Drug warrants net 17 arrests in Oklahoma City, Lawton

reply to post by becomingaware


Making a mistake is not a crime. If it were, we would all be in jail.

I will repeat one final time that no kind of paperwork at all was presented to my wife regardless of what some posters may believe. The locked front door was not opened until 3:50 in the video and the cops immediately went in without saying anything except that they were looking for our nephew. People evidently think that the storm door being held open is the main door to the house and that cops are standing there talking to my wife. Totally incorrect. The storm door was being held open because they were beating the Hell out of the real door.

Folks, if I wanted to lie about this event I could have edited the video anyway I wanted to. What you see is the raw uncut footage, and even it is being totally misinterpreted by those seemingly saying "look, the nice officer patiently waited and then read her the warrant." Absolutely incorrect. Did not happen. Our home front door opens to the inside, not the outside. The poster who claims that I am posting lies is totally off base. There is also TAC regarding name calling I believe, sir or madam.

I don't hate cops, have never been in trouble with the law and I support their drug enforcement efforts. What I don't support is my privacy being violated and our constitution being used for toilet paper by those who believe they are above the law because they are the law. Mistakes like they made at my home are all too common, and they need to screen their
warrants better.

The poster who said that the cops have done nothing wrong, except that they shouldn't have been there at all nailed it.
















[edit on 3/7/2009 by TheAvenger]

What I see here is the LACK of RESPECT from LAW enforcement for PRIVACY and LIBERTY of private citizens. That's why we created a Constitution in the first place.

I think what allot of people are missing here is the fact that somebody's private home was entered without permission. Their privacy was invaded and their liberty breached.

Why?, because the police did not have enough respect for peoples privacy and liberty to do a simple investigation to make Damn sure their Target was indeed at the residence.

They could have done a simple computer search and found him to be in their counterparts custody? A simple check list was not followed - that's unprofessional and not acceptable in America.

They could have posted an investigator near the targets residence to see if indeed he was coming and going. Nope, Why do the leg work when it's easier to trample on peoples right to privacy and find out without using your noggin.

There's nothing okay or professional about entering somebody's private domain, because you lack the respect of private citizens by taking the time to make sure your targets there in the first place.

A mistake - we don't allow pilots to fly if they cannot pass their yearly tests to make sure they follow proper procedures - as peoples lives are on the line. We don't allow soldiers to engage the enemy without following proper procedures because lives are on the line. We cannot allow police to trample on peoples rights without following proper procedures because lives and liberty is on the line - if they have no respect for that then they will lose our respect and support.

[edit on 7-3-2009 by verylowfrequency]

reply to post by verylowfrequency


Lack of respect because they have a valid arrest warrant? Explain that one. If you WANT to be pissed at anyone be pissed at the nephew for selling dope and putting down his uncle's address. PS..arrest warrants are issued by the courts, so it was valid.

As has been stated, they screwed up by NOT calling the DOC, other then that..NOTHING about any of this was wrong.

Let me first say that I am pro-legalization. This is my disclaimer.

Originally posted by TheAvenger
Here on my home security cameras we have the jackbooted, Gestapo storm troopers of an Oklahoma county sheriff along with Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics agents raiding my house.

Not to quibble, but most of them were wearing sneakers. And keep in mind, that most narcotics raids of actual operations can turn rather violent given the illegal nature of narcotics today.

The only one home during this raid was my very ill 51 year old wife who was sleeping. They pounded on the door loudly for a couple of minutes until she was rudely awoken and able to answer the door. They charged through the door right past all 120 pounds her with no permission sought or given to search the premises with AR15 rifles at the ready, all SEVEN of the cops.

The cops seemed to have a paper in hand, so I'm assuming that's the warrant.

Also I believe seven is a decent number for a narcotics raid. They need to have enough man power to ensure the safety of their own.

It seems they were looking for our nephew who had gotten into a little trouble and was incarcerated in an Oklahoma Department of Corrections boot camp program back in November of 2008.


They ran around room to room doing their macho cop gun pointing thing even after being told nephew was in jail.

Ok, I can understand the sense of violation this must have caused, specifically because you nor your wife were involved with anything of an illegal nature. However, do you really expect them to listen to you when they are conducting an arrest?

Can you imagine what would have happened if you were lying?... "Lady said the kid was in jail so we left.." The macho cop thing stems primarily from the fact that these officers are often faced with guns a blazin....

They left with a "sorry we woke you".

Wow.. that was it... they didn't kill your dog, or destroy your property in a wanton manner? AND they actually apologized?

As unfortunate as this experience was for you and your wife, it appears to me that they were rather professional in conducting their orders.

So these officers raided my house for no reason at all. These cops should have checked first and known that our nephew was already their "guest" before invading our privacy.

Now this, I wholeheartedly agree with. They did cause you and your wife undue stress and a sense of violation given that the one who ordered this raid SHOULD have known about this, and the judge that signed the warrant SHOULD have known about this.

On this grounds alone, I think you have a case. I would focus on the "undue" nature of it given that anyone in the public realm could have discovered this information in a few minutes with google.

My nephew sold a few bags of weed to get in trouble he was in and has no history of violence. It takes a swat team-like response to try to arrest one small 20 year old kid who is already in state custody? Ridiculous.

You really have to look at what they were doing... they were attempting to arrest someone who was selling weed. They didn't know if he was simply selling some dank to a couple of friends, or if he was part of a serious operation.

As someone who is pro-legalization one of my reasons is the point which was made in the movie Pineapple Express... good god fearing and otherwise law abiding potheads have to mingle with the criminal element to buy their stuff.

Unfortunately, not all people who sell pot illegaly are non-violent. Actually given the nature of the illegal game, they typically have to have an arsenal at the ready in case a competitor decides to perform a raid of their own.

I really can't blame these officers for being equipped to handle what is a typical interaction with the black market.

What we have here is a total police state where cops have absolute authority to terrorize and victimize innocent people. I am livid, and intend to raise Hell with the powers that be.

Once again, I can definitely see how you feel violated. However, I don't see how you were victimized. There definitely was a unneeded raid of your house. However, given your story, they didn't plant drugs on you, nor kill your dog, nor tear up your property. All in all, I think this was a very successful interaction of the police with the public, albeit completely uncalled for.

If I were you, I would focus on the "undue" nature of this, and not use hyperbole. Serious man, this raid was textbook and clean compared to some really bad horror stories I have heard. I'd count yourself lucky you got what appears to be decent cops.

My wife was terrified by this event, armed jackboots charging in our home.

I can totally understand that. And given your reaction to this, it's evident to me that you and your wife must have been law abiding citizens all of your life. The truth of the matter is though, that with the drug wars the way they are... this type of equipping of officers is required.

Once again, your nephew may have just been making a couple of extra bucks, but this illegal trade has completely eroded any sense of security in Mexico... these cops were doing their jobs.

I think that we Americans have few rights left when these jackbooted paramilitary stormtroopers can raid our residences for no valid reason whatsoever.

Uhm... your nephew sold weed... he got arrested and sent to a detention center.

So there is your valid reason at the core of it.

Now... it's true that they made a HUGE mistake, in somuch that it could have gone much worse and regardless was still UNDUE.

But to say it was for no valid reason whatsoever I think is forgetting that your nephew who resides at your place did break the law. It still doesn't forgive the judge who signed this warrant without research and I think you have a case there... but you really need to go into this with a sense of understanding why they did everything else right.

Keep in mind, I'm pro-legalization... at the same time, It does appear the only mistake made in this process was the disconnect about your nephews whereabouts.

Obviously one hand has no clue what the other hand is doing. So a county judge signed an arrest warrant (I assume) for someone who has been in jail and a prison camp for months? State police etc. raid my home when the person sought is already in their custody for months? I can find him online in their system with a ten second search. Why can't they?

TOTALLY AGREE!!! And this is really the point of your case... I advise you to leave out the other histrionics and just realize you had an unnecessary encounter with a group of officers who appeared to me, given your video and your description, to perform their job well.

Go after the process which made the mistake... not the process which you had an encounter with... you have a chance at having an affect on one but not the other.

Such force used to try to apprehend a nonviolent 20 year old for a relatively minor charge? I don't think they had as much firepower available when they apprehended (executed) Bonnie and Clyde.

Once again... YOU know your nephew... the police don't... lots of 20 yo's who are dealing have to protect themselves and will have many firearms around...the cops don't know what they will find when they make these raids...


Which to me is a reason why they should get it right to begin with, because those cops risked their lives as well...

I put this security camera video together from three security cameras and posted it on YouTube. I also sent a link to my local newspaper and a local television station. I now post it here.

Great Job on documenting the whole experience...

As I said before, I understand how you must feel... and I advise you to see the real problem here. It's not the officers attempt at defending themselves when apprehending someone for drug dealing. It's the fact that they were clueless about his whereabouts when THEY had him in custody.

Originally posted by rcwj75
reply to post by verylowfrequency

 

Lack of respect because they have a valid arrest warrant? Explain that one. If you WANT to be pissed at anyone be pissed at the nephew for selling dope and putting down his uncle's address. PS..arrest warrants are issued by the courts, so it was valid.

As has been stated, they screwed up by NOT calling the DOC, other then that..NOTHING about any of this was wrong.

rcwj, I completely agree... take a look at my post directly above this one.

Originally posted by TheAvenger

Believe it or not, one of my attorneys told me that I have no legal recourse against these police officers. Sure, he said I can sue them, but I will lose and it will only be a waste of my money. I guess being too stupid to check whether someone may already be in custody is a forgiveable cop crime in a judge's biased eyes.

[edit on 3/6/2009 by TheAvenger]

Funny how when you have a legit case to be aprhended, no one wants to do their jobs simply because they don't want to go against the state. Yet some schmuck sues for the most petty menial BS and wins ridiculous amounts of money.

I'm still trying to find someone to take my case against NYS, judge, claimant and series of others involved but nobody has the balls. It's been over 2 years of searching. You need to find yourself a hungry lawyer who needs to make arep for themselves. Someone will take it.

The lawyer you spoke with is most likely already established and will get paid either way. They all work hand in hand. Teh judge, defense lawyers and district attorney. there's no justice system just a corporate circus used to create revenue for the state.Someone hungry with and education and no ties to these losers is your best bet.

And people wonder why citizens resort to violant actions in there defense. Because the agency who claim to be protecting us are the criminals, so we need to take action on our behalf.Too bad nobody was home and you left the gass on. That would of been nice to catch on the cameras.

[edit on 7/3/2009 by Revealation]

reply to post by rcwj75


Well that's really the problem rcwj75. It's probably not most the officers doing the raid that are at fault here - that's where I think you take it too personally and don't look at it from a wider perspective. They are sort of the customer service employees of the corporations doing the invasion. When I call them "pigs" in anger, it's not that I think they are bad people it's that I think they've been trained to do the dirty deeds of the corporation who's trained them to push the envelope to the edge of law, perhaps over it. Just like I might complain against a company that sold me a bad product and I might take it out on the customer service agent who really has done nothing wrong (just his job), but I do it as he is the only representative I can immediately address my grievances against for carrying out what I considered in bad policy.

It's policies and procedures of how and why somebody came up with that warrant in the first place. Breaching known hideouts of the suspect was put on the wrong part of the list of what procedures that should take place first before entering a private home. Some call it a mistake, some believe it's the right procedure and I believe it is unprofessional and should only be the last resort. What I mean by lack of respect is that they have been trained and ingrained that it is no biggie to enter a home.

The Constitution was created to make it difficult to breach that line of privacy and the whole "war on drugs" has been a constant assault of that line. Your superiors want you and train you to think it's nothing to breach a home and thus you have a different perspective than I do as I see it as a sacred line.


[edit on 7-3-2009 by verylowfrequency]

reply to post by verylowfrequency


i actually agree with you for the most part and understand what you mean, but this thread is BS. It was all lies, and hate sharing for cops. All this post should said was:

Cops didnt check with DOC and came to my home to check for my nephew. They had an arrest warrant so they could come in, I would rather they have done their job and called DOC rather then bother us but they screwed up and it pisses me off they screwed up. BUT instead I read all lies, bashing and hate...and watch a video that shoes NOTHING as described.

Again I have been a cop for almost 8 years now and never did I just randomly pick a house, and say..hey lets go kick that door in, maybe we will find something. This guys nephew is the ONLY reason, according to the OP that the cops are even bothering him...so IMO, he needs to either help his nephew or tell the kid, no more using my address if your going to do dumb stuff....

Originally posted by TheAvenger
I will repeat one final time that no kind of paperwork at all was presented to my wife regardless of what some posters may believe. The locked front door was not opened until 3:50 in the video and the cops immediately went in without saying anything except that they were looking for our nephew. People evidently think that the storm door being held open is the main door to the house and that cops are standing there talking to my wife. Totally incorrect. The storm door was being held open because they were beating the Hell out of the real door.

Folks, if I wanted to lie about this event I could have edited the video anyway I wanted to. What you see is the raw uncut footage, and even it is being totally misinterpreted by those seemingly saying "look, the nice officer patiently waited and then read her the warrant." Absolutely incorrect. Did not happen. Our home front door opens to the inside, not the outside. The poster who claims that I am posting lies is totally off base. There is also TAC regarding name calling I believe, sir or madam.

I don't hate cops, have never been in trouble with the law and I support their drug enforcement efforts. What I don't support is my privacy being violated and our constitution being used for toilet paper by those who believe they are above the law because they are the law. Mistakes like they made at my home are all too common, and they need to screen their
warrants better.

The poster who said that the cops have done nothing wrong, except that they shouldn't have been there at all nailed it.
















[edit on 3/7/2009 by TheAvenger]

What you say and what the tape says are two differant things. So therefor what you are saying is not the truth. I will not back down from this posistion. I see nothing in the tape that hints at them being rude or heavy handed.

You said you had audio of the whole thing right? Well load it up here and let us hear it or was that not the truth either? I'm thinking it wasn't.

reply to post by Blaine91555


Yes I agree, it was a mistake. But if it were in other circumstances, the law may have come into their home, see something, and now may find probable cause to rip up their home ( which I've seen cause a great deal of damage to a home ), arrest the family and call it whatever they want.

Oh, and of course you would pay for all of the damage caused to the home. It's not about "putting it to the man", more so being reimbursed for the damage.

You can't sue over this. The police made a mistake. They didn't kill anyone or arrest anyone. They intruded into a private home looking for someone that, as far as they knew, could be armed and dangerous.

In order to sue, you'd have to show that these folks acted outside the scope of their authority, which didn't happen. You'd also have to show damages, which were trivial. To sue in Federal court, you have to claim minimum damages of some amount, I think $30,000 (I don't recall, so don't quote me). It's not a trivial amount, anyway.

When police need to answer a drug-related call, they often find themselves facing desperate, violent, well-armed criminals who wouldn't hesitate to kill them. Some of these subjects are also too high or strung out to think rationally, making them even more dangerous. The cops have to assume, until they prove otherwise, that they're up against armed, dangerous people.

This sort of thing is a result of our idiotic "War on Drugs", which has done more to create the drug families and "cartels" than anything else. We spend billions of dollars trying to stop drugs at our borders, billions trying to bust the dealers, billions more trying to bust the users, and yet more billions imprisoning nonviolent addicts instead of treating them for their addiction.

The "War on Drugs" is nothing new. It has been festering for decades. Where was the outcry when it started? No one spoke up, because even though our Constitution was being violated, it only involved a few Hippies. So who cares? Now it involves ordinary, law-abiding citizens. Now there is an outrage - but we've already created a Police State. It's not going to be easy to dismantle that toxic system and begin to deal with drug addiction in a humane and effective manner. Until we do, just get used to this sort of thing.

Originally posted by TheAvenger
I will repeat one final time that no kind of paperwork at all was presented to my wife regardless of what some posters may believe. The locked front door was not opened until 3:50 in the video and the cops immediately went in without saying anything except that they were looking for our nephew. People evidently think that the storm door being held open is the main door to the house and that cops are standing there talking to my wife. Totally incorrect. The storm door was being held open because they were beating the Hell out of the real door.

Folks, if I wanted to lie about this event I could have edited the video anyway I wanted to. What you see is the raw uncut footage, and even it is being totally misinterpreted by those seemingly saying "look, the nice officer patiently waited and then read her the warrant." Absolutely incorrect. Did not happen. Our home front door opens to the inside, not the outside. The poster who claims that I am posting lies is totally off base. There is also TAC regarding name calling I believe, sir or madam.

I don't hate cops, have never been in trouble with the law and I support their drug enforcement efforts. What I don't support is my privacy being violated and our constitution being used for toilet paper by those who believe they are above the law because they are the law. Mistakes like they made at my home are all too common, and they need to screen their
warrants better.

The poster who said that the cops have done nothing wrong, except that they shouldn't have been there at all nailed it.

edit on 3/7/2009 by TheAvenger]

I am trying to figure out if you are lying or posted the wrong video, because that video bears out nothing that you say.

reply to post by becomingaware


I just find it hard to buy into the idea all Cops are bad, which is what many profess here. I have friends who are Officers who I know to be honorable men. I even have a Chief of Police in my family. He is as honest and kind as the day is long.

To the OP, if they were told not to enter and they did, that is another story altogether. If you have your Wife on audio telling them no, you have them by the short hairs. An attorney would jump all over that. If nobody said no, your out of luck likely.

reply to post by TheAvenger



Is your camera system pc based and record to your hard drive? If it is,for future reference, I woud suggest getting a sound card to capture the audio. I also have cameras covering the entrances inside the house and covering the main rooms of the house (living room & kitchen)

I have an 8 camera system that can upgarde to a 16 camera system with the upgrade of an extra video capture card. I also use an external hard drive just in case I have to disconnect it. you know how they like to take anything (including computers) which can incriminate them or you and say they needed to search it for evidence.

Also regarding the issue of search warrants. I personally feel this is a total violation of ones person just as demeaning as rape.This is our humble abode and place we raise our kids and our safety net.When this is violated thre's no safe place left except to be aremed. This after all is why these guys are so brazen. Funny how they have NO PROBLEM kicking someone's door in and shooting up someones house, but when they'r at war and being shot at with RPG's and machine guns, they respect a mosque or foreign culture.I don't see mosque doors being kicked in or them shooting them up.

This goes to show that the authorities that govern us treat us lower than people they deem terrorist war criminals.I personally think it's time to start shooting back.Let's get rid of the police and start up the old school posse. We'll get justice and in a timely fashion which won't cost us the 10's of thousands it does to pay a lawyer who works for their system.

As sad as this may sound, I love when the tables are turned and the reaction of them fearing for their lives (same way they make helpless people feel) is so gratifying to me.

Originally posted by verylowfrequency
What I see here is the LACK of RESPECT from LAW enforcement for PRIVACY and LIBERTY of private citizens. That's why we created a Constitution in the first place.

How about some respect FOR your law enforcement?

Keeping illegal drugs off the streets is a difficult job. When someone's relative is convicted of being a drug dealer, it is common sense that their close relatives may have known about or participated in the crime.

To do their job, they have to explore all possible avenues of investigation. Just because the Nephew wasn't there wouldn't have stopped him from stashing product at his uncle's house.

If they were really looking for the Nephew himself, then they made a mistake. Your point is? If making a mistake these days is enough to contact the local media and post youtube videos, then when I knocked that plate off the table yesterday must be international news.

To me, any others in the thread, it is obvious that the OP has a huge chip on his shoulder towards police and would take any opportunity (I.E this HARMLESS visit) to stir up trouble.

When your country goes to hell and looters are really bashing down your door, don't be crying for the Police to help you.

[edit on 7-3-2009 by fooffstarr]

Originally posted by Blaine91555
reply to post by becomingaware

 

I just find it hard to buy into the idea all Cops are bad, which is what many profess here. I have friends who are Officers who I know to be honorable men. I even have a Chief of Police in my family. He is as honest and kind as the day is long.

Absolutely, most are great guys, I have alot of officer friends as well I grew up with ALOT of them here in my city, one is even an undercover narcotics officer ( awesome guy ), most of them party harder than I ever could too.

I agree with you there 100%

When I was younger however, I saw some officers respond to a house party for noise disturbance, (after coming to the door and walking on in) he said he spotted something illegal, which then gave him probable cause to call for backup including dogs and a helicopter, and tore the house apart.

Police take an oath to protect and serve; however, they are more interested in creating martial law. One trouble is that the district attorney and judge always believe the police report, regardless and the police lie, they lie alot and ruin peoples lives. I couldn't tell if the cops were being rude and gestappo-ish or not, but I believe the guy who says they stormed his house, the OKC police stormed my vehicle when the driver made a traffice violation, searched and screamed and then didn't even as much as write a ticket.

reply to post by rcwj75


your attitude is exactly what everyone is talking about. oh !we did nothing wrong!!! oopsie,we forgot to do our job correctly.oh well maybe we'll get it right next time,or maybe someone will get shot.oopsie
well that dead person didnt have the right to defend his house,right?
swat rules! they rock!
we have superior weaponry,and a badge! lets kick down doors till we find something. hell,everyones a criminal in some way.
and i really enjoyed the way you worked the murder angle into it back on the other post.
did it occur to you that they had to lie to a judge to get a warrant ,if they had one?
ohhhh,but that doesn't matter,we're swat!
THE CONSTITUIONALISTS ARE COMING,AND WE'RE PISSED.
it might just be time for an attitude check.
bashing and hate? are we supposed to embrace the jackboot,knee on neck policies of the police state?

[edit on 8-3-2009 by Spectre0o0]

Originally posted by chiron613
YThe "War on Drugs" is nothing new. It has been festering for decades. Where was the outcry when it started? No one spoke up, because even though our Constitution was being violated, it only involved a few Hippies. So who cares? Now it involves ordinary, law-abiding citizens. Now there is an outrage - but we've already created a Police State. It's not going to be easy to dismantle that toxic system and begin to deal with drug addiction in a humane and effective manner. Until we do, just get used to this sort of thing.

there is no billion being spent to fight drugs. i live in Texas,and we have a border war going on down here. we called for aid from the federal gov,and they ignored us. these are drug cartels that have decapitasted 30 people in the last month. they are attacking citizens,and the federal government does nothing.
i used to live in harlingen,and the nafta highway came across the border unchecked.
war on drugs?
go on pull the other one.


you buy the drugs
you sell the drugs
you bust the drug dealer
you fine him
you get your drugs back
take what he owns
take his cash
make money off the incarceration
own him for the rest of his life
sell the drugs again
and do it over and over and over again...
you just make money.
this just shows how right you are about creating a police state
create a problem and institute a solution,and people will beg for it

and if you believe the people of the US are selling large quantities of weapons to mexican drug cartels,then i want to see you ,an american,who they are kidnapping and decapitating,walk up to one of these cartels and offer to sell them guns.
that would be a precious moment. right...see you whem you get back...lol

and becomingaware,thwe chief you talk about is the kind of peace officer we need. its the heavy hanede LAW ENFORCEMENT crazies we need to address.
i hope he's the kind of chief that teaches his officers to be respectful of the people they serve,the same way he would.
you can be assured no one is talking about that kind of officer.

[edit on 8-3-2009 by Spectre0o0]