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I must respectfully disagree. In a neighbourhood where it is believed a known cop-killer is hiding, \*everyone \*is a potential threat, whose intentions must be determined. The police could not afford to ignore that person and simply presume that because he was looking out the window of a house he was not the suspect. > > (If the cops had swarmed out of their vehicle, barged into the house and wrestled the watcher to the floor to assess his threat level, you would have a point. But covering an unknown person for a few moments during a sweep of an area is a reasonable and appropriate response.) I respectfully disagree. If we were talking about an area of two or three houses, I could understand it being reasonable to fear a person looking out the window. But an entire city? Because one guy is on the loose? Where does the area stop? To be silly, could any resident on the East Coast lawfully have a gun pointed at them for looking out a window? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/63 "2013-04-27T13:02:53Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I respectfully disagree. If we were talking about an area of two or three houses, I could understand it being reasonable to fear a person looking out the window. But an entire city? Because one guy is on the loose? > > Where does the area stop? To be silly, could any resident on the East Coast lawfully have a gun pointed at them for looking out a window? If only the police had a way to narrow down which one or two houses in the area the suspect might be hiding in! But, they are not psychic, although they were able to apprehend him within hours of the lockdown. (Whether they were very effective is a different discussion, as I understand he was found just outside of the area they had conducted house-to-house searches.) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/64 "2013-04-27T13:54:25Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > But an entire city? Because one guy is on the loose It’s wasn’t an entire city. This took place in close proximity to the gun fight and bomb exchange where one brother was killed and the other escaped. There was no house-to-house searching in other areas of Boston or the surrounding towns (except a few isolated instances responding to reports and/or in the suspects home). ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/65 "2013-04-27T15:16:19Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It’s wasn’t an entire city. This took place in close proximity to the gun fight and bomb exchange where one brother was killed and the other escaped. There was no house-to-house searching in other areas of Boston or the surrounding towns (except a few isolated instances responding to reports and/or in the suspects home). It was a real large part of a city (and maybe a city by some definitions). My point still stands. How large of an area should a resident of a home be subject to having a gun pointed at him because a fugitive is on the loose? There was no specific evidence that the guy was in any one of those homes. Can we say that if a suspect has been determined to be in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, or possibly got on a plane to California, that residents of all of those states can be assaulted for looking out of their home windows? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/66 "2013-04-27T16:30:21Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Are we in Communist China? Even here in Communist China, the cops have a bunch of rules they have to follow to ensure their own safety and the safety of the public. And not all of the cops are armed, either. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/67 "2013-04-27T16:53:41Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > It was a real large part of a city (and maybe a city by some definitions). My point still stands. How large of an area should a resident of a home be subject to having a gun pointed at him because a fugitive is on the loose? There was no specific evidence that the guy was in any one of those homes. Would it be preferable that Mr. Tsarnaev had escaped and continued plotting further acts of terror, if it meant someone didn’t briefly have a gun pointed at him for disobeying police orders during a state of emergency? ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/68 "2013-04-27T21:45:11Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > It was a real large part of a city (and maybe a city by some definitions). It was a section of Watertown which is a city about 4 square miles total and not part of Boston. [According to the Globe the search area was twenty blocks](http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2013/04/18/search-for-marathon-bombing-suspect-locks-down-watertown-surrounding-communities/UAbtwLVGLwBE5VI7BUyQuL/story.html). > [@](#): > > Law enforcement mobilized, sending legions of heavily-armed police officers to search a 20-block area of the community. At the same time, Governor Deval Patrick took an unprecedented security step, asking people in Boston, Watertown, and several other nearby communities — totaling a million people — to “shelter in place” — stay at home behind locked doors and open up only to police officers with proper identification. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/69 "2013-04-27T23:18:02Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Would it be preferable that Mr. Tsarnaev had escaped and continued plotting further acts of terror, if it meant someone didn’t briefly have a gun pointed at him for disobeying police orders during a state of emergency? Why does such a thing logically follow? Are you suggesting that they could not have captured the suspect without pointing guns at law abiding homeowners? And, again, we don’t live in a police state. I don’t have to follow “orders” from the government which involves conduct in my own home such as looking out of a window. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/70 "2013-04-28T02:25:53Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > In an extreme situation (such as the aftermath of a bomb explosion in a civilian area) I understand that the police are obligated to treat _everyone_, even law-abiding home owning taxpayers like myself, as a “dangerous threat” until prove otherwise. Really? Then they can pay for the damned ambulance they have to call to extract me and haul my gimpy arse somewhere as this is _not_ a good body week and I am stuck in bed pretty much unable to move on my own [between the damned arthritis, pseudogout flare and a strained muscle in my back preventing me from transferring to the chair on my own I am _not_ a happy camper. I would probably tell them to go ahead and shoot me, my husband can use the lawsuit money.] ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/71 "2013-04-28T05:54:09Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Why does such a thing logically follow? Are you suggesting that they could not have captured the suspect without pointing guns at law abiding homeowners? > > And, again, we don’t live in a police state. I don’t have to follow “orders” from the government which involves conduct in my own home such as looking out of a window. The airspace outside your window isn’t “in your own home”, now is it? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/72 "2013-04-28T06:30:00Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Would it be preferable that Mr. Tsarnaev had escaped and continued plotting further acts of terror, if it meant someone didn’t briefly have a gun pointed at him for disobeying police orders during a state of emergency? None of the military theater seen in the photograph had anything to do with finding the suspect. He was found by a private citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/73 "2013-04-28T06:33:51Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Would it be preferable that Mr. Tsarnaev had escaped and continued plotting further acts of terror, if it meant someone didn’t briefly have a gun pointed at him for disobeying police orders during a state of emergency? They didn’t have a clue where the suspect was. They accomplished nothing and endangered many. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/74 "2013-04-28T07:40:21Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > They didn’t have a clue where the suspect was. They accomplished nothing and endangered many. They found him and harmed nobody. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/75 "2013-04-28T07:46:12Z")
They didn’t find him. A homeowner did, and specifically by violating the orders to stay indoors. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/76 "2013-04-28T07:49:03Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > They didn’t find him. A homeowner did, and specifically by violating the orders to stay indoors. And his reward was a screen door for a boat. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/77 "2013-04-28T08:03:04Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > And his reward was a screen door for a boat. Yeah, but I’ve seen those ads for that waterproofing stuff. He can fix it all with a few aerosol cans of it. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/78 "2013-04-28T08:43:09Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > They didn’t find him. A homeowner did, and specifically by violating the orders to stay indoors. The shelter in place request had been lifted shortly before he found him. He wasn’t violating any orders. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/79 "2013-04-28T10:15:48Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > They didn’t find him. A homeowner did And if they hadn’t locked down the area, he probably wouldn’t have been hiding under a boat. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495/80 "2013-04-28T14:25:57Z")
I think it worked brilliantly. They’ve taught whoever gets this idea in their head next that there is no glory in it and no act two. They’ll be hunted down, and that’s that. I’ve had cops/military point guns at me. It’s not actually particularly scary or traumatic. For the kids, you tell them “There is a bad man out there, but the police are looking for him. It’s a little scary right now, but it will be okay.” Humans are tough creatures. A generation ago, British kids were trooping down to bomb shelters every night. They’ll get over it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purported-video-of-evacuation-during-boston-bombing-search/656495.md?page=5)