Brickbat: Consumer Beware

tire store and searched it at gun point. Officials say a man complained that he may have received used parts instead of new when he had his vehicle repaired there.

Comments

[Pavlov's Cat]

GASP! It's wonder they didn't just drone the place.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Maybe the department doesn't get to play Army often enough.

[Bardas Phocas]

I'm pretty sure that justifies their SWAT! budget for the year.
"That's some fine police work, Lou."

[db]

"SWAT officers responded appropriately to a reported case of highway robbery. This concludes our internal investigation.

You are all hereby invited after this press conference for punch and cookies to celebrate the fine first responder heroes of our SWAT organization. Please note, no cameras or other recording devices allowed."

[wareagle]

if there weren't links to all these cops behaving badly stories, imagine how difficult it would be to convince people that they are real. Like this story; what sane person would believe it to be true without the local link to verify it. Goddamn, these people are out of their minds.

[Ted S.]

They're not out of their minds; they're evil.

[sarcasmic]

You know, I was thinking that at some point history will look back at the DEA and rank them right there with the Gestapo, Stasi, and other secret police who went "undercover" to arrest people for victimless crimes against the state.

[SugarFree]

Not only with they be ranked, it will be hard to explain to the layman what the difference exactly was.

[sarcasmic]

Maybe it will be described as a Natural religion.

Everything needs to be natural. Natural highs from busting down doors and shooting family pets are virtuous, while unnatural highs from consuming plant products are bad. Natural food resulting from thousands of years of selective breeding is virtuous, but unnatural food from genetic engineering is bad. And so on and so forth.

[WTF]

The Heroes in Blue got to go home safely that night. It's all that matters.

[Pavlov's Cat]

Yeah, just imagine. There might have been a little girl with an unregistered stand selling illicit lemonade.

[Suthenboy]

Suspected chop shop.

I could almost be convinced this was necessary, but then I remember that the ever increasing militarization of the cops has escalated the violence potential in every criminal enterprise. Now every violation of every code or law requires ski-masked goons to descend in mass armed to the teeth. Ahmish farmers selling unpasturized milk have to be stomped with a jackboot? For fuck's sake.

[sarcasmic]

Didn't you know it's a war out there? There is an underclass of people who are armed like soldiers and willing to take up arms against the police! The police can never know if anyone they deal with is part of this underclass, so they must assume that they are! Anything else might jeopardize officer safety! Better that a hundred citizens be killed by the police than to have one officer not come home to his family! Serve and protect ... fellow officers!

[Ted S.]

There is an underclass of people who are armed like soldiers and willing to take up arms against the police!

They can fight each other, and let the rest of us go about our lives in peace.

[VG Zaytsev]

You know those funny stories where some moron calls 911 because a fast food joint didn't make their hamburger right. I think a full swat response for one of those calls is going to happen in the near future.

[Rich]

"OK, 'have it your way', motherfucker!"

[Rich]

Another aspect to this is that it happened in Texas.

I have considered moving there, but recently it seems that state is getting as, um, unfriendly as many others.

I would appreciate any responses from the Texan contingent of the commentariat.

[Lord Peter Wimsey]

Rich, I still think Texas is better than most states, but Gov Perry is a complete tool who conveniently overlooks those things that don't fit into his "Texas=Freedom" narrative.

Ceder Park is right next to Austin. These communities tend to ape the deep blue city in their state-worship (and anything involving the Fed, or course, can happen anywhere in Texas).

If you pick the right town/city, and if you can stand the Summers (108 degrees and high humidity) there are definite benefits to living in the Lone Star State (not state tax and gun rights for starters)

[Lord Peter Wimsey]

Let's try that last sentence again, in English: You have gun rights and no state tax.

[Rich]

Thanks, my Lord!

[prolefeed]

Some gun rights. Did an open carry event where we went thru downtown Austin toting long guns (the organizer loaned me his sweet camo Benelli shotgun), and none of the cops bothered us. But, one of the regulars at these events didn't show because he got tossed in jail for having a handgun in view in his car on private property, even though that was apparently technically legal (can open carry long guns, but generally illegal to have a visible handgun without special permission from the cops.)

[prolefeed]

I live right by Cedar Park, Texas.

The cops here don't seem to be quite as bad as the HPD (Honolulu Police Department), and the highways aren't as overpatrolled as the rest of the South or Utah. Did have a close call in Cedar Park about a month ago making a safe but illegal U-turn, and the SUV behind me did the same and got lit up by the CPPD.

Course, only been here a few months, so haven't yet gotten into trouble with the local mounties.

[Radioactive]

only three 93) dogs were shot in the completion of this harrowing mission to root out crime & corruption on the streets of the 'NAKED CITY"

[Radioactive]

three (3)

[Mainer2]

Incentives matter, don't they. Whenever I handle a firearm, I am extremely cognizant of safe handling rules, because I would face serious consequences for a negligent discharge. Pointing a gun at another person, unless I was willing to kill them in self defense, is unthinkable. Knowing you'll face no consequences would surely make one casual in handling a gun

[creech]

Dammit, if the "out of power" political party in each of these jurisdictions won't do it, then the Libertarian Party (if there is one) needs to raise hell every time and demand accountability. Otherwise, these situations will just keep escalating.

[prolefeed]

There's an active LP here, but they don't have any elected officials. Not like they aren't trying to get a more libertarian city, but only so much you can do when vastly outvoted.