Swat team removes man from home after bar fight

Swat team removes man from home after bar fight

www.wsbt.com

Using loudspeakers, police attempted to rouse Coffey out of the home, and by 8 a.m., officers from Mishawaka and St. Joseph County’s SWAT teams had arrived at the scene.

Shortly after 9 a.m., a team of SWAT officers, using a flash grenade, swarmed the home and removed Coffey, the house’s only occupant.

Capt. Mike Grzegorek, the assistant commander of the Metro Homicide Unit and the commander of the SWAT team, said Coffey was found sleeping on a mattress in the front room of the house and offered no resistance.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I guess we need a SWAT Team to remove a sleeping man from his apartment after he got into a bar fight. We can't just send some normal officers anymore.

Watch the video and listen to the reaction to the neighbors. This is near where I live and I believe this is becoming the norm. Using military style maneuvers to take care of normal everyday police work.

www.wsbt.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Overwhelming force is the norm now for most areas. Except where it really counts of course like Iraq or Afganistan.

I'm glad I still live in a town small enough thatthe cops and firefighters are all generational townies and everyone knows everybody. Very Andy Griffith. If the state cops or Feds came in the town cops would be more supportive of the residents and suspicious of the intruders.

For now at least.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Good for you! Fortunately this is just close to where I live. I also live in a small town but here the cops are itching to bust someone on their way to work speed traping. It just shocks me that the police are so quick to use this kind of force.

what men of men those officers are yet if turned around theyde still pee thier pants just the same
incredible, all that to remove one man over a bar fight..now i see why citys need bailout money..to hire thug cops to abuse its own citizens...spending the money looks good paper its just business* sadt o say

reply to post by peponastick


"Two hours later, however, police were called to the hospital, where it was reported that the 52-year-old was now in critical condition "

So let me get this straight you people are going to defend the actions of somone that put this 52 year old man in a position fighting for his life? Give me a freaking break! It wasnt like the police abused this guy! They attempted to get him to come out peacfully, he didn't. They dont know if hes in there sleeping or in there with a shot gun pointed at the door! They flashbanged to disable but it didnt have any effect due to the fact he was sleeping, SO THEY ARESSTED HIM! Oh my god stop the presses, the constitution is being ignored... I dont think so. This was mearly a man that was a threat to society BECAUSE HE ALMOST KILLED SOMONE that needed to be put behind bars... End of story.

reply to post by ThePeoplesSoldier


Maybe thats the way you see it....I wasn't defending what the man did. I was simply stating the way in which the police choose to handle the matter.

And if you read closely you will see the man fell and hit his head resulting the critical condition you so elequently pointed out.

I would never put "END OF STORY" at the end of my opinion...some peoples arrogance never ceases to amaze me.

reply to post by ThePeoplesSoldier


read the story again. they just wanted to round him up to be questioned by investigators.

I have to wonder, did anyone bother to look in the windows, or did they all just want to stand 50 feet back and yell at the guy?

I didn't see anything about a warrant, I guess those are a thing of the past.

They probably wrote him a citation for broken windows too.

So much for their shock and awe campaign, it didn't even wake the guy up.
Why are homicide investigators involved? Noone died here.
I agree this is total overkill by the police, it wouldve been much easier to leave 2 cops in a car until the guy came out for his next beer run and grabbed him with his arms full of 12 packs.
It is also the national norm now to storm houses with the SWAT team, sometimes just to deliver warrants. This further militarization of police cannot bode well for the future.
I wanted to add that the police do have dangerous jobs and this is not a criticism of the officers themselves but the procedures they are using tend to rely more on force than reason these days.

[edit on 9-12-2009 by Asktheanimals]

Interesting, I guess the two counties involved have plenty of tax payer money to burn, putting up and offensive that required nothing less than two counties efforts for one sleeping man after a bar fight.

I thought our states governments were bankrupted from the financial crisis, if I was a tax payer and voter on any of those counties I will be asking for an investigation of waste and abuse of state tax payer funds and a good explanation of why such a force was needed.

Very questionable.

[edit on 9-12-2009 by marg6043]

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Overwhelming force is the norm now for most areas.

That's the absolute truth. Here in TX I many, many times I see 2 or more police vehicles pulled on the side of the road that have stopped to assist in a simple traffic violation.

How many cops does it take to screw in a light bulb?

This disgusts me.

I live in Maine, and lately I've been seeing pictures of our new "Police Tactical Team", I don't even think they're SWAT, just wannabe SWAT. They're dressed in full BDU military camo, body armor, tactical weapons.. etc. They even have an armored car. It's a sick joke, what do they need this stuff for? A shooting incident? Is that why they always show up 2 hours too late.. ?

reply to post by SyphonX


Two hours late? hey they need all that time to put on their fancy garbs before showing up, can you imagine they have to be looking good for the local news.

reply to post by ThePeoplesSoldier


Are you kidding? He didn't come out because he was asleep.

Nobodies defending the actions of the guy, but we're criticizing the idea that a SWAT team is needed to detain some guy sleeping on a bed.

reply to post by Aggie Man

That's the absolute truth. Here in TX I many, many times I see 2 or more police vehicles pulled on the side of the road that have stopped to assist in a simple traffic violation.

Don't forget to count the other 2 or 3 vehicles roaming the area.

Guess better safe than sorry.

Don't feel SWAT was necessary. Whether they apprehend him today or tomorrow he is still in the same heap of trouble.

[edit on 9-12-2009 by jam321]

The man (said loosely) has been a problem for the police before, so I cannot blame them for being wary of him. It was no doubt overkill in this instant. However, this nation has turned into a nation of cowards, afraid of their shadow.

A 52-year-old man is in critical condition

According to police reports, Lewis told officers that he didn’t want to press charges for the fight, and officers left him at the hospital.

Two hours later, however, police were called to the hospital, where it was reported that the 52-year-old was now in critical condition.

The severity of Lewis’ injuries led police to contact St. Joseph County Metro Homicide investigators, who took over the investigation and began searching for Coffey.

Police found Coffey’s car at his home in the 800 block of Berlin Avenue in Mishawaka.

Using loudspeakers, police attempted to rouse Coffey out of the home, and by 8 a.m., officers from Mishawaka and St. Joseph County’s SWAT teams had arrived at the scene.

But Coffey is no stranger to jail or fighting.

In 2008, Coffey was charged with attempted theft, battery and criminal mischief after a taxi driver said he had been punched in the face.

Officers then went to Coffey's home and knocked. He eventually answered. Police say he had a "crazed" look in his eyes, describing them as "wide opening without blinking." He fought officers as he was being physically restrained and taken to jail.

Coffey later pleaded guilty to the theft as a felony, and as part of the agreement, the other counts were dropped. He was sentenced to two years, which was all suspended and ordered to serve the time on probation.

Officers then went to Coffey's home and knocked. He eventually answered. Police say he had a "crazed" look in his eyes, describing them as "wide opening without blinking." He fought officers as he was being physically restrained and taken to jail.

Always interesting what you'll find when you read the whole story.

Repeat offender. Throw the book at him. Cops did nothing wrong.

reply to post by Autarchic


Regarding that, I'm always amazed at the ratio polls of Americans who favor "Security" over their own freedom-usually around 50% I think. I consider this and realize these people who would willing trade their liberty for "Security" walk among me on a daily basis. They experience the same things I do and yet think so differently- or less.

Fear is really an incredible thing. It may just be the main driver behind social and interpersonal exchanges in our societies and much of natures throughout the ages. Woah.

This is a sickening abuse of power by scumbag cops. Get a load of this; There was NO WARRANT...There are NO charges..and the article says that:

"Grzegorek said Coffey was taken from the home to the Metro Homicide Unit office to be questioned by investigators.

As of Tuesday night, Coffey had not been charged with any crimes but remained in the St. Joseph County Jail, pending the filing of charges.
"

WHAT the hell?? Taken from your home...without a warrant..then dragged to the homicide unit for ' questioning'..as if the guy had some legal imperative to answer anything without a lawyer present..then, to make it even worse, the man is locked up in jail PENDINg the filing of any charges!! Just throw the citizen in jail...so you can take as long getting charges together...how much more blatant does illegal cop actions get?

NO WARRANT...No evidence of any emergency, so NO excuse from the cops about it being necessary to storm a home with incendiary devices and explosives without a warrant...they simply had NO PROBABLE CAUSE..so they just do it anyway!!

This is a case where the cops should be sued for all they have and ever will have..they violated this mans rights terribly. Imagine falling alseep and having SWAT thug cops expode charges in your home to wake you up!! Cops in this day and age are so scared..so weak..so sissified that they cannot simply walk up and knock on the door...no answer? GET A WARRANT!! then open the door and wake the man up...NOT explode ordinance because you are so scared..cops pee their britches at the mere thought of actually having to get down..what a pathetic bunch!!

So, NO warrant.....NO charges...thrown in jail without charges...a home stormed and violated...the man is probably in critical condition because of the cop assaults...if he had hit his head ' falling' it would have been apparent from the get go and not discovered much later...the coppers no doubt injured the man while waking him up...he gave NO RESISTANCE, according to the story.

these stories make me sick...cops with no legal authority...no warrants..storming a home with far too much force..then throwing a citizen in jail before any charges!! WTF??!! Would YOU sit still and take it if some cops threw YOu in jail without charges after storming your abode WITHOUT a warrant?

I can only hope that the man who was violated by the thug cops gets a lawyer that will SUE them for all they have...sue 'em in Federal court...and in state court..get damages and ruin the cops lives who made these horrible decisions. Who was the copper that directed the others to:

1. Violate the Constitution and state laws by NOT securing a warrant based on probable cause before storming a private home?

2. Violate the Constitution and state laws by taking a citizen away for ' questioning' , like some Soviet or Nazi would, with NO mention of any rights being advised or an attorney being called to protect the man FROM the cops? it is NOT legal for cops to drag us away to ' question ' us, unless we WANT to talk...the cops want to force us to talk...keep us away from a lawyer...and that is a fact. Cops HATE for a person to refuse to talk and demand a lawyer...and that says all we need to know about cops.

3. Jailing a citizen WITHOUT charges...the citizen I suppose just sits in a cell while the cops try and figure out what to do...guess what? The cops are supposed to do the investigating BEFORE throwing people in jail...NOT throw them in jail and then take their sweet time getting a case together.

This is a textbook case of abuse of police power...and I hope that all involved get reamed by the courts after a lawsuit shows the blatantly illegal actions by the cops.

Now, lets hear the lame excuses from the cop groupies about how it is OK to forget about warrants and how it is Ok to jail the UN charged people..and why it is fine to storm a home and use violence against a citizen without any reason based on facts.