Brickbat: Down in Monterey

Monterey County, California, officials agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by the family of Rogelio Serrato Jr. Serrato died in 2011 in a fire caused by a flash bang grenade thrown into his home by a sheriff's SWAT team. Deputies were looking for suspects in a recent shooting. They later determined that Serrato had nothing to do with the shooting and was unarmed at the time of his death.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The device ignited a sofa and fire quickly spread. Instead of trying to help Serrato, who was emitting "anguished cries" and breaking windows, SWAT team members retreated to the transport vehicle, pointed rifles toward the home and awaited the fire department, the suit said.

Heroism. But hey, these little mishaps are what the county has insurance for.

[Ted S.]

They're not paying the money; the taxpayers are.

[Troy muy grande boner]

Good. I hope the taxpayers get it up the ass good and hard. I say more expensive the lawsuit, the better. Maybe it will fucking break the town. The more violent and murderous your pigs are, the more expensive it is to live there.

[DEATFBIRSECIA]

Precisely.

[WTF]

Officer safety - at least they all got to go home that night.

[Almanian!]

^^this

God be praised for keeping those officers safe. Families, you know.

[Seamus]

"They put their lives at stake in trying to secure the property and they should be commended for trying to resolve a very tense situation," he said.

Apparently, standing around being afraid of a nonexistent danger now constitutes "putting one's life at stake".

[sarcasmic]

So if the guy had managed to crawl out a window the cops would have perforated him.

[Snark Plissken]

Charles has taken over the Friday nut punch?

[Suthenboy]

And someone is going to prison, right?

I would put a laugh track in here, but this is too horrible to try and make any kind of joke out of it.

[WTF]

"They put their lives at stake in trying to secure the property and they should be commended for trying to resolve a very tense situation,"

Why should these brave heroes go to prison? They obviously deserve medals!

[Louis Cypher]

"Why should these brave heroes go to prison?"

Kansas Statute 21-5403.?

Murder in the second degree.

(a) Murder in the second degree is the killing of a human being committed:

(1)?Intentionally; or

(2)?unintentionally but recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.

(b)?Murder in the second degree as defined in:

(1)?Subsection (a)(1) is a severity level 1, person felony; and

(2)?subsection (a)(2) is a severity level 2, person felony.

[Scooby]

But they're in California, not Kansas.

[Louis Cypher]

I understand, but I would think California would have a similar statute on the books. Maybe not 2nd degree murder, but manslaughter possibly.

[Rich]

"We think it could have been avoided if people had heeded the directives from the officers to leave the house."

"Quit resisting!"

[JD the elder]

I noticed that bit too. What a pathetic way to blame an innocent guy for his own death. Someone should lob a firebomb into McKee's house and see what he thinks then.

[Brian D]

Amazingly, the officers actually had a search warrant.

[Brian D]

And according to the article, they used the flash bang grenade after 'hailing him for an hour.' This doesn't seem like a warrantless, no-knock raid gone awry. They did have the wrong guy, but they had a warrant and thought they were engaging a man wanted for a recent shooting.

[sarcasmic]

Remember that police reports are all works of fiction that are loosely based upon facts. So that 'hour' is probably more like fifteen seconds.

[Agile Cyborg]

I hope the police never 'think' I'm a wanted man. 'Course, if they have a warrant I can cum all over myself in relief because ever-thing will be ok then. Having a warrant from them would be like being born again and forever in the warm arms of SWAT jebus. Even better the idea of roasting alive on a melting couch screams wonderful to me. Almost as cozy as being head-stomped and shot in the back by SWAT girls with sweaty upper lips and panties. Maybe someone can hand the SWAT ladies supra-long sticks with fuzzy marshmallows on the ends so they can feed their cock-sucking pieholes a melted delight from me-o flames. Yupper, warrants are the SWAT jizz, man.

[Mainer2]

It's a war. You don't expect an officer patroling his sector to aid the enemy do you ?

[Heroic Mulatto]

BURN THAT MOTHERFUCKER!

--Manual of Special Weapons and Tactics, 5th Ed., p.123 LAPD, 2012.

[some guy]

Deputies were looking for suspects in a recent shooting. They later determined that Serrato had nothing to do with the shooting and was unarmed at the time of his deathmurder

A

[some guy]

Interesting. Apparently there is a hot key for "submit half-way through typeing your post".

[Bean Counter]

You really don't need the "e" in typing.

[Cdr Lytton]

Damn bean counters! Spending four 'e's and a bunch of other letters to save one 'e'.

[Cdr Lytton]

...one 'e' that's a sunk cost.

[some guy]

Deputies were looking for suspects in a recent shooting. They later determined that Serrato had nothing to do with the shooting and was unarmed at the time of his death murder

Am I being pedantic?

[Agile Cyborg]

But they had a warrant, according to the fellow up above. And SWAT ladies have tough lives put on the line ever-day knowing that at any second a good citizen could crush them like the roaches they are. Just an old lady flick would send them and their tanks flying into the sunset so they MUST prepare with attitude and clenched butt. Think about that next time you want to be pedantic you fucking worthless civilian who should live every day deeply desiring SWAT cock be buried deep in the asses of you and yours. Without them there would be no oxygen. SWAT even makes the planet possible. Even Jesus himself handpicked SWAT to be his disciples (every good Christian knows dis) and suicide bombers kill to go to heaven just to twiddle SWAT virgins.

[PM]

SWAT team members retreated to the transport vehicle, pointed rifles toward the home and awaited the fire department

Because if the guy had been armed and dangerous, better for the firefighters with no bullet resistant vests and automatic rifles to go in and take him out than our brave boys in blue...

[Almanian!]

I already miss WomSom...