When are we going to stop S.W.A.T.?

Another in a long line of botched SWAT-style police raids recently went sour in Minneapolis. Bad information from a "normally-accurate" confidential informant is the current excuse from police. They were told that three guns were concealed in basement rafters, and were executing a search warrant. The homeowner, in fear for the safety of his family, fired shotgun blasts at the intruders. Thanks only to luck, nobody was killed or injured. Shotgun pellets hit officers, but they were naturally protected by body armor.

Mistakes happen to all of us, but the style and aggressiveness of SWAT raids often turns mistakes into horrifying episodes.

The Cato Institute has an interactive map and database of Botched Paramilitary Police Raids that includes 297 reports on incredibly incompetent and destructive occurrences. There is no substitute for reading about those raids, but they have many common elements.

SWAT teams and raids, originally limited to situations when police expected to face serious armed conflict, have become commonly used to serve search warrants, usually where drug activities are suspected. Most police departments are now equipped and staffed with SWAT capabilities.

Such raids often employ officers in full battle gear, often with black hoods, and they strike with little or no warning or identification. They employ flash grenades, which sometimes ignite fires or seriously stun people inside the building. They smash doors and rush in with huge bluster and noise, brandishing semi-automatic weapons, manhandling anyone they find, and often tear up the house seeking evidence. Some 47 innocent people have been killed during such raids, and another 22 non-violent offenders have been killed. 15 police officers have been killed... at least one by shots from other police. Hundreds of family members have been disabled, injured, and tragically terrified, sometimes causing cardiac arrest. Family dogs are often just shot dead. Sometimes abusive language and illegal treatment of victims occurs.

What is incomprehensible is how completely incompetent many of these raids are. Bad tips from informants, going to the wrong address or to the wrong street altogether. One gets the clear idea that these are "cowboy" raids, based on the skimpiest evidence, and carried out with no verification. Many victims are quiet or elderly citizens, and even the slightest investigation or observation would have shown them to be no threat.

Here is just one example of the absurdity involved:

In September 2005, police in Bel Aire, Kansas raid the home of the town's former mayor after mistaking sunflowers in the mayor's backyard for marijuana plants. Police took pictures of the plants, and showed them to a district attorney, who showed them to a judge. All agreed that the photographed plants were marijuana. The sunflower, incidentally, also happens to be the state flower of Kansas.

Can you imagine what it would be like? Victims have been asleep, getting out of the shower, or doing any number of normal family activities, when suddenly there is a loud crash followed by many screaming voices and an onslaught of black-clad figures rushing into your house. Victims invariably think they are being attacked by violent criminals.

I have many objections to SWAT-style raids:

1. Like so many other governmental capabilities, there was a seeming justification originally, but once in place, the capabilities remained and grew, regardless of need. Police departments work to preserve the jobs and equipment they have. SWAT raids often include the seizure of private property of all kinds, much of which will be auctioned, providing money for increasing capability.

2. SWAT teams naturally attract individual police officers who prefer combative action to other aspects of police work. That tends to give such raids more of a warlike appearance. It's obvious that minor aspects such as investigating carefully, moving carefully, or even simple surveillance are sacrificed in favor of overpowering use of force. One SWAT raid was even named "Operation Shock and Awe".

3. SWAT teams and their tactics are completely "over-the-top". They're aggressive, machismo combat tactics, used in situations that are completely inappropriate. Their tactics cause danger where there was no danger originally. Their tactics are destructive, both of people and personal property. They've taken extreme military tactics and applied them to harmless civilian situations.

4. SWAT tactics are severe violations of individual privacy. Suspects are often manhandled, mistreated, stripped, probed, cursed, ridiculed, embarrassed... and far worse if they don't meekly submit immediately.

5. By attacking suspects with SWAT tactics, raids are clearly violating the tenet of "innocent until proven guilty". Suspects, including completely innocent citizens, are often injured or killed for merely having normal reactions to an invasion of their homes.

Finally... I'm going to say what I've thought to myself for many years, which is that SWAT-style raids are cowardly. Every time a police officer is killed while on the job, we see a huge media response, followed by a massive law enforcement funeral. The officer is praised as brave and putting his "life on the line" when doing his job. Sure, sometimes, police work is dangerous, but so are many other jobs, and many are more dangerous than police work... construction work and electrical work, just to name a couple.

This is courageous, life-on-the-line police action? Not in my book. These are bully tactics that include absolutely no respect for individual rights, and are designed to make a few macho cops feel powerful. They make the Nazi Gestapo look polite. Police still use the slogan "To Serve and Protect", but it has come to mean serve and protect themselves, at the expense of the rest of us.

If you still think I'm exaggerating, go read some of the reports.