BipolarFuk
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21st Century Tyranny: Disturbing Trend of “Accidental” Shootings and Raids on Wrong Addresses
Cops shoot unarmed woman watching TV, cops shoot man for watering lawn, cops shoot boy for carrying a toy gun, cops beat man with Down syndrome, cops taser handcuffed teen in face, cops mace woman’s vagina, cops sodomize man for routine traffic stop…..
Headlines like these are becoming far too common. What is causing law enforcement to escalate to violence first and not even ask questions later? It is certainly not because they are facing more danger now than in the past; a new report put out by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, highlights that 2013 has had the “Lowest Level of Law Enforcement Fatalities in Six Decades” and the fewest officers killed by firearms since 1887!
So what is it? What is causing a spike in aggression towards Americans by Americans?
How many of us have heard the idiom, “I have to” use such aggressive force, “so I can make it home to my family”? Well what about the innocence slain that will never be with their families again? When did “protecting and serving” become “making it home to my family even if it means killing a child?”
Our only option of resistance to this infringing violence is knowledge; we must inform others about these atrocities carried out by the ostensible ‘protectors.’ We must remain vigilant against a system of media that does anything but shed light on the corruption of the status quo.
The alternative media, otherwise known as you and I, must spread the information that will shake society out of their slumber and liberate them from this dependency upon state violence.
Until enough people see the corruption for what it is, instead of “just doing my job,” we will continue to be witness to an expansive police state and more violence against innocence.
Below is a list of dozens of cases of innocence slain and lives ruined because of incompetence and tendency to escalate violence as a means of dispute resolution.
Order can be maintained without solely relying on violence, it is time we realize this truth as a society, before we realize George Orwell’s prediction, “If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.”
This list is from Crime Watch RT, Crime news and facts. Whose motto is spot on, “Awareness is the first step to prevention. “
If anyone tries to tell you that these cases are ‘isolated incidents’ by a ‘few bad apples’ show them this list.
Police: Seattle officer accidentally shot unarmed woman – KOMO News
6 days ago - Seattle police say a “chaotic series of events” led to an officer accidentally shooting a young woman along Aurora Avenue North Wednesday …
Police: Shooting of teen during burglary investigation was … -
Sep 4, 2013 - DECATUR, Ga. – Police said Wednesday, that a teen who was shotduring a burglary investigation on Tuesday was not a suspect, and had …
Lodi police investigate accidental shooting -
Aug 31, 2013 - Lodi police said a young boy caused a SWAT team member’s firearm to discharge during a reading event hosted for children last Saturday.
NY police accidentally shoot shop worker to death
Sep 8, 2012 - A police officer shot and killed a convenience store worker who plowed into him on a sidewalk while frantically fleeing an armed robbery early …
NYC police officer in stable condition after accidentally shooting …
Aug 17, 2013 - A New York City police officer who accidentally shot himself in the leg while holstering his weapon is in stable condition.
Georgia police raid the wrong house and refuse to explain why they …
Aug 9, 2013 - Georgia police raid the wrong house and refuse to explain why they are there…
Police Raid Wrong House, Steal 18-Year-Old Girl’s Computer …
Jun 29, 2012 - When Evansville, Indiana, police officers started receiving threats against their families, they acted fast. The police traced the threats to the IP …
Wrong-House Cops Kill Texas Homeowner ...
Jul 29, 2013 - Maybe a factor in LEO behavior should be related to entrance onto PRIVATE PROPERTY. In spite of performing the duties (incorrectly), I’ve see …
Texas Police Hit Organic Farm With Massive SWAT Raid
Aug 15, 2013 - Members of the local police raiding party had a search warrant for …..In 1999, a Denver SWAT team raided the wrong house, and in the …
DeKalb County Police Enter Georgia Home, Threaten To ‘Cane …
Aug 8, 2013 - A chilling video that shows police officers storming a home in Georgia and … She described the ensuing raid on her home as “sheer terror.” ….
OOPS! COPS KNOCK DOWN DOORS, RAID WRONG HOUSE - NY …
Heavily armed cops with battering rams smashed into a Tudor-style Queens home on a gun raid, only to discover they’d mistakenly busted into the house of a ..
Calif. police accidentally shoot 2 in manhunt for suspected cop killer …
Feb 7, 2013 - Police in Los Angeles have made a huge mistake: While scouring for a former police officer who went into hiding after allegedly killing three, …
Hofstra student accidentally shot, killed by police during rescue …
May 19, 2013 - The veteran police officer, who was not identified, has about 12 years of experience on the Nassau County police force and previously spent …
Wrong people in house raided by SWAT team...
Jul 10, 2013 - A Dayton man said he woke up to a SWAT team in his bedroom and a gun to his head this morning, but said he wasn’t the man authorities …
SWAT team mistakenly raids woman’s Sheraden home …
Jun 26, 2013 - SWAT team mistakenly raids woman’s Sheraden home … homeTuesday afternoon looking for a wanted man, but they had the wrong house.
APD Shooting Called ‘Accidental’: Officer claims accidental …
Aug 9, 2013 - Officer claims accidental shooting, and DOJ asked to investigate.
Bangor police chief admits ‘serious mistake’ led to accidentally …
Jun 28, 2013 - BANGOR, Maine — Police Chief Mark Hathaway said Friday that he made a very serious mistake while cleaning his new duty weapon that …
Police officer shoots partner accidentally while aiming at dog in St …
Jul 12, 2013 - A St. Louis police officer accidentally shot his partner while aiming at a dog, and the dog ran away before they could assess its injuries.
Louise Goldsberry: Police SWAT Team Raids Wrong Apartment, 59 …
Jul 21, 2013 – Police SWAT Team Raids Wrong Apartment, 59-Year-Old Nurse. …was home making dinner after a …
Lakewood police shooting results in suspensions | 9news … - Denver
Aug 28, 2013 - LAKEWOOD – The accidental shooting of Lakewood Police Officer James Davies has resulted in “significant” suspensions for the two officers …
SWAT team throws flashbangs, raids wrong home due to open WiFi …
Whoops! Those anonymous Internet threats came from up the block.
KELOLAND.com | Accidental Police Shooting - Sioux Falls
A Sioux Falls man is in the hospital after being shot in the hand by a police officer.Police say the officer accidentally shot 27-year old Ralph Lott during an arrest …
Sources: Officer says fatal shot was accidental
Aug 2, 2013 - An Austin police officer who fatally shot a man after a short pursuit last week told internal affairs investigators during a lengthy interrogation …
City officer opened fire after accidental shooting by …
Police were on an undercover sting targeting a man in a marijuana case in Anne Arundel County when one officer accidentally shot a …
‘Accidental’ police shooting investigated
Aug 17, 2013 - A Hawke’s Bay man who had surrendered to police was ”accidentally”shot by a member of the Armed Offenders Squad while being helped to …
Warminster officer accidentally shot 89-year-old during standoff …
Mar 8, 2013 - The elderly neighbor was shot after she opened her door and police thought she was the man firing at them, court records said.
Agawam police accidentally shoot woman while responding to …
May 5, 2012 - According to an Agawam police statement, “As police entry was made, the weapon of one of the responding officers was discharged. The bullet …
Man Dies in Police Raid on Wrong House
Man Dies in Police Raid on Wrong House. … They intended to raid the home next door. The two … Home Mistakenly Demolished After Address Swapped…
Army Vet Says Police Raided Wrong Apartment, Killed His Dog …
Jun 4, 2013 - Army Vet Says Police Raided Wrong Apartment, Killed His Dog. By Allen … into the case, but that police believe they had the proper address.
Former Miss Nevada sues cops for wrong-address raid, making her …
Jul 27, 2012 - A former Miss Nevada, Caleche Ranae Manos, is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over a no-knock raid they executed at her …
Police doing a late-night probation check get wrong address, go to …
BELMONT, Maine — Mack Page was sound asleep in his bed at 11 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3, when he was startled awake by the frantic barking …
Cops leave ‘house in shambles’ after a drug raid gone wrong with no …
Sep 19, 2012 - Paul Brown never even saw the package that caused the raid. … Despite finding no drugs, and a warrant with the wrong address, the police …
Police raid on wrong address felt like home invasion…
Jul 23, 2013 - “He was claiming to be a police officer, but the man she had seen looked to her more like an armed thug. Her boyfriend, Dorris, was calmer, …
Wrong Address Raid–Live Action (GA) ...
An apparent wrong address police raid was captured on video in Georgia. The police apparently kept yelling out an incorrect address. The family called.
Cops in February drug raid kicked in Toulminville door — of the …
3 days ago - Law enforcement authorities got the wrong address. Now the mistaken target of the raid, Vincent White, is mulling a lawsuit. In response to a …
Bungling police raid wrong house while looking for wanted criminal …
Jun 3, 2013 - Bungling police raid wrong house while looking for wanted criminal and …‘In this case, a false address was given by someone who was …
Toledo Cop Accidentally Shoots …
Toledo Cop Accidentally Shoots Another Cop,TOLEDO, Ohio — A Toledo police officer accidentally shot a …
Overland Park Cop Accidentally Shoots Self in Leg at Police HQ …
Sep 9, 2010 … An Overland Park police officer suffered a serious injury when his gun accidentally discharged and shot him in the leg…
Mo. cop accidently shot, killed in training
Officer Dan De Kraai was accidentally shot and killed following a training drill with other officers. Once the training had completed the officers reclaimed …
Cop accidentally kills niece
“While taking the shirt off, he accidentally dropped his gun. It went off and his niece was shot in the head. She died instantly,” he said.
Pearl Family Suing After Police Raid Wrong Home – Jackson News …
Jun 10, 2010 … PEARL, Miss. — A Pearl family says they’re suing local law enforcement for holding them at gunpoint in their own home.
Boy, 2, still critical after accidental police shooting in …
Mar 28, 2010 … A 2-year-old boy shot by police Friday in Jacksonville, Fla., as they tried to nab a robbery suspect remains in critical condition.
Police Raid Wrong House: Man, Daughter Ordered Out of Home at …
May 29, 2010 … A man and his teenage daughter were ordered out of their home and held at gunpoint by police, only to find out it was all a mistake.
Crime Scene – Video: Seven-year-old girl killed during Detroit …
May 17, 2010 … The fugitive was not in their house. Police raided the wrong house and killed a 7-year old girl in her sleep. …
Woman Hospitalized Following Botched Raid – WSB News on wsbradio.com
May 13, 2010 … At least they didn’t shoot her like police did to the 7 year old girl in …. Two years of surveilance, and they raid the WRONG HOUSE? …
Police Raid Wrong Apartment, Brutalize Terrified Refugees …
May 11, 2010 … Police Raid Wrong Apartment, Brutalize Terrified Refugees. Incident evokes flashbacks of home country. Susan Clairmont and Nicole O’Reilly, …
Computer Glitch caused NY Police to raid wrong house | Manhattan Style
Mar 20, 2010 … Here is a shocking incident of insensitivity, an octogenarian couple Walt and Rose Martin who are 83 and 82 respectively, had their house …
Cops Raid Wrong House Over 50 Times
Mar 19, 2010 …Rose Martin, Walter Martin, NYPD, police raid the wrong house 50 times, Brooklyn, New York, computer glitch, dumb cops, …
Deputies Raid Wrong Home In Lawrenceburg
(2/23/10) – Deputies with their guns drawn handcuffed two men they thought were selling drugs, only to learn they were at the wrong address.
Man Dies in Police Raid on Wrong House – ABC News
A 61-year-old man was shot to death by police while his wife was handcuffed in another room during a drug raid on the wrong house. Police admitted their mistake, saying faulty information from a …
Wrong-address raids reaching wider audience?
Another wrong-address raid, as a result of bad informant information, took place in Minneapolis earlier this week.
With her six kids and husband tucked into bed, Yee Moua was watching TV in her living room just after midnight when she heard voices, faint at first, then louder. Then came the sound of a window shattering.
Moua bolted upstairs, where her husband, Vang Khang, grabbed his shotgun from a closet, knelt and fired a warning shot through his doorway as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He let loose with two more blasts. Twenty-two bullets were fired back at him, by the family’s count.
Then things suddenly became clear.
“It’s the police! Police!” his sons yelled.
Khang, a Hmong immigrant with shaky command of English, set down his gun, raised his hands and was soon on the ground, an officer’s boot on his neck.
The gunmen, it turned out, were members of a police SWAT team that had raided the wrong address because of bad information from an informant; a mistake that some critics say happens all too frequently around the country and gets innocent people killed.
The difference in this wrong-address raid? In the wake of the Kathryn Johnston murder, it’s getting national attention. And the articles are at least starting to ask the tough questions.
That was an AP article with wide national distribution quoted above, and, in addition to talking about the Kathryn Johnston story, included information on Radley Balko’s work
A study last year by the libertarian Cato Institute said: “Because of shoddy police work, over-reliance on informants, and other problems, each year hundreds of raids are conducted on the wrong addresses, bringing unnecessary terror and frightening confrontation to people never suspected of a crime.”
Another version of the AP story hit my local paper. generating dozens of online comments, most unfavorable to the police. And it’s been in USA Today, Washington Post — all over.
Rub’n Rosario in the Twin Cities’ Pioneer Press interviewed Radley Balko for Botched police raids not so rare — worth checking out.
It’s possible — just possible — that people are starting to wake up a little bit regarding this issue of indiscriminate use of paramilitary-style raids on homes.
The question is, how many Khang families will have to have to experience that terror before significant changes are made? How many more Xavier Bennetts and Alberto Sepulvedas and Ashley Villareals will have to die first?
John Adams, 64 years old, Lebanon TN, Shot to death during a SWAT drug raid while watching TV. The house didn’t match the description on the warrant.
11 year old Alberto Sepulveda was killed by a shotgun blast to the back while following police orders and lying face down on the floor during a SWAT raid.
Lynette Gayle Jackson:
On September 22, 2000, police in Riverdale, Georgia shoot and kill Lynette Gayle Jackson in an early morning, no-knock drug raid. Less than a month earlier, Jackson had been at home when burglars broke into the same house. She escaped out a window and called the police while the intruders ransacked her home. When police arrived to answer the burglary call, they found a small bag of cocaine in the bedroom that belonged to Jackson’s boyfriend. While the quantity of cocaine wasn’t sufficient to press charges, police began a subsequent investigation of Jackson’s boyfriend that led to the September no-knock raid on her home.
As that raid transpired, Jackson, believing she was being robbed again, held a gun in her bedroom as the SWAT team entered. That’s when the police opened fire, killing her. Her maintenance man later told reporters she had been frightened by the previous burglary. Jackson had asked him to install new locks, security bars on her windows, and a motion-detecting security light. The man told the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, “I think she was scared and she probably thought it was another break-in.”
No disciplinary action was taken against the officers.
So police raid the home of an innocent woman while looking for her boyfriend. She mistakes them for intruders (justifiably so, after having just been burgled), and is shot and killed. It’s all her fault. Shouldn’t have been dating a man who uses cocaine. Shouldn’t have had a gun for home protection. Shouldn’t have been scared. Shouldn’t have assumed that when armed men break into your home, it’s probably the burglars who broke in last time, not police looking for your small-time, dope-using boyfriend.
Roy and Belinda Baker.
Early in the morning on September 30, 2005, police in Stockbridge, Georgia conduct a no-knock raid on the home of Roy and Belinda Baker. Officers break down the couple’s front door with a battering ram and toss in flashbang grenades. They hold the couple at gunpoint, handcuff them, and then send them out onto their porch, only partially clothed. Police ruin a family Bible and antique coffee table during the raid. Police eventually realize the intended target of the raid lives next door. Police Chief Russ Abernathy called the raid “inexcusable” and “not acceptable,” and blamed poor street lighting. But Abernathy added that no one would be fired of disciplined, and that the raids would go on, albeit after “reviewing procedures.”
The Bakers are considering a lawsuit.
So police conduct a raid on the wrong home. Had Roy or Belinda Baker owned a gun, one or both might be dead. But since no one was hurt, no harm was done, and it’s really no one’s fault. So there’s no need to assign blame. No one is punished for terrorizing two innocent people.
Deputy Joseph Whitehead.
In 2006, police in Macon conduct a 1:30 am raid on a suspected drug house. Residents of the house say they were startled from sleep, believed they were being robbed, and shot to defend themselves. In the process, the shoot and kill Dep. Whitehead. Once the resident realize they’re being raided by police and not gang members, they surrender immediately. Prosecutors charge all five residents with murder, including two who had nothing to do with the shooting, one who wasn’t even home at the time of the raid. Two face the death penalty. The sheriff later says of the raid, “It just went wrong.”
Delbert Bonnar,
57 years old, Belpre, Ohio, Shot 8 times by police in drug raid. They were looking for his son.
Veronica Bowers, 35 years old
Charity Bowers, 7 months old
In the air over Peru
As part of a long-standing arrangement to stop drug shipments, U.S. government tracking provided the information for the Peruvian Air Force to mistakenly shoot down a Cessna plane carrying missionaries. Killed in the incident were Roni Bowers, a missionary with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, and her daughter, Charity. In 2008, a new report surfaced indicating widespread problems with the shoot-down program that had been withheld from Congress by the CIA.
Rudolfo “Rudy” Cardenas, 43 years old, San Jose, California
Rudy was a father of five who was passing by a house targeted by narcotics officers attempting to serve a parole violation warrant and the police mistakenly thought he was the one they were there to arrest. They chased Cardenas, and he fled, apparently afraid of them (they were not uniformed). Cardenas was shot multiple times in the back.Dorothy Duckett, 78, told the Mercury News she looked out her fifth-floor window after hearing one gunshot and saw Cardenas pleading for his life. “I watched him running with his hands in the air. He kept saying, ‘Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot,’” Duckett said. “He had absolutely nothing in his hands.”
Jose Colon, 20 years old, Suffolk, New York
Jose was outside the house where he had come to repay a $20 debt, when a drug raid on the house commenced. He was shot in the head by SWAT.
Troy Davis, 25 years old, North Richland Hills, Texas
During a no-knock raid to find some marijuana plants he was growing, he was shot to death in his living room. There are disputed accounts regarding whether he had a gun.
Anthony Andrew Diotaiuto,
23 years old, Sunrise, Florida
Anthony worked two jobs to help pay for the house he lived in with his mother. He had permit for a concealed weapon because of the areas he traveled through for his night job. Sunrise police claimed that he had sold some marijuana, and because they knew he had a legal gun, decided to use SWAT. Neighbors claim that the police did not identify themselves. Police first claimed that Anthony pointed his gun at them, and later changed their story. Regardless, Anthony was dead with 10 bullets in him, and the police found 2 ounces of marijuana. Article.
Annie Rae Dixon,
84 years old, Tyler, Texas
Bedridden with pneumonia during a drug raid. Officer kicked open her bedroom door and accidentally shot her.
Patrick Dorismond,
26 years old, New York, New York, Patrick was a security guard who wanted to become a policeman. He was off-duty and unarmed when he went out with friends. Standing on the street looking for a taxi, he was approached by undercover police who asked to buy some marijuana from him. Patrick was offended by the request (he didn’t use drugs), and a scuffle ensued. Dorismond was then shot to death by the police.
Shirley Dorsey,
56 years old, Placerville, California
Rather than being compelled to testify against her 70-year-old boyfriend (Byron Stamate) for cultivating the medicinal cannabis she depended upon to help control her crippling back pain, Shirley Dorsey committed suicide. She saw it as the only way to prevent the forfeiture of their home and property. Despite her suicide, Stamate was sentenced to 9 months prison, and his home, cottage, and $177,000 life savings were seized.
Juan Mendoza Fernandez,
60 years old, Dallas, Texas, Police found a variety of drugs when they raided the Fernandez’ home. However, Juan apparently believed he was the victim of burglars during the raid, and was shot while trying to protect his 11-year-old granddaughter. He and his wife had been married 36 years and had four children and 13 grandchildren.
Curt Ferryman,
24 years old, Jacksonville, Florida
Undercover agents were attempting to arrest Ferryman, who was in his car and unarmed. A DEA agent knocked on the car window with his gun to get the suspect’s attention, and the gun went off, killing him as he sat in the car.
Derek Hale
25 years old, Wilmington, Delaware
A retired Marine Sergeant who served two tours in Iraq, was peacefully sitting on the front stoop of a house, when police in unmarked cars who had him under surveillance (believing based on his acquaintances that he might be part of a narcotics ring) pulled up and tasered him three times, causing him to go into convulsions and throw up. Because he had not gotten his hand free from his jacket quickly enough (while convulsing) an officer then shot him point blank in the chest with three .40 caliber rounds. Hale’s widow has filed a civil lawsuit.
Willie Heard
46 years old, Osawatomie, Kansas
SWAT conducted a no-knock drug raid, complete with flash-bang grenades. Heard was shot to death in front of his wife and 16-year-old daughter who had cried for help. Fearing home invasion, he was holding an empty rifle. The raid was at the wrong house.
Clayton Helriggle
23 years old, Eaton, Ohio
Clayton was shot to death while coming down the stairs during a suprise raid. He was carrying either a gun or a plastic cup, depending on the report. Less than an ounce of marijuana was found.
Esequiel Hernandez
18 years old, Redford, Texas
Hernandez was shot and killed by a Marine sniper in camouflage who was part of a military unit conducting drug interdiction activities near the Mexican border. Esequiel was out herding his family’s goats and had taken a break to shoot at some tin cans with his antique rifle.
John Hirko
21 years old, Pennsylvania
An unarmed man with no prior offenses was shot to death in his house by a squad of masked police. In a no-knock raid, they tossed a smoke grenade in through a window, setting the house on fire. Hirko, suspected of dealing small amounts of marijuana and cocaine, was found face down on his stairway, shot in the back while fleeing the burning building. When the fire was finally put out, officers found some marijuana seeds in an unsinged plastic bag. The Town of Bethlehem settled the resulting lawsuit for $7 million+ and an agreement to reform police department procedures and training.
Lynette Gayle Jackson
29 years old, Riverdale, Georgia
Shot to death in her bed by SWAT team.
Kathyrn Johnston
88 years old, Atlanta, Georgia
Kathryn lived in a rough neighborhood and a relative gave her a gun for protection. When she noticed men breaking through her security bars into her house she fired a shot into the ceiling. They were narcotics officers and fired 39 shots back, killing her. The police had falsified information in order to obtain a no-knock search warrant based on incorrect information from a dealer they had framed. After killing Johnson and realizing that she was completely innocent, they planted some marijuana in the basement. Eventually their stories fell apart federal and state investigations learned the truth. Additional facts have come to light that this was not an isolated incident in the Atlanta police department.
Officer Ron Jones
29 years old, Prentiss, Mississippi
Officer Jones was in the process of serving a drug warrant, based on an informant tip. While trying to enter the rear of a duplex, he broke into the wrong apartment and was shot by the resident, Corey Maye, who had no prior record and was protecting his daughter. No drugs were found. Maye was charged with capital murder, and sentenced to death. Corey Maye was a Drug War Victim waiting to happen. Fortunately, his death sentence was eventually overturned and he is now serving life in prison.Tony Martinez
19 years old, De Valle, Texas
Officers conducted a drug raid on a mobile home in De Valle. Martinez, who was not the target of the raid, was asleep on the couch when the raid commenced. Hearing the front door smashed open, he sat up, and was shot to death in the chest.
Peter McWilliams
50 years old, Laurel Canyon, California
Peter was a world-famous author and an advocate of medical marijuana, not only because he believed in it in principle, but because it was keeping him alive (he had AIDS and non-Hodgkins lymphoma). After California passed a law legalizing medical marijuana, Peter helped finance the efforts of Todd McCormick to cultivate marijuana for distribution to those who needed it for medical reasons. Federal agents got wind of his involvement, and Peter was a target for his advocacy. He was arrested, and in federal court was prevented from mentioning his medical condition or California’s law. While he was on bail awaiting sentencing, the prosecutors threatened to take away his mother’s house (used for bail) if he failed a drug test, so he stopped using the marijuana which controlled his nausea from the medications and allowed him to keep them down. He was found dead on the bathroom floor, choked to death on his own vomit.
Ismael Mena
45 years old, Denver, Colorado
Mena was killed when police barged into his house looking for drugs. They had the wrong address.
Pedro Oregon Navarro
22 years old, Houston, Texas
Following up on a tip from a drug suspect, 6 officers crowded into a hallway outside Navarro’s bedroom. When the door opened, one officer shouted that he had a gun. Navarro’s gun was never fired, but officers fired 30 rounds, with 12 of them hitting Pedro. No drugs were found.
Cheryl Noel
44 years old, Dunkalk, Maryland
Substitute Sunday School Teacher Cheryl Noel possessed a registered handgun, which she kept in her bedroom (9 years earlier, Cheryl has lost her 16-year-old stepdaughter in a shooting murder). On January 19, just before 5 am, police burst into her home using flash-bang grenade and battering ram looking for drugs. Both Cheryl and her husband were asleep in the master bedroom. Suddenly awake and fearing an armed intrusion, Cheryl grabbed her gun. Police kicked in the bedroom door and shot her 3 times.
Mario Paz
65 years old, Compton, California
Mario was shot twice in the back in his bedroom during a SWAT raid looking for marijuana. No drugs were found.
Charmene Pickering
27 years old, Brooklyn, New York
Charmene was a passenger in a car driven by a drug suspect. State troopers and DEA agents were in the process of arresting the driver when the trooper’s gun went off and hit Charmene in the neck, killing her. Both passenger and driver were unarmed.
Manuel Ramirez
Stockton, California
At 2 am, police smashed down the door and rushed into the home of Manuel Ramirez, a retired golf course groundskeeper. Ramirez awoke, grabbed a pistol and shot and killed officer Arthur Parga before other officers killed him. Police were raiding the house based on a tip that drugs were on the premises, but they found no drugs. Officer Arthur P. Parga 32 years old Stockton, California
Deputy Keith Ruiz
36 years old, Travis County, Texas
Ruiz was a husband and father who was a veteran of numerous SWAT raids. In the process of serving a drug warrant, he was trying to break down the door to a mobile home occupied by painter Edwin Delamora, his wife, and two young children. Confused by the raid at night, Delamora yelled to his wife that they were being robbed and shot through the door, killing Ruiz.
Donald P. Scott
61 years old, Malibu, California
Government agencies were interested in the property of this reclusive millionaire. A warrant was issued based on concocted “evidence” of supposed marijuana plantings, and a major raid was conducted with a 32-man assault team. Scott was shot to death in front of his wife. No drugs were found.A later official report found: “It is the District Attorney’s opinion that the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to seize and forfeit the ranch for the government. Based in part upon the possibility of forfeiture, Spencer obtained a search warrant that was not supported by probable cause. This search warrant became Donald Scott’s death warrant.”
Isaac Singletary
80 years old, Jacksonville, Florida
Isaac lived in a rough neighborhood and often brought out his gun to chase off drug dealers. So when he saw a couple of low-lifes conducting transactions on his lawn, he came out with it again and told them to get off his property. Except they were undercover narcotics officers so they shot him. Isaac managed to get a shot or two off in response, but the officers were able to finish him off.
Gary Shepherd
45 years old, Broadhead, Kentucky
When a Kentucky drug task force came to uproot his marijuana plants in August 1993, pot-grower and Vietnam vet Gary Shepherd told them, “You will have to kill me first,” took out his rifle and sat down on his front porch. That evening he was shot dead in front of his infant son. Despite the fact that Shepherd never fired a shot and his family was pleading with authorities for negotiations, state police sharpshooters appeared from the brush without warning and opened fire when he refused to drop his rifle.
Alberta Spruill
57 years old, Harlem, New York
Police, acting on a tip, forced their way into Spruill’s home, setting off flash grenades. She suffered a heart attack and died. It was the wrong address.
Ashley Villareal
14 years old, San Antonio, Texas
Ashley went outside at night with a family friend to move their freshly washed car under shelter. DEA agents, interested in her father, were staking out the house, and believing that her father was driving, shot and killed Ashley. The agents did not have a warrant for her father. Read The Murder of Ashley.
Kenneth B. Walker
39 years old, Columbus, Georgia, Walker and three companions were pulled over in an SUV by police in a drug investigation. No drugs or weapons were found, but Walker was shot in the head. Walker was a devoted husband and father, a respected member of his church, and a 15-year middle-management employee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield.Deputy David Glisson, who killed Walker, was fired three months later for failing to cooperate in an investigation into the shooting.
Accelyne Williams
75 years old, Boston, Massachusetts
Accelyne was a retired Methodist Minister and substance abuse counselor. After an informant gave police a bad address, a SWAT raid was conducted on the minster’s home. The door was battered down, Williams was tackled to the floor and his hands tied behind his back. He died of a heart attack.
Tarika Wilson
26 years old, Lima, Ohio, Tarika was a single mother of six. Lima police executed a SWAT raid with guns drawn to arrest her boyfriend on small-time drug dealing charges. Officer Joseph Chavalia was upstairs when the sound of the other officers shooting Wilson’s dogs downstairs startled him. He shot and killed Tarika, who was unarmed, on her knees, holding her 14-month-old son and complying with orders to get down on the floor (her son was shot twice but survived). Chavalia was cleared of any wrong-doing.
Payton & Chase
Berwyn Heights, Maryland
Many, many dogs have been slaughtered in drug raids — Payton and Chase are the most famous. Prince George County SWAT, intercepting a package of marijuana addressed to Mayor Cheye Calvo’s wife Trinity, and knowing that criminals were addressing packages to innocents and intercepting them, nonetheless burst into the Mayor’s home without even enough investigation to know he was the Mayor or even notifying local police, shot the two dogs (Chase was running away from them when they killed him), and kept the Mayor and his mother-in-law handcuffed on the floor for hours in their dogs’ blood.
Shirley Dorsey,
56 years old, Placerville CA,
Rather than being compelled to testify against her 70-year-old boyfriend (Byron Stamate) for cultivating the medicinal cannabis she depended upon to help control her crippling back pain, Shirley Dorsey committed suicide. She saw it as the only way to prevent the forfeiture of their home and property. Despite her suicide, Stamate was sentenced to 9 months prison, and his home, cottage, and $177,000 life savings were seized.
Curt Ferryman,
24 years old, Jacksonville FL,
Undercover agents were attempting to arrest Ferryman, who was in his car and unarmed. A DEA agent knocked on the car window with his gun to get the suspect’s attention, and the gun went off, killing him as he sat in the car.
Rookie convicted of negligent homicide of Eli Escobar II, 14, failed firearms, other police testing
HOUSTON, Texas — The rookie Houston Police Department officer who shot and killed a 14-year-old special education student in one of the decade’s most controversial shootings earned his badge and gun despite flunking a crucial test of firearms handling as well as initial police field training, according to documents recently made public as part of a civil rights lawsuit.Fairfax Police Say Shooting death of optometrist Salvatore J. Culosi Jr., 37Fairfax County’s police chief said yesterday that one of his officers accidentally shot and killed an optometrist outside the unarmed man’s townhouse Tuesday night as an undercover detective was about to arrest him on suspicion of gambling on sports.Teen Darnell Williams Recovering From Accidental Police Shooting
Last Thursday afternoon, Darnell Williams was at the Utica Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, heading home from Frederick Douglass Academy, when he was shot in the knee. The gunfire came from two police officers’ struggle with a reportedly schizophrenic subway panhandler, who had stabbed one of the officers in the chest with a screwdriver.
Greg Siem – Brickbats – accidental police shooting – Brief Article
Greg Siem was having trouble subduing a man whom he wanted to arrest for being drunk and disorderly. So the Rochester, Minnesota, policeman pulled out what he thought was his stun gun. In fact, he pulled out his sidearm and fired a bullet into the man’s back. The police department said it was an honest mistake and returned Siem to duty. His victim will recover.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/21st-century-tyranny-disturbing-trend-accidental-shootings-raids-wrong-addresses/#RZOtj70eLcj20EIf.99
Cops shoot unarmed woman watching TV, cops shoot man for watering lawn, cops shoot boy for carrying a toy gun, cops beat man with Down syndrome, cops taser handcuffed teen in face, cops mace woman’s vagina, cops sodomize man for routine traffic stop…..
Headlines like these are becoming far too common. What is causing law enforcement to escalate to violence first and not even ask questions later? It is certainly not because they are facing more danger now than in the past; a new report put out by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, highlights that 2013 has had the “Lowest Level of Law Enforcement Fatalities in Six Decades” and the fewest officers killed by firearms since 1887!
So what is it? What is causing a spike in aggression towards Americans by Americans?
How many of us have heard the idiom, “I have to” use such aggressive force, “so I can make it home to my family”? Well what about the innocence slain that will never be with their families again? When did “protecting and serving” become “making it home to my family even if it means killing a child?”
Our only option of resistance to this infringing violence is knowledge; we must inform others about these atrocities carried out by the ostensible ‘protectors.’ We must remain vigilant against a system of media that does anything but shed light on the corruption of the status quo.
The alternative media, otherwise known as you and I, must spread the information that will shake society out of their slumber and liberate them from this dependency upon state violence.
Until enough people see the corruption for what it is, instead of “just doing my job,” we will continue to be witness to an expansive police state and more violence against innocence.
Below is a list of dozens of cases of innocence slain and lives ruined because of incompetence and tendency to escalate violence as a means of dispute resolution.
Order can be maintained without solely relying on violence, it is time we realize this truth as a society, before we realize George Orwell’s prediction, “If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.”
This list is from Crime Watch RT, Crime news and facts. Whose motto is spot on, “Awareness is the first step to prevention. “
If anyone tries to tell you that these cases are ‘isolated incidents’ by a ‘few bad apples’ show them this list.
Police: Seattle officer accidentally shot unarmed woman – KOMO News
6 days ago - Seattle police say a “chaotic series of events” led to an officer accidentally shooting a young woman along Aurora Avenue North Wednesday …
Police: Shooting of teen during burglary investigation was … -
Sep 4, 2013 - DECATUR, Ga. – Police said Wednesday, that a teen who was shotduring a burglary investigation on Tuesday was not a suspect, and had …
Lodi police investigate accidental shooting -
Aug 31, 2013 - Lodi police said a young boy caused a SWAT team member’s firearm to discharge during a reading event hosted for children last Saturday.
NY police accidentally shoot shop worker to death
Sep 8, 2012 - A police officer shot and killed a convenience store worker who plowed into him on a sidewalk while frantically fleeing an armed robbery early …
NYC police officer in stable condition after accidentally shooting …
Aug 17, 2013 - A New York City police officer who accidentally shot himself in the leg while holstering his weapon is in stable condition.
Georgia police raid the wrong house and refuse to explain why they …
Aug 9, 2013 - Georgia police raid the wrong house and refuse to explain why they are there…
Police Raid Wrong House, Steal 18-Year-Old Girl’s Computer …
Jun 29, 2012 - When Evansville, Indiana, police officers started receiving threats against their families, they acted fast. The police traced the threats to the IP …
Wrong-House Cops Kill Texas Homeowner ...
Jul 29, 2013 - Maybe a factor in LEO behavior should be related to entrance onto PRIVATE PROPERTY. In spite of performing the duties (incorrectly), I’ve see …
Texas Police Hit Organic Farm With Massive SWAT Raid
Aug 15, 2013 - Members of the local police raiding party had a search warrant for …..In 1999, a Denver SWAT team raided the wrong house, and in the …
DeKalb County Police Enter Georgia Home, Threaten To ‘Cane …
Aug 8, 2013 - A chilling video that shows police officers storming a home in Georgia and … She described the ensuing raid on her home as “sheer terror.” ….
OOPS! COPS KNOCK DOWN DOORS, RAID WRONG HOUSE - NY …
Heavily armed cops with battering rams smashed into a Tudor-style Queens home on a gun raid, only to discover they’d mistakenly busted into the house of a ..
Calif. police accidentally shoot 2 in manhunt for suspected cop killer …
Feb 7, 2013 - Police in Los Angeles have made a huge mistake: While scouring for a former police officer who went into hiding after allegedly killing three, …
Hofstra student accidentally shot, killed by police during rescue …
May 19, 2013 - The veteran police officer, who was not identified, has about 12 years of experience on the Nassau County police force and previously spent …
Wrong people in house raided by SWAT team...
Jul 10, 2013 - A Dayton man said he woke up to a SWAT team in his bedroom and a gun to his head this morning, but said he wasn’t the man authorities …
SWAT team mistakenly raids woman’s Sheraden home …
Jun 26, 2013 - SWAT team mistakenly raids woman’s Sheraden home … homeTuesday afternoon looking for a wanted man, but they had the wrong house.
APD Shooting Called ‘Accidental’: Officer claims accidental …
Aug 9, 2013 - Officer claims accidental shooting, and DOJ asked to investigate.
Bangor police chief admits ‘serious mistake’ led to accidentally …
Jun 28, 2013 - BANGOR, Maine — Police Chief Mark Hathaway said Friday that he made a very serious mistake while cleaning his new duty weapon that …
Police officer shoots partner accidentally while aiming at dog in St …
Jul 12, 2013 - A St. Louis police officer accidentally shot his partner while aiming at a dog, and the dog ran away before they could assess its injuries.
Louise Goldsberry: Police SWAT Team Raids Wrong Apartment, 59 …
Jul 21, 2013 – Police SWAT Team Raids Wrong Apartment, 59-Year-Old Nurse. …was home making dinner after a …
Lakewood police shooting results in suspensions | 9news … - Denver
Aug 28, 2013 - LAKEWOOD – The accidental shooting of Lakewood Police Officer James Davies has resulted in “significant” suspensions for the two officers …
SWAT team throws flashbangs, raids wrong home due to open WiFi …
Whoops! Those anonymous Internet threats came from up the block.
KELOLAND.com | Accidental Police Shooting - Sioux Falls
A Sioux Falls man is in the hospital after being shot in the hand by a police officer.Police say the officer accidentally shot 27-year old Ralph Lott during an arrest …
Sources: Officer says fatal shot was accidental
Aug 2, 2013 - An Austin police officer who fatally shot a man after a short pursuit last week told internal affairs investigators during a lengthy interrogation …
City officer opened fire after accidental shooting by …
Police were on an undercover sting targeting a man in a marijuana case in Anne Arundel County when one officer accidentally shot a …
‘Accidental’ police shooting investigated
Aug 17, 2013 - A Hawke’s Bay man who had surrendered to police was ”accidentally”shot by a member of the Armed Offenders Squad while being helped to …
Warminster officer accidentally shot 89-year-old during standoff …
Mar 8, 2013 - The elderly neighbor was shot after she opened her door and police thought she was the man firing at them, court records said.
Agawam police accidentally shoot woman while responding to …
May 5, 2012 - According to an Agawam police statement, “As police entry was made, the weapon of one of the responding officers was discharged. The bullet …
Man Dies in Police Raid on Wrong House
Man Dies in Police Raid on Wrong House. … They intended to raid the home next door. The two … Home Mistakenly Demolished After Address Swapped…
Army Vet Says Police Raided Wrong Apartment, Killed His Dog …
Jun 4, 2013 - Army Vet Says Police Raided Wrong Apartment, Killed His Dog. By Allen … into the case, but that police believe they had the proper address.
Former Miss Nevada sues cops for wrong-address raid, making her …
Jul 27, 2012 - A former Miss Nevada, Caleche Ranae Manos, is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over a no-knock raid they executed at her …
Police doing a late-night probation check get wrong address, go to …
BELMONT, Maine — Mack Page was sound asleep in his bed at 11 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3, when he was startled awake by the frantic barking …
Cops leave ‘house in shambles’ after a drug raid gone wrong with no …
Sep 19, 2012 - Paul Brown never even saw the package that caused the raid. … Despite finding no drugs, and a warrant with the wrong address, the police …
Police raid on wrong address felt like home invasion…
Jul 23, 2013 - “He was claiming to be a police officer, but the man she had seen looked to her more like an armed thug. Her boyfriend, Dorris, was calmer, …
Wrong Address Raid–Live Action (GA) ...
An apparent wrong address police raid was captured on video in Georgia. The police apparently kept yelling out an incorrect address. The family called.
Cops in February drug raid kicked in Toulminville door — of the …
3 days ago - Law enforcement authorities got the wrong address. Now the mistaken target of the raid, Vincent White, is mulling a lawsuit. In response to a …
Bungling police raid wrong house while looking for wanted criminal …
Jun 3, 2013 - Bungling police raid wrong house while looking for wanted criminal and …‘In this case, a false address was given by someone who was …
Toledo Cop Accidentally Shoots …
Toledo Cop Accidentally Shoots Another Cop,TOLEDO, Ohio — A Toledo police officer accidentally shot a …
Overland Park Cop Accidentally Shoots Self in Leg at Police HQ …
Sep 9, 2010 … An Overland Park police officer suffered a serious injury when his gun accidentally discharged and shot him in the leg…
Mo. cop accidently shot, killed in training
Officer Dan De Kraai was accidentally shot and killed following a training drill with other officers. Once the training had completed the officers reclaimed …
Cop accidentally kills niece
“While taking the shirt off, he accidentally dropped his gun. It went off and his niece was shot in the head. She died instantly,” he said.
Pearl Family Suing After Police Raid Wrong Home – Jackson News …
Jun 10, 2010 … PEARL, Miss. — A Pearl family says they’re suing local law enforcement for holding them at gunpoint in their own home.
Boy, 2, still critical after accidental police shooting in …
Mar 28, 2010 … A 2-year-old boy shot by police Friday in Jacksonville, Fla., as they tried to nab a robbery suspect remains in critical condition.
Police Raid Wrong House: Man, Daughter Ordered Out of Home at …
May 29, 2010 … A man and his teenage daughter were ordered out of their home and held at gunpoint by police, only to find out it was all a mistake.
Crime Scene – Video: Seven-year-old girl killed during Detroit …
May 17, 2010 … The fugitive was not in their house. Police raided the wrong house and killed a 7-year old girl in her sleep. …
Woman Hospitalized Following Botched Raid – WSB News on wsbradio.com
May 13, 2010 … At least they didn’t shoot her like police did to the 7 year old girl in …. Two years of surveilance, and they raid the WRONG HOUSE? …
Police Raid Wrong Apartment, Brutalize Terrified Refugees …
May 11, 2010 … Police Raid Wrong Apartment, Brutalize Terrified Refugees. Incident evokes flashbacks of home country. Susan Clairmont and Nicole O’Reilly, …
Computer Glitch caused NY Police to raid wrong house | Manhattan Style
Mar 20, 2010 … Here is a shocking incident of insensitivity, an octogenarian couple Walt and Rose Martin who are 83 and 82 respectively, had their house …
Cops Raid Wrong House Over 50 Times
Mar 19, 2010 …Rose Martin, Walter Martin, NYPD, police raid the wrong house 50 times, Brooklyn, New York, computer glitch, dumb cops, …
Deputies Raid Wrong Home In Lawrenceburg
(2/23/10) – Deputies with their guns drawn handcuffed two men they thought were selling drugs, only to learn they were at the wrong address.
Man Dies in Police Raid on Wrong House – ABC News
A 61-year-old man was shot to death by police while his wife was handcuffed in another room during a drug raid on the wrong house. Police admitted their mistake, saying faulty information from a …
Wrong-address raids reaching wider audience?
Another wrong-address raid, as a result of bad informant information, took place in Minneapolis earlier this week.
With her six kids and husband tucked into bed, Yee Moua was watching TV in her living room just after midnight when she heard voices, faint at first, then louder. Then came the sound of a window shattering.
Moua bolted upstairs, where her husband, Vang Khang, grabbed his shotgun from a closet, knelt and fired a warning shot through his doorway as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He let loose with two more blasts. Twenty-two bullets were fired back at him, by the family’s count.
Then things suddenly became clear.
“It’s the police! Police!” his sons yelled.
Khang, a Hmong immigrant with shaky command of English, set down his gun, raised his hands and was soon on the ground, an officer’s boot on his neck.
The gunmen, it turned out, were members of a police SWAT team that had raided the wrong address because of bad information from an informant; a mistake that some critics say happens all too frequently around the country and gets innocent people killed.
The difference in this wrong-address raid? In the wake of the Kathryn Johnston murder, it’s getting national attention. And the articles are at least starting to ask the tough questions.
That was an AP article with wide national distribution quoted above, and, in addition to talking about the Kathryn Johnston story, included information on Radley Balko’s work
A study last year by the libertarian Cato Institute said: “Because of shoddy police work, over-reliance on informants, and other problems, each year hundreds of raids are conducted on the wrong addresses, bringing unnecessary terror and frightening confrontation to people never suspected of a crime.”
Another version of the AP story hit my local paper. generating dozens of online comments, most unfavorable to the police. And it’s been in USA Today, Washington Post — all over.
Rub’n Rosario in the Twin Cities’ Pioneer Press interviewed Radley Balko for Botched police raids not so rare — worth checking out.
It’s possible — just possible — that people are starting to wake up a little bit regarding this issue of indiscriminate use of paramilitary-style raids on homes.
The question is, how many Khang families will have to have to experience that terror before significant changes are made? How many more Xavier Bennetts and Alberto Sepulvedas and Ashley Villareals will have to die first?
John Adams, 64 years old, Lebanon TN, Shot to death during a SWAT drug raid while watching TV. The house didn’t match the description on the warrant.
11 year old Alberto Sepulveda was killed by a shotgun blast to the back while following police orders and lying face down on the floor during a SWAT raid.
Lynette Gayle Jackson:
On September 22, 2000, police in Riverdale, Georgia shoot and kill Lynette Gayle Jackson in an early morning, no-knock drug raid. Less than a month earlier, Jackson had been at home when burglars broke into the same house. She escaped out a window and called the police while the intruders ransacked her home. When police arrived to answer the burglary call, they found a small bag of cocaine in the bedroom that belonged to Jackson’s boyfriend. While the quantity of cocaine wasn’t sufficient to press charges, police began a subsequent investigation of Jackson’s boyfriend that led to the September no-knock raid on her home.
As that raid transpired, Jackson, believing she was being robbed again, held a gun in her bedroom as the SWAT team entered. That’s when the police opened fire, killing her. Her maintenance man later told reporters she had been frightened by the previous burglary. Jackson had asked him to install new locks, security bars on her windows, and a motion-detecting security light. The man told the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, “I think she was scared and she probably thought it was another break-in.”
No disciplinary action was taken against the officers.
So police raid the home of an innocent woman while looking for her boyfriend. She mistakes them for intruders (justifiably so, after having just been burgled), and is shot and killed. It’s all her fault. Shouldn’t have been dating a man who uses cocaine. Shouldn’t have had a gun for home protection. Shouldn’t have been scared. Shouldn’t have assumed that when armed men break into your home, it’s probably the burglars who broke in last time, not police looking for your small-time, dope-using boyfriend.
Roy and Belinda Baker.
Early in the morning on September 30, 2005, police in Stockbridge, Georgia conduct a no-knock raid on the home of Roy and Belinda Baker. Officers break down the couple’s front door with a battering ram and toss in flashbang grenades. They hold the couple at gunpoint, handcuff them, and then send them out onto their porch, only partially clothed. Police ruin a family Bible and antique coffee table during the raid. Police eventually realize the intended target of the raid lives next door. Police Chief Russ Abernathy called the raid “inexcusable” and “not acceptable,” and blamed poor street lighting. But Abernathy added that no one would be fired of disciplined, and that the raids would go on, albeit after “reviewing procedures.”
The Bakers are considering a lawsuit.
So police conduct a raid on the wrong home. Had Roy or Belinda Baker owned a gun, one or both might be dead. But since no one was hurt, no harm was done, and it’s really no one’s fault. So there’s no need to assign blame. No one is punished for terrorizing two innocent people.
Deputy Joseph Whitehead.
In 2006, police in Macon conduct a 1:30 am raid on a suspected drug house. Residents of the house say they were startled from sleep, believed they were being robbed, and shot to defend themselves. In the process, the shoot and kill Dep. Whitehead. Once the resident realize they’re being raided by police and not gang members, they surrender immediately. Prosecutors charge all five residents with murder, including two who had nothing to do with the shooting, one who wasn’t even home at the time of the raid. Two face the death penalty. The sheriff later says of the raid, “It just went wrong.”
Delbert Bonnar,
57 years old, Belpre, Ohio, Shot 8 times by police in drug raid. They were looking for his son.
Veronica Bowers, 35 years old
Charity Bowers, 7 months old
In the air over Peru
As part of a long-standing arrangement to stop drug shipments, U.S. government tracking provided the information for the Peruvian Air Force to mistakenly shoot down a Cessna plane carrying missionaries. Killed in the incident were Roni Bowers, a missionary with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, and her daughter, Charity. In 2008, a new report surfaced indicating widespread problems with the shoot-down program that had been withheld from Congress by the CIA.
Rudolfo “Rudy” Cardenas, 43 years old, San Jose, California
Rudy was a father of five who was passing by a house targeted by narcotics officers attempting to serve a parole violation warrant and the police mistakenly thought he was the one they were there to arrest. They chased Cardenas, and he fled, apparently afraid of them (they were not uniformed). Cardenas was shot multiple times in the back.Dorothy Duckett, 78, told the Mercury News she looked out her fifth-floor window after hearing one gunshot and saw Cardenas pleading for his life. “I watched him running with his hands in the air. He kept saying, ‘Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot,’” Duckett said. “He had absolutely nothing in his hands.”
Jose Colon, 20 years old, Suffolk, New York
Jose was outside the house where he had come to repay a $20 debt, when a drug raid on the house commenced. He was shot in the head by SWAT.
Troy Davis, 25 years old, North Richland Hills, Texas
During a no-knock raid to find some marijuana plants he was growing, he was shot to death in his living room. There are disputed accounts regarding whether he had a gun.
Anthony Andrew Diotaiuto,
23 years old, Sunrise, Florida
Anthony worked two jobs to help pay for the house he lived in with his mother. He had permit for a concealed weapon because of the areas he traveled through for his night job. Sunrise police claimed that he had sold some marijuana, and because they knew he had a legal gun, decided to use SWAT. Neighbors claim that the police did not identify themselves. Police first claimed that Anthony pointed his gun at them, and later changed their story. Regardless, Anthony was dead with 10 bullets in him, and the police found 2 ounces of marijuana. Article.
Annie Rae Dixon,
84 years old, Tyler, Texas
Bedridden with pneumonia during a drug raid. Officer kicked open her bedroom door and accidentally shot her.
Patrick Dorismond,
26 years old, New York, New York, Patrick was a security guard who wanted to become a policeman. He was off-duty and unarmed when he went out with friends. Standing on the street looking for a taxi, he was approached by undercover police who asked to buy some marijuana from him. Patrick was offended by the request (he didn’t use drugs), and a scuffle ensued. Dorismond was then shot to death by the police.
Shirley Dorsey,
56 years old, Placerville, California
Rather than being compelled to testify against her 70-year-old boyfriend (Byron Stamate) for cultivating the medicinal cannabis she depended upon to help control her crippling back pain, Shirley Dorsey committed suicide. She saw it as the only way to prevent the forfeiture of their home and property. Despite her suicide, Stamate was sentenced to 9 months prison, and his home, cottage, and $177,000 life savings were seized.
Juan Mendoza Fernandez,
60 years old, Dallas, Texas, Police found a variety of drugs when they raided the Fernandez’ home. However, Juan apparently believed he was the victim of burglars during the raid, and was shot while trying to protect his 11-year-old granddaughter. He and his wife had been married 36 years and had four children and 13 grandchildren.
Curt Ferryman,
24 years old, Jacksonville, Florida
Undercover agents were attempting to arrest Ferryman, who was in his car and unarmed. A DEA agent knocked on the car window with his gun to get the suspect’s attention, and the gun went off, killing him as he sat in the car.
Derek Hale
25 years old, Wilmington, Delaware
A retired Marine Sergeant who served two tours in Iraq, was peacefully sitting on the front stoop of a house, when police in unmarked cars who had him under surveillance (believing based on his acquaintances that he might be part of a narcotics ring) pulled up and tasered him three times, causing him to go into convulsions and throw up. Because he had not gotten his hand free from his jacket quickly enough (while convulsing) an officer then shot him point blank in the chest with three .40 caliber rounds. Hale’s widow has filed a civil lawsuit.
Willie Heard
46 years old, Osawatomie, Kansas
SWAT conducted a no-knock drug raid, complete with flash-bang grenades. Heard was shot to death in front of his wife and 16-year-old daughter who had cried for help. Fearing home invasion, he was holding an empty rifle. The raid was at the wrong house.
Clayton Helriggle
23 years old, Eaton, Ohio
Clayton was shot to death while coming down the stairs during a suprise raid. He was carrying either a gun or a plastic cup, depending on the report. Less than an ounce of marijuana was found.
Esequiel Hernandez
18 years old, Redford, Texas
Hernandez was shot and killed by a Marine sniper in camouflage who was part of a military unit conducting drug interdiction activities near the Mexican border. Esequiel was out herding his family’s goats and had taken a break to shoot at some tin cans with his antique rifle.
John Hirko
21 years old, Pennsylvania
An unarmed man with no prior offenses was shot to death in his house by a squad of masked police. In a no-knock raid, they tossed a smoke grenade in through a window, setting the house on fire. Hirko, suspected of dealing small amounts of marijuana and cocaine, was found face down on his stairway, shot in the back while fleeing the burning building. When the fire was finally put out, officers found some marijuana seeds in an unsinged plastic bag. The Town of Bethlehem settled the resulting lawsuit for $7 million+ and an agreement to reform police department procedures and training.
Lynette Gayle Jackson
29 years old, Riverdale, Georgia
Shot to death in her bed by SWAT team.
Kathyrn Johnston
88 years old, Atlanta, Georgia
Kathryn lived in a rough neighborhood and a relative gave her a gun for protection. When she noticed men breaking through her security bars into her house she fired a shot into the ceiling. They were narcotics officers and fired 39 shots back, killing her. The police had falsified information in order to obtain a no-knock search warrant based on incorrect information from a dealer they had framed. After killing Johnson and realizing that she was completely innocent, they planted some marijuana in the basement. Eventually their stories fell apart federal and state investigations learned the truth. Additional facts have come to light that this was not an isolated incident in the Atlanta police department.
Officer Ron Jones
29 years old, Prentiss, Mississippi
Officer Jones was in the process of serving a drug warrant, based on an informant tip. While trying to enter the rear of a duplex, he broke into the wrong apartment and was shot by the resident, Corey Maye, who had no prior record and was protecting his daughter. No drugs were found. Maye was charged with capital murder, and sentenced to death. Corey Maye was a Drug War Victim waiting to happen. Fortunately, his death sentence was eventually overturned and he is now serving life in prison.Tony Martinez
19 years old, De Valle, Texas
Officers conducted a drug raid on a mobile home in De Valle. Martinez, who was not the target of the raid, was asleep on the couch when the raid commenced. Hearing the front door smashed open, he sat up, and was shot to death in the chest.
Peter McWilliams
50 years old, Laurel Canyon, California
Peter was a world-famous author and an advocate of medical marijuana, not only because he believed in it in principle, but because it was keeping him alive (he had AIDS and non-Hodgkins lymphoma). After California passed a law legalizing medical marijuana, Peter helped finance the efforts of Todd McCormick to cultivate marijuana for distribution to those who needed it for medical reasons. Federal agents got wind of his involvement, and Peter was a target for his advocacy. He was arrested, and in federal court was prevented from mentioning his medical condition or California’s law. While he was on bail awaiting sentencing, the prosecutors threatened to take away his mother’s house (used for bail) if he failed a drug test, so he stopped using the marijuana which controlled his nausea from the medications and allowed him to keep them down. He was found dead on the bathroom floor, choked to death on his own vomit.
Ismael Mena
45 years old, Denver, Colorado
Mena was killed when police barged into his house looking for drugs. They had the wrong address.
Pedro Oregon Navarro
22 years old, Houston, Texas
Following up on a tip from a drug suspect, 6 officers crowded into a hallway outside Navarro’s bedroom. When the door opened, one officer shouted that he had a gun. Navarro’s gun was never fired, but officers fired 30 rounds, with 12 of them hitting Pedro. No drugs were found.
Cheryl Noel
44 years old, Dunkalk, Maryland
Substitute Sunday School Teacher Cheryl Noel possessed a registered handgun, which she kept in her bedroom (9 years earlier, Cheryl has lost her 16-year-old stepdaughter in a shooting murder). On January 19, just before 5 am, police burst into her home using flash-bang grenade and battering ram looking for drugs. Both Cheryl and her husband were asleep in the master bedroom. Suddenly awake and fearing an armed intrusion, Cheryl grabbed her gun. Police kicked in the bedroom door and shot her 3 times.
Mario Paz
65 years old, Compton, California
Mario was shot twice in the back in his bedroom during a SWAT raid looking for marijuana. No drugs were found.
Charmene Pickering
27 years old, Brooklyn, New York
Charmene was a passenger in a car driven by a drug suspect. State troopers and DEA agents were in the process of arresting the driver when the trooper’s gun went off and hit Charmene in the neck, killing her. Both passenger and driver were unarmed.
Manuel Ramirez
Stockton, California
At 2 am, police smashed down the door and rushed into the home of Manuel Ramirez, a retired golf course groundskeeper. Ramirez awoke, grabbed a pistol and shot and killed officer Arthur Parga before other officers killed him. Police were raiding the house based on a tip that drugs were on the premises, but they found no drugs. Officer Arthur P. Parga 32 years old Stockton, California
Deputy Keith Ruiz
36 years old, Travis County, Texas
Ruiz was a husband and father who was a veteran of numerous SWAT raids. In the process of serving a drug warrant, he was trying to break down the door to a mobile home occupied by painter Edwin Delamora, his wife, and two young children. Confused by the raid at night, Delamora yelled to his wife that they were being robbed and shot through the door, killing Ruiz.
Donald P. Scott
61 years old, Malibu, California
Government agencies were interested in the property of this reclusive millionaire. A warrant was issued based on concocted “evidence” of supposed marijuana plantings, and a major raid was conducted with a 32-man assault team. Scott was shot to death in front of his wife. No drugs were found.A later official report found: “It is the District Attorney’s opinion that the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to seize and forfeit the ranch for the government. Based in part upon the possibility of forfeiture, Spencer obtained a search warrant that was not supported by probable cause. This search warrant became Donald Scott’s death warrant.”
Isaac Singletary
80 years old, Jacksonville, Florida
Isaac lived in a rough neighborhood and often brought out his gun to chase off drug dealers. So when he saw a couple of low-lifes conducting transactions on his lawn, he came out with it again and told them to get off his property. Except they were undercover narcotics officers so they shot him. Isaac managed to get a shot or two off in response, but the officers were able to finish him off.
Gary Shepherd
45 years old, Broadhead, Kentucky
When a Kentucky drug task force came to uproot his marijuana plants in August 1993, pot-grower and Vietnam vet Gary Shepherd told them, “You will have to kill me first,” took out his rifle and sat down on his front porch. That evening he was shot dead in front of his infant son. Despite the fact that Shepherd never fired a shot and his family was pleading with authorities for negotiations, state police sharpshooters appeared from the brush without warning and opened fire when he refused to drop his rifle.
Alberta Spruill
57 years old, Harlem, New York
Police, acting on a tip, forced their way into Spruill’s home, setting off flash grenades. She suffered a heart attack and died. It was the wrong address.
Ashley Villareal
14 years old, San Antonio, Texas
Ashley went outside at night with a family friend to move their freshly washed car under shelter. DEA agents, interested in her father, were staking out the house, and believing that her father was driving, shot and killed Ashley. The agents did not have a warrant for her father. Read The Murder of Ashley.
Kenneth B. Walker
39 years old, Columbus, Georgia, Walker and three companions were pulled over in an SUV by police in a drug investigation. No drugs or weapons were found, but Walker was shot in the head. Walker was a devoted husband and father, a respected member of his church, and a 15-year middle-management employee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield.Deputy David Glisson, who killed Walker, was fired three months later for failing to cooperate in an investigation into the shooting.
Accelyne Williams
75 years old, Boston, Massachusetts
Accelyne was a retired Methodist Minister and substance abuse counselor. After an informant gave police a bad address, a SWAT raid was conducted on the minster’s home. The door was battered down, Williams was tackled to the floor and his hands tied behind his back. He died of a heart attack.
Tarika Wilson
26 years old, Lima, Ohio, Tarika was a single mother of six. Lima police executed a SWAT raid with guns drawn to arrest her boyfriend on small-time drug dealing charges. Officer Joseph Chavalia was upstairs when the sound of the other officers shooting Wilson’s dogs downstairs startled him. He shot and killed Tarika, who was unarmed, on her knees, holding her 14-month-old son and complying with orders to get down on the floor (her son was shot twice but survived). Chavalia was cleared of any wrong-doing.
Payton & Chase
Berwyn Heights, Maryland
Many, many dogs have been slaughtered in drug raids — Payton and Chase are the most famous. Prince George County SWAT, intercepting a package of marijuana addressed to Mayor Cheye Calvo’s wife Trinity, and knowing that criminals were addressing packages to innocents and intercepting them, nonetheless burst into the Mayor’s home without even enough investigation to know he was the Mayor or even notifying local police, shot the two dogs (Chase was running away from them when they killed him), and kept the Mayor and his mother-in-law handcuffed on the floor for hours in their dogs’ blood.
Shirley Dorsey,
56 years old, Placerville CA,
Rather than being compelled to testify against her 70-year-old boyfriend (Byron Stamate) for cultivating the medicinal cannabis she depended upon to help control her crippling back pain, Shirley Dorsey committed suicide. She saw it as the only way to prevent the forfeiture of their home and property. Despite her suicide, Stamate was sentenced to 9 months prison, and his home, cottage, and $177,000 life savings were seized.
Curt Ferryman,
24 years old, Jacksonville FL,
Undercover agents were attempting to arrest Ferryman, who was in his car and unarmed. A DEA agent knocked on the car window with his gun to get the suspect’s attention, and the gun went off, killing him as he sat in the car.
Rookie convicted of negligent homicide of Eli Escobar II, 14, failed firearms, other police testing
HOUSTON, Texas — The rookie Houston Police Department officer who shot and killed a 14-year-old special education student in one of the decade’s most controversial shootings earned his badge and gun despite flunking a crucial test of firearms handling as well as initial police field training, according to documents recently made public as part of a civil rights lawsuit.Fairfax Police Say Shooting death of optometrist Salvatore J. Culosi Jr., 37Fairfax County’s police chief said yesterday that one of his officers accidentally shot and killed an optometrist outside the unarmed man’s townhouse Tuesday night as an undercover detective was about to arrest him on suspicion of gambling on sports.Teen Darnell Williams Recovering From Accidental Police Shooting
Last Thursday afternoon, Darnell Williams was at the Utica Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, heading home from Frederick Douglass Academy, when he was shot in the knee. The gunfire came from two police officers’ struggle with a reportedly schizophrenic subway panhandler, who had stabbed one of the officers in the chest with a screwdriver.
Greg Siem – Brickbats – accidental police shooting – Brief Article
Greg Siem was having trouble subduing a man whom he wanted to arrest for being drunk and disorderly. So the Rochester, Minnesota, policeman pulled out what he thought was his stun gun. In fact, he pulled out his sidearm and fired a bullet into the man’s back. The police department said it was an honest mistake and returned Siem to duty. His victim will recover.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/21st-century-tyranny-disturbing-trend-accidental-shootings-raids-wrong-addresses/#RZOtj70eLcj20EIf.99
