They Always Cower and Pee Like That Before They Attack

Jacob Sullum | September 22, 2006

What can you say about cops who burst into an apartment, kill the family dog, hold the residents at gunpoint, and handcuff two terrified children, ages 11 and 12, all over a few marijuana sales with a total value of $60? Well, at least they didn't kill the kids.

Radley Balko, whose report on paramilitary police tactics was recently published by Cato, considered SWAT teams' antipathy toward dogs in the April issue of Reason. In the current issue, he details the case of Cory Maye, who was sentenced to death for shooting a police officer during a botched raid in Mississippi. Maye says he thought the cop was an armed invader who posed a threat to his family. How could anyone make that mistake?

[Thanks to Adam Scavone for the tip.]