# Video: police break into house with children present, shoot dogs, over MJ possession **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 7, 2010, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611 "2010-05-07T07:45:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/41 "2010-05-08T11:38:23Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [Still having trouble with your meds](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=12426642#post12426642) or are you just the latest troll? I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/42 "2010-05-08T11:57:03Z")
And to explain: No, I’m not trolling; I legitimately can’t stand cops, by and large. Seriously, people talk about their fear of America becoming a police state. I’ll posit that we’re already kinda sorta living in one currently, and have been for ages. And the hell of it is that most people are, at the very least, you know, pretty okay with that fact. And _some_ people, who possess endless stores of good sense normally, throw all of that good sense and judgment out the window and practically genuflect when around policemen/women. And that confounds me/pisses me off, hence my comments about fellatio (this _is_ the Pit, after all). I, on the other hand, take the opposite tack (obviously). Why? Because I’ve had several bad experiences with cops over the years (no, I’m no former convict; calm yourselves), I find them to be, as I pretty much said earlier, men and women who are no less fucked up than any other “citizen” is (and in many cases, are quite a bit more fucked up), get to carry around objects that can seriously hurt or kill others, get to use said objects pretty much with impunity, and when they _do_ get called on the carpet for using those harmful items in a reckless manner, likely as not, their colleagues will cover for them using any means necessary (think lying, intimidation, etc.). And as a result, most cops tend to be a little drunk with power. Which is why you get the video in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/43 "2010-05-08T12:02:41Z")
I must be dumb as fuck also, because I agree with your comments. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/44 "2010-05-08T12:32:50Z")
There are some legitimate reasons to have a SWAT teams in big cities, or perhaps regional response teams. Sometimes there are legitimately dangerous situations, like the guarded domain of an actual drug kingpin, or a hostage situation, that dictates having highly trained and heavily armed responses. But once you get this nice shiny hammer, everything starts looking like a nail. You start using your hammer for more and more things, until eventually routine marijuana busts become no-knock life or death assaults. A significant number of the guys on the squad itself are probably gung ho about everything, getting their shot to play rambo. You get some of the thrill of experiencing something like battle, but with nowhere near the danger and hardship of actual soldiers - you’ve always got the edge in numbers, technology, and weapons, you never go hungry, and you can always go home at night. And I’m guessing a lot the guys who eventually plan out and approve of the use of SWAT assaults end up coming from that mindset. It’s gotten to the point where we need to really lay out specific requirements of a situation that justifies the use of a SWAT team and make that process subject to review and punishable if they are used unnecesarily. They create situations too dangerous to be used as casually as they are now. If the government can’t manage to be responsible in its use of SWAT forces, they should be disbanded. I’d rather live in a country where our police forces sometimes fall short on capabilities than one in which having a little weed or a mistake of address can get you shot in the middle of the night. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/45 "2010-05-08T12:47:01Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > And to explain: No, I’m not trolling; I legitimately can’t stand cops, by and large. [snipped rest of impassioned post about America = police state] That’s nice. But the linked article really wasn’t pro-cop at all. So, you still look pretty dumb. Which actually is worse than being a raging bitch, since you asked. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/46 "2010-05-08T12:51:20Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I’d rather live in a country where our police forces sometimes fall short on capabilities than one in which having a little weed or a mistake of address can get you shot in the middle of the night. Amen! **SenorBeef** , you have crystallized my own thoughts quite eloquently. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/47 "2010-05-08T12:56:40Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > I’m finding the use of no-knock warrants is becoming more an more risky from the perspective of putting innocent people at risk. Agreed. Who, other than Osama, warrants a no-knock warrant? If _my_ door were suddenly being rammed open, I’d grab a gun and start firing, assuming home invasion. If the rammers were shouting “Police” or “FBI”, I would assume the home invaders were trying to keep me from responding. [QUOTE=from the linked article] Dresner previously said that intelligence gathered before the raid did not indicate the child was in the home. [/QUOTE] The police admit insufficient intelligence. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/48 "2010-05-08T13:16:16Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I’d rather live in a country where our police forces sometimes fall short on capabilities than one in which having a little weed or a mistake of address can get you shot in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, “falling short of their capabilites” results in highly-visible cop funerals, with hundreds of cops from far & wide in spendid unforms, and morotcyles rolling sad & slow, and bagpipers, and sobbing news features about the brave, clean-living, crew-cut young man who left behind a widow and achingly cute little kids. Not a good time to be the politician who sided on the limited powers of the police. What’s never mentioned is that the heavily-armed and mean-dogged-up drug dealers who justify SWAT no-knock raids don’t build up their arsenals to fight off the cops: they do so to fight off other drug dealers, who often pretend to be cops (Hell, in Mexico, they _are_ the cops). These guys shoot the dog, and the wife and the kids. I’m not defending the heavy hand of modern police, but I don’t believe the escalation was anythng but asymetrical. What I do beleive is that if we’d just fucking legalize weed, the problem would decrease. But the belief of those in power goes the other way; which is bad news for pit bull puppies being adopted by tweakers at dog pounds all across our great republic. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/49 "2010-05-08T13:23:59Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > What I do beleive is that if we’d just fucking legalize weed, the problem would decrease. But the belief of those in power goes the other way; which is bad news for pit bull puppies being adopted by tweakers at dog pounds all across our great republic. Very well said. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/50 "2010-05-08T16:10:03Z")
> [@](#): > > In 2003, Whitworth pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana in federal court and was ordered to serve 15 months in federal prison, according to court documents. If you ask me, it take brass balls to distribute cocaine and marijuana in a federal court. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/51 "2010-05-08T20:32:39Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > If you ask me, it take brass balls to distribute cocaine and marijuana in a federal court. Judge: Has the Jury come to a decision? Foreman: Sorry dude…but we gotta go with ‘so totally guilty’…yeah. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/52 "2010-05-13T15:46:20Z")
Here’s some more RO: police raided the wrong home on an arrest warrant, leaving an elderly woman in critical condition due to having a heart attack during the raid. [http://www.ajc.com/news/woman-suffers-heart-attack-526079.html?imw=Y](http://www.ajc.com/news/woman-suffers-heart-attack-526079.html?imw=Y) Is there anyone who works in law enforcement who can explain why can’t watch a house and arrest people when they leave to go to work or shopping, instead of doing commando raids in the middle of the night? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/53 "2010-05-13T15:48:18Z")
Breaking windows and throwing flashbangs is fun. Pulling people over is pretty boring. Unless it turns into a high speed chase! It amazes me how often these wrong address things work. You’d think they could sit and monitor the house for a while to be sure that it’s the target place. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/54 "2010-05-13T18:13:14Z")
It’s the element of surprise. The problem is that in cases of truly dangerous people, once they leave their homes, they go to what Jeff Cooper (and now the DHS) identifies as “yellow” or “orange” alert. Going outside means that not only the cops are after you, but whoever you’ve managed to piss off. In your home you’re relaxed, enough that you’d sleep there, whereas you wouldn’t sleep on, say, a park bench. The actions of raids and/or searches has gotten out of hand in this country. Sometimes, the police need to do all the things they do and more, sometimes people will get killed, and sometimes that will happen accidentally. The real danger is not that though, the real danger is the complacency of we the people. Just because there are large, heavily armed men streaming from an armored vehicle into a home, we tend to see this as the penultimate measure of the display of authority and necessary to the safety of the neighborhood. In reality, many ‘raids’ while they go off without incident or injury are unnecessary. Yes, there are times where expediency is required, and yes, there are HBT situations and others that need this kind of response, but the majority of so-called drug raids are hardly worth the liability. Granted, the hut-hut boys tend to be perfectionists. They don’t get it wrong often but when they do, it’s almost always a spectacular fuck up. We could, save for laws/regulations that prohibit trickery such as posing as electric company workers etc which vary state to state, trick, lie, subvert or otherwise bamboozle better than half of these nitwits out of their homes, into the street and take them without incident. That doesn’t happen for many reasons, not the least of which is economic. ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/55 "2010-05-13T20:02:40Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > And that confounds me/pisses me off, hence my comments about fellatio (this _is_ the Pit, after all). Um, other posters aren’t calling you dumb because you don’t like cops. They’re calling you dumb because when **Hamlet** posted a link that _supports your viewpoint_, you jumped all over him (her?) accusing **Halmet** of sucking cop dick. I agree with you that the cops in the OP were way out of line. I also agree with the posters who are saying you’re dumb. ---
**Author:** ![may\_be\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/56 "2010-05-15T03:07:42Z")
Believe it or not, the killing of the animals isn’t what really pisses me off. I may offend some people with this, but this is what I see happening. I am a junior in high school. Please do not make a bullshit assumption that I am uneducated and speaking on spur of the moment emotion, because I think about this all of the time. When speaking to police officers around town, and people who desire to enter the profession, if one can call it that, someday, I have found that you really dont have to have any kind of requirements to become a police officer. You have to be clean, and maybe partially competent. No felonies etc. Swat is the same way, and the pay reflects it. This video portrays perfectly why this is wrong, as do the videos of police tasing children and little old men and women. I WILL PROBABLY OFFEND PEOPLE WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT - KEEP IN MIND I DO NOT MEAN TO SAY THIS ABOUT ALL POLICE OFFICERS. Many of the children in my school who want to become, and probably will become, police officers, are those interested in weapons, or those who have nothing else to do. The just below average kids that probably dont socialize as much as they should. These are the ones that will become police, get a macho-im-fucking-god attitude, and go around tasing children and old women, shooting the occasional pent-up house pet in front of small children. Jesus fucking Christ, get your shit together you fucking scumbags. That last sentence may have been the spur of moment emotion. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/57 "2010-05-15T04:27:16Z")
> [@may\_be\_ignorant](#): > > Many of the children in my school who want to become, and probably will become, police officers, are those interested in weapons, or those who have nothing else to do. The just below average kids that probably dont socialize as much as they should. These are the ones that will become police, get a macho-im-fucking-god attitude, and go around tasing children and old women, shooting the occasional pent-up house pet in front of small children. Jesus fucking Christ, get your shit together you fucking scumbags. That last sentence may have been the spur of moment emotion. No, I’m with you on this. I remember when I was in basic training in the military, almost every single person in my platoon was the “when do we get the guns?” type. Frankly, it was starting to scare me a bit! ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/58 "2010-05-16T03:56:21Z")
> [@may\_be\_ignorant](#): > > When speaking to police officers around town, and people who desire to enter the profession, if one can call it that, someday, I have found that you really dont have to have any kind of requirements to become a police officer. You have to be clean, and maybe partially competent. No felonies etc. [Here is a link](http://www.springfieldmo.gov/spd/Employment/minimum.html) to police jobs in Springfield, Missouri, the same state in which the first story took place. Here are the qualifications: > [@](#): > > All candidates for the position of Police Officer must meet the following minimum qualifications in order to apply: > > •be a U.S. citizen > •be at least 21 years of age at commission > •be in excellent physical condition > •no felony convictions > •may not have a DWI within the past three years > •may not have three moving violations from separate incidents or be at fault in more than two accident in the past 18 months > •meet vision standards > •meet hearing standards > •no objectionable tattoos and no visible tattoos in a short sleeve uniform shirt > •may not have used a controlled substance illegally within the last three years > All candidates must meet one of the following to be qualified to test: > > •possess 60 semester hours from an accredited college or university > •possess Class A Missouri POST certification > •possess Class B Missouri POST certification plus at least two years of full time law enforcement experience within the last 5 years > •have two years of active duty military service with an honorable discharge > •possess 30 semester hours from an accredited college or university plus three years of experience as a Springfield Police Cadet Is that what you meant when you said, “..you really dont have to have any kind of requirements to become a police officer. You have to be clean, and maybe partially competent. No felonies etc?” ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/59 "2010-05-16T06:02:58Z")
> [@may\_be\_ignorant](#): > > Many of the children in my school who want to become, and probably will become, police officers, are those interested in weapons, or those who have nothing else to do. The just below average kids that probably dont socialize as much as they should. These are the ones that will become police, get a macho-im-fucking-god attitude, and go around tasing children and old women, shooting the occasional pent-up house pet in front of small children. Jesus fucking Christ, get your shit together you fucking scumbags. This about sums it up. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611/60 "2010-05-16T06:55:06Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > [Here is a link](http://www.springfieldmo.gov/spd/Employment/minimum.html) to police jobs in Springfield, Missouri, the same state in which the first story took place. > > Here are the qualifications: > > Is that what you meant when you said, “..you really dont have to have any kind of requirements to become a police officer. You have to be clean, and maybe partially competent. No felonies etc?” I’m not in agreement with most of what **may\_be\_ignorant** said, but two years of community college (60 credits at an accredited college) isn’t really arduous, is it? I mean, I guess it’s nice that they are not fresh out of high school, but that’s it. I forget who said it, but there is a famous quote that the police usually come from the same social class as criminals. Which makes sense, since it’s a tough, dangerous and often thankless job. The pay is okay, but not enough for the crappy hours and danger involved. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-police-break-into-house-with-children-present-shoot-dogs-over-mj-possession/538611.md?page=4)