How the War on Terror Militarized the Police

RSN

Over the past 10 years, law enforcement officials have begun to look and act more and more like soldiers. Here's why we should be alarmed."

t around 9:00 a.m. on May 5, 2011, officers with the Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff's Department's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team surrounded the home of 26-year-old José Guerena, a former US Marine and veteran of two tours of duty in Iraq, to serve a search warrant for narcotics. As the officers approached, Guerena lay sleeping in his bedroom after working the graveyard shift at a local mine. When his wife Vanessa woke him up, screaming that she had seen a man outside the window pointing a gun at her, Guerena grabbed his AR-15 rifle, instructed Vanessa to hide in the closet with their four-year-old son, and left the bedroom to investigate.

Within moments, and without Guerena firing a shot - or even switching his rifle off of "safety" - he lay dying, his body riddled with 60 bullets. A subsequent investigation revealed that the initial shot that prompted the SWAT team barrage came from a SWAT team gun, not Guerena's. Guerena, reports later revealed, had no criminal record, and no narcotics were found at his home.

Sadly, the Guerenas are not alone; in recent years we have witnessed a proliferation in incidents of excessive, military-style force by police SWAT teams, which often make national headlines due to their sheer brutality. Why has it become routine for police departments to deploy black-garbed, body-armored SWAT teams for routine domestic police work? The answer to this question requires a closer examination of post-9/11 US foreign policy and the War on Terror.

Ever since September 14, 2001, when President Bush declared war on terrorism, there has been a crucial, yet often unrecognized, shift in United States policy. Before 9/11, law enforcement possessed the primary responsibility for combating terrorism in the United States. Today, the military is at the tip of the anti-terrorism spear. This shift appears to be permanent: in 2006, the White House's National Strategy for Combating Terrorism confidently announced that the United States had "broken old orthodoxies that once confined our counterterrorism efforts primarily to the criminal justice domain."

In an effort to remedy their relative inadequacy in dealing with terrorism on US soil, police forces throughout the country have purchased military equipment, adopted military training, and sought to inculcate a "soldier's mentality" among their ranks. Though the reasons for this increasing militarization of American police forces seem obvious, the dangerous side effects are somewhat less apparent.

Law enforcement means serve and protect

The Examiner
William Heuisler

Law Enforcement should always mean serve and protect citizens...always.

Think about it: Jose Guerena would probably be alive today if Sheriff Dupnik’s multi-agency SWAT team had called the Tucson police for advice.

Case in point: Last Saturday a few Tucson police officers had a problem with a man with a gun in a house. There were five or six regular beat cops, no armored vehicles, no sirens, and no smashed-in doors. No bullets sprayed the neighborhood. They wounded the man and rendered aid. Nobody died.
According to KGUN 9 TV News, Tucson Police Officers went to a house and located a suspect, who threw a large rock out a window at officers and was generally uncooperative. Apparently the mother contacted police and warned her son was possibly armed with a rifle. Police say, as they were relaying information via radio, the suspect pointed a rifle at officers from inside the home. http://www.kgun9.com/news/local/133296763.html

SWAT was not needed. Police Officers backed away and waited until back up, in the form of three more officers, arrived. Ten minutes later, about 12:45, the suspect pointed the rifle at officers again. One of the officers shot the suspect. Tucson Police officers quickly administered first aid until paramedics arrived to take the suspect to a hospital. Nobody died.

Compare this with the Jose Guerena killing six months ago. Remember how, in service of a daytime search warrant, Guerena’s door was broken down and a dozen SWAT officers fired 71 shots into the house – all in less than a minute. The dying former United States Marine lay in his hallway for more than an hour before any public servant even attempted to render him aid.

Police are supposed to serve and protect. Most law enforcement officers serve the public unselfishly and with day-to-day heroism. The May 5th lapses and reactions of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department were due to police militarism, incredible mission overkill, and a serious lack of training.
Guerena died during service of a search warrant. He did not point a weapon at anyone. He bled out in his hallway while dozens of Sheriffs Deputies and paramedics watched from a safe distance.

But Sheriff’s and Pima County Attorney investigators say Officers were not at fault in the Guerena killing. One said Guerena pointed a rifle, and all the officers shot 71 times in self-defense. Apparently Deputies and Paramedics were too afraid for their safety to check Guerena’s condition for an hour.
Next search warrant, Pima County SWAT should call a few Tucson patrol officers. 

SWAT killing is, "justified"?

Examiner
William Heuisler

"Justified" is a strange word to use about the mistaken, unnecessary death of a homeowner. “Justified,” sounds almost triumphant – or self-satisfied – about tragic incompetence.
Yesterday afternoon the Pima County Attorney’s Office said Pima County SWAT members who fired 71 shots at Marine veteran, Jose Guerena (and into a surrounding neighborhood) were “reasonable and justified”. Chief Criminal Deputy David Beckman reported, "Under the circumstances, and based upon our review of all the available evidence, we have concluded that the use of deadly force by the SWAT Team members was reasonable and justified under the law. Accordingly the Pima County Attorney's Office finds no basis to prosecute." (KGUN 9 TV) http://www.kgun9.com/story/14900676/tucson-swat-officers-cleared

A County Attorney states the obvious, and Tucsonans are expected to sigh in relief.

The County Attorney has confirmed there was no intentional criminal act committed by SWAT on May 5th. More important, the County Attorney specified there was not enough evidence to charge the SWAT team with a crime.

For criminal prosecution, intent must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court. Not a chance.
But there never was a question of criminal liability. The question was of incompetence and reckless disregard for the safety of innocent civilians. The question was about the briefing, timing, method and training of an assault team on a disastrous search warrant.

The team did not commit a crime. No one with real knowledge of our justice system and our laws ever accused the ill-chosen SWAT team of committing a crime. Their actions, statements and video showed a badly prepared and poorly led group of men placed in a deadly situation by incompetent superiors. Community condemnation is not for those who shot Jose Guerena in his home, but for those who implemented those policies of clumsy overreaction and needless overkill in pursuit of an erratic drug investigation.

A Marine veteran with no criminal record was shot in his home; a young widow and two small sons are without a husband and father; a residential neighborhood was sprayed with bullets. And Tucsonans are told the SWAT raid and responses were "reasonable and justified”?

Where is the remorse, admission, and abject apology from our County Sheriff?

Veterans Beware

Examiner
William Heuisler

Why is our Sheriff serving search warrants with armored cars, sirens and SWAT teams? Could it be because the Feds say veterans, and citizens with gun training, are dangerous?

On May 5th, SWAT supervisor, Bob Krygier was obviously expecting serious trouble as he got out of an armored Bearcat (18,000 pounds, worth $240,000) at a Tucson home. Sirens blared and an assault team clustered at the door of an alleged “murder” suspect.

Twenty seconds later the assault team broke in and shot Jose Guerena 22 times.

Oddly, the SWAT team had been briefed for a search warrant that Jose Guerena was “associated with a homicide where a husband and wife got killed,” and, “If something were going to happen, it was probably going to happen at Red Water” (Guerena’s house).

But Jose Guerena was an honorably discharged Marine veteran with no criminal record at all.

He was evidently a victim of Federal Government warnings about veterans. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in agreement with the Southern Poverty Law Center, wrote a policy two years ago that anyone with the skills of a combat veteran, or any American who owns a gun - criminal or not - is a danger to society and should be dealt with as a known criminal because of their potential danger to police. (Steinback, 2011)

In fact, DHS issued a report titled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” about veterans as likely recruits for, “attacks against the government.” (Harwood, 2009)

The Guerena killing illustrates this anti-veteran-overkill policy in action.

1)      What purpose has an armored car on a residential search warrant?
2)      Why were sirens allowed to drown out commands during search warrant service?
3)      Why did supervisors brief young officers they would face a homicide suspect?
4)      Why did Sheriff Dupnik tell Jennifer Waddell on KGUN9 News, “He (Guerena) thought we were there to arrest him     for murder”? (Waddell, 2011)

A very expensive 9-ton armored car will stop most bullets fired at officers who are inside it's half-inch steel plate. Emergency vehicles normally use deafening sirens while maneuvering in traffic. So, why use SWAT, a huge armored car and blaring sirens to knock on a front door and serve a search warrant?
Sheriff Dupnik admitted to KGUN9 that, in his mind, this veteran was a criminal.

Federally prompted SWAT, armored cars and military tactics are now everywhere. Capricious policies, untrained officers and unclear enforcement missions are dangerous to all citizens – and particularly dangerous when some citizens are treated differently than others.

So, veterans beware. Sheriff Dupnik is reading our minds, and our government has begun to treat us like the enemy.

Harwood, M. (2009). Security Management. Security’s Web Connection. Domestic Extremist Dictionary leaked from DHS, then retracted. http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/domestic-extremist-dictionary-leaked-dhs-then-retracted-005619

Steinback, R. (2011). Hatewatch. Southern Poverty Law Center. Keeping an eye on the Radical Right. http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2011/04/26/nullification-advocates-take-show-on-the-road/#more-6287
Waddell, J. (2011). KGUN9 ABC. Raw Video: Sheriff Dupnik opens up about fatal SWAT raid.
http://www.kgun9.com/story/14831062/raw-video-sheriff-dupnik-opens-up-about-fatal-swat-raid

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SPECIAL REPORT: Symptoms of Tyranny, Oathkeepers in Arizona to Honor Marine Jose Manuel Guerena

SWAT tactics are killing us

Examiner
William Heuisler

SWAT tactics in our neighborhoods put us all in danger.

More importantly, SWAT tactics in the Jose Guerena search warrant turned our justice system upside down.

Don’t believe it? Try this: Ask friends about Jose Guerena’s death. Likely they will say, “Well, he was a bad guy, right?” They might add, “He was involved in home invasions and drug dealing.”  They will be repeating unproven allegations actively propagated by County Sheriff’s Attorney, Mike Storie.
No matter what Storie says, Jose Guerena had no criminal record on May 5th, 2011.

For the truth, Tucsonans should read SWAT supervisor, Sergeant Krygier’s debriefing statement (12 pages available for download). (Echavarri, 2011)

Krygier said SWAT members’ pre-raid briefing included,” This house on Red Water is where what we call the bad guy lives”…”involved directly with cartels” and “associated with a homicide where a husband and wife got killed.” And more, “We briefed, if something were going to happen, it was probably going to happen at Red Water.”

So, SWAT officers were told Guerena was probably a murderer.

SWAT was briefed trouble was probably going to happen at the Guerena home.
But this was a search warrant. There was no evidence for an arrest warrant for Guerena!
SWAT was pointed like a gun at Jose Guerena.

Is it possible the former-Marine was tried, sentenced and executed by an unknowing Pima County Special weapons team because he was only suspected of crimes?
That horrible concept is quite likely.

And, reading Krygier’s statement, Guerena probably did not even hear SWAT commands.
SWAT arrived at the Guerena home with sirens blaring loud enough to drown out any police commands or identification. Eight seconds after sirens were turned off, the door was busted, a flash bang was tossed in, and Jose was shot down in the hallway in his white boxer shorts.
Arrival to killing took SWAT less than a minute.

Don’t listen to lawyers; read the SWAT supervisor’s eyewitness statement. Get the truth.
Our justice system is based on the principle we are innocent until proven guilty of a crime in a court of law. All Americans must be presumed innocent when dealing with police, or police will treat us all like criminals.
 
Echavarri, F. (2011). Arizona Daily Star. Complex drug probe triggered SWAT raid. Related documents (PDF: statements of officers involved in SWAT raid). http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_ffd3cd6b-6564-59a9-8b43-a1635ae66bd4.html

Group protests SWAT death of Tucson Marine

AZFamily



TUCSON, Ariz. – The death of a former Marine near Tucson continues to stir controversy.

A group spent this Memorial Day protesting the SWAT raid which led to his death. Investigation documents reveal officers seized guns, banking documents and other items from the home but did not find drugs or cash.

The original search warrants, along with other documents relating to the investigation, remain sealed.

Jose Guerena, 26, had no history of violent crime but was listed as a possible suspect in a complex drug investigation.

On May 5, officers raided four homes around Tucson including Guerena's in connection with the drug case.

When they arrived to serve the search warrant, Guerena reportedly grabbed a gun. He didn't aim it at officers but they opened fire, shooting him 60 times. 

The Pima County Sheriff's Office maintains the officers followed protocol during the raid.

A group called the Oath-keepers, made of former officers and service members, led a protest of the raid Monday.

"The SWAT team never should have been there. It's a problem to put trained individuals against each other. Having officers come face-to-face with a veteran Marine in his home is unnecessary," said Stewart Rhodes, the head of the Oath-keepers group.
Print

A dead Marine and a silent sheriff

...And an illustration of the state of Tucson journalism:

William Heuisler
Examiner

On May 5th a Pima County Sheriff’s special weapons team malfunctioned asymmetrically:
SWAT arrived, broke into a private home, and shot a homeowner in less than a minute, but medical attention for that same homeowner was delayed for more than an hour. Why the haste...and the delay?

Police serve and protect. Most law enforcement officers serve the public unselfishly and with a day-to-day heroism matched only in our Armed Services. The May 5th unbalanced actions and reactions of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department were not due to the individual officers.
Police militarization killed Marine veteran, Jose Guerena.

Misuse of military-style special weapons teams to serve search warrants on residences of veterans and gun owners has become common. Traditionally, detectives served daylight residential search warrants quietly, politely and with as little disruption as possible. Although militarized raids are supposedly safer for officers, the new tactics endanger the people police should be protecting. On May 5th many police bullets were found to have passed through neighbors’ homes.

 During the May 5th assault, unnecessary speed prevented communication with civilians. Videos and reports show no communication at all between Deputies and Jose Guerena in the 45 seconds before shooting began. Why not?

 Case #110503248  (Search warrant - 7100 block of south Redwater Street in Tucson). Supervisor - Sergeant Krygier’s 11-page statement can be viewed as a PDF in 5/27 Arizona Daily Star.

Sergeant Krygier excerpts:
Page 3, line 27

 “As I got out of the Bearcat, uh, Almaraz, I think, left the siren going too long, ‘cause we don’t wanna keep it going, because obviously then we can’t hear.
Page 11, line 17

“…the siren had gone on for too long.” (Echavarri, 2011)

A 45 second video (Echavarri, 2011) shows the siren drowning out police commands until six seconds before the door was breached. Shooting began almost immediately. Assaulting a private home like an enemy fortress is senseless. Needless haste and sirens are counterproductive. Those decisions – and delaying medical aid – are policy and training.

After the Jan. 8th Jared Loughner murders, Sheriff Dupnik was full of angry accusations. Now his policies have caused the death of a citizen during service of a search warrant. Could the Sheriff explain why a siren was used? Or why deputies were so quick to shoot and so slow to allow medics (already on the scene) to render aid to a Marine veteran?

Sheriff Dupnik is ultimately responsible. For three weeks he has been uncharacteristically silent.

 Echavarri, F. (2011). Arizona Daily Star. Complex drug probe triggered SWAT raid. Related documents (PDF: statements of officers involved in SWAT raid). http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_ffd3cd6b-6564-59a9-8b43-a1635ae66bd4.html

Death Squad Damage Control in Tucson

Revolutionary Politics

Victims of an American death squad:
Ex-Marine murder victim Jose Guerena
with his wife and sons.

…no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution (emphasis added)

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land…. No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.

Sections 3 and 8 of the “Declaration of Rights” from the Arizona State Constitution’s “Declaration of Rights”

People seeking to defend the manifestly indefensible often sabotage themselves by disclosing critical details that undermine their argument. Mike Storie, the police union lawyer representing the SWAT operators who murdered Jose Guerena in his home on May 5, did this during his May 19 press conference in an attempt to assign all of the blame for Jose’s death on the victim and his terrorized wife.

As reported by the Arizona Star, Storie insisted that if the Guerena family had permitted the armed intruders into their home, those inside “probably … wouldn’t have been arrested.” This is because the “warrant was not directed at any particular person, and Guerena’s home was not mentioned, but it was targeting whoever might be inside the residence….”

That is to say that this was not a legitimate search warrant, under the requirements imposed by the Fourth Amendment (and expressly incorporated in Arizona law through the state constitution). The instrument used as supposed justification for the armed assault was akin to the “writs of assistance” used by British soldiers during the years leading up to the American colonial rebellion.

As Judge Andrew Napolitano summarizes, writs of assistance were “self-written search warrants” that “enabled [British] soldiers and government agents to enter any private building or dwelling and  search for whatever they had authorized themselves to search for.” In this way, occupation forces could invade any home or business they chose, confiscate any item they suspected might be contraband, and haul away in irons anybody who attracted their malevolent  attention.

The only material difference I can identify between that tyrannical practice and SWAT raids of the kind that resulted in the murder of Jose Guerena is the fact that British Redcoats were considerably more restrained in their behavior.

Writs of assistance were conspicuous among the grievances that led the colonial Patriots to rebel against the British government, and they were the direct inspiration for the Fourth Amendment, a provision that as of May 16 is de jure dead letter in the American Imperium.

On that date, two rulings were announced — one by the Indiana State Supreme Court, the other by the U.S. Supreme Court — that formally vitiated constitutional impediments to warrantless intrusions by police.

Those rulings simply formalized the state of affairs that has long existed in the United States; after all, owing the fraudulent, murderous enterprise called the “war on drugs,” the Fourth Amendment has had no tangible relationship to public policy for decades.  Nonetheless, that Amendment remains on the books as part of the “supreme law” — which means that the raid on the Guerena home was, in a literal, legally binding sense, a home invasion robbery.

Michael Storie is a living illustration of the fact that there is no “mob lawyer” more drenched in disrepute than a barrister who prostitutes himself in the service of a police union.