Not new by any means…but still as relevant today as it was when it was released…
Category Archives: DHS
Why More SWAT-Style Raids?
“I’m very concerned that, on a national basis, police organizations are looking more and more like combat troops and less and less like community police officers.”
- Robert Wadman, emeritus Weber State University criminal justice professor-
Excerpt, Standard Examiner – “Law enforcement officials agree: Police execute a “door kick” somewhere in Weber County, on average, once every week.
The forced entries range from a welfare check, when neighbors become concerned as newspapers pile up on someone’s porch and the family car is parked in the driveway.
At the other end of the spectrum are the full-on, SWAT-style raids with helmeted officers battering down a door unannounced, such as the Sept. 16, 2010, entry that left the suspect, Todd Blair, fatally shot.
Officials point to the frequency of door kicks, in police parlance, that occur without publicity or complaint as proof they’re benign — only a small percentage go awry. They steadfastly maintain they are crucial, the swift deployment necessary for officer safety and to keep suspects from destroying evidence.
Commando tactics concerns
But there are critics concerned about the increase in the commando-style entries, also known as a breach.
The American Civil Liberties Union recently announced a nationwide investigation of the “militarization” of police departments, simultaneously filing 255 public records requests in 24 states on March 6.
Among 18 Utah agencies whose records were requested are the Ogden, Roy and Brigham City police departments and the Weber and Cache county sheriff’s offices.
The agencies have been asked to provide data on SWAT team deployments and injuries during the deployments, weaponry used, and the level of funding for armament and equipment from the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.
The ACLU decried militarization as an erosion “of civil liberties encouraging increasingly aggressive policing.”
In the wake of high-profile, lethal-force incidents involving officers, police brass and prosecutors have defended the strong-arm tactics as necessary in an increasingly violent world.
“Officers plan for the worst and hope for the best,” said Ogden Police Lt. Will Cragun. “It’s easy to second-guess after the fact, but you need to get down in the dirt with us to know what’s going on.”
Officials typically point to recent mass shootings around the country as a constant reminder to officers to be on their guard.
Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham noted the Columbine High School shootings of 1999, where 12 students and a teacher were killed and 21 injured, moved him to make his department the first in the state to put A-4 automatic rifles in the trunks of all patrol cars.
“I will always err on the side of getting my officers home at the end of their shift,” he said.
In an earlier news story about the ACLU records request, Weber County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Klint Anderson said the problem is “the militarization of our criminals.”
Anderson said law enforcement is seeing “criminals who have military experience and military training.”
“They are better armed, better trained and more dangerous than before.”
Jim Retallick, veteran Ogden public defender, and other defense attorneys argue there are other ways to serve search warrants than the military-style door kicks.
“Hell yes, it’s getting dangerous,” Retallick said. “For seven people to get shot over marijuana is ridiculous.”
He is referring to the Jan. 4, 2012, forced-entry raid on the Ogden home of Matthew David Stewart. Six officers were shot, one fatally. Stewart was also wounded, hospitalized and jailed and now awaits trial, facing the death penalty…” Full Article Here
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***Warning: Video Contains Graphic & Heartbreaking Footage***
DHS Tanks In My Backyard
How nice to get a full video demonstration of the newly retrofitted ‘light armored’ tanks ready for deployment in New Mexico and W. Texas…yippeefreakingkayay!
Welcome to the Wild West, DHS style…
The Department of Homeland Security (through the U.S. Army Forces Command) recently retrofitted 2,717* of these ‘Mine Resistant Protected’ vehicles for service on the streets of the United States. *An earlier version of this post included a figure of over 2,700 vehicles, as cited from the original RT link. This figure likely comes from a press release from Navistar Defense, mentioning delivery of 2,717 to the U.S. Marine Corps. A DHS Spokesman confirmed with Business Insider that they have only 16 nationwide.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/homeland-security-serving-warrants-mrap-2013-3#ixzz2MpOHQ35e
For those of you who may be wondering…yes, I absolutely feel 100% safe and secure living here now that I know DHS is so well equipped as to be able to pluck us off the roadways (while not even having to worry about those pesky street mines!) as they drive…
…Oh…and if you actually believe me? Well…I’ve got some nice ocean front property for sale, too..!
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Related -
Checkpoint Resistance
These checkpoints are on every road leading out of Lost Causes. They are intimidating as hell; more often than not you feel like you’re getting swarmed as one agent leans in your window to question you and others run drug dogs and mirrors around your car. I’ve watched them grow from porta-potty sized outposts that were almost never open and usually manned by a single agent into something akin to the checkpoint you’d expect entering prison grounds. Millions and millions of dollars have been spent building these places up into outright terrifying and militarized monstrosities.
DEA cameras line the exit into the DHS checkpoints…
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Checkpoints (some would say illegal checkpoints) have been popping up quite frequently in the USA. As you see in this video, you DO NOT have to comply with their question’s or demands. Don’t forget, you have rights.
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A note of caution to folks who are not accustomed to the checkpoints or who may not be aware of the consequences of what can happen if they decide to challenge the agents…
Agents are armed. They have police dogs, tazers, pepper spray and of course, guns. LOTS of guns. Some seem to be young kids who either piss themselves…or overreact with attitude when their authority is challenged. Others are older men with a real abrasive attitude that jump on every word you say to screw with you. A few are polite and one or two have seemed apologetic for what they’re doing. It’s a game of roulette as to which type is likely to be pushing themselves into your space to question you so be prepared for anything. Agents assume innocent things are a sign of guilt – don’t remove your sunglasses? They assume you are hiding something and react accordingly. Don’t mute your stereo because you’re jamming to your favorite song? You’re a punk and probably have drugs. Smile and be too nice? You are a suspicious hippie bastard, better check you out.
I have seen people cuffed and down on their knees on concrete in the blazing sun…and I’ve seen cars being dismantled – and if I understand correctly, once they have turned your car into a completely disassembled scrap heap, they are under no obligation to RE-assemble the vehicle. Call a tow truck, the bill is on YOU even if you are 100% innocent of any wrongdoing. Keep that in mind if you’re asked to pull over into a secondary lane…once they get you there, you are pretty much screwed.
Droning For Dollars
Since the ‘Powers That Be’ recently gave themselves the green-light on the use of drones in the US, one has to wonder who might be profiting from the newly enlarged ‘drone industry’…not to mention, who is using the drones – and for what purposes, exactly?
The Reaper has the ability to carry both precision-guided bombs and air-to-ground missiles. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As with most of our new technological capabilities, the potential for abuse seems rather great. I personally wouldn’t trust my government to watch my cat and I certainly want no part of them watching ME. Beyond that, I don’t want any corporation to be trusted as responsible enough to be operating drones over my head…and seriously, there is no reason on earth for the local university to be screwing around testing these things over our community.
Is There Is there a drone in your neighbourhood? Rise of spy planes exposed after FAA is forced to reveal 63 launch sites across U.S.
Excerpts from Daily Mail UK – “There are at least 63 active drone sites around the U.S, federal authorities have been forced to reveal following a landmark Freedom of Information lawsuit.
The unmanned planes – some of which may have been designed to kill terror suspects – are being launched from locations in 20 states.
Most of the active drones are deployed from military installations, enforcement agencies and border patrol teams, according to the Federal Aviation Authority…”
“...But, astonishingly, 19 universities and colleges are also registered as owners of what are officially known as unmanned aerial vehicles.
It is thought that many of institutions, which include Cornell, the University of Colorado, Georgia Tech, and Eastern Gateway Community College, are developing drone technology…
…The FAA has confirmed that there were about 300 active COAs and that the agency has issued about 700-750 authorizations since the program began in 2006.
But this information does not reveal how many are owned, for example, by Miami Dade Police Department…”
So, who owns drones and how close might they be to YOU?
Read the full article on Daily Mail UK to find out.
I was disturbed to see names of institutions in close proximity to my own home on the list…*shudders*
Just a few launch spots out here in my neck of the woods…
New Mexico State University Physical Sciences Laboratory (NMSU-PSL)
New Mexico Tech
**The maps in the original Daily Mail UK are very interesting and it’s well worth the time to click over and take a look at them in full size.**
Read more: Daily Mail UK
Related Links & News:
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From Republic Report
Rep. McKeon Praises Drone Manufacturers At Conference After They Lavish His Wife With Donations
“McKeon is Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and received $339,000 from the defense industry himself in 2010, so it’s reasonable to suspect that arms manufacturers and others are donating to his wife’s state race in order to please him.
Now, it appears that these donations are paying off. This morning at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., Rep. McKeon delivered a “Special Address” for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International(AUVSI), a drone industry lobbying organization. Republic Report gained access to the event — which hosted hundreds of attendees from the unmanned aerial systems industry, including military drone manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Nanny Cam Sam Wants You!
It seems like our good ol’ Uncle, er…I mean Nanny Sam wants you to feel good about being a rotten snitch willing to rat out your neighbors for a false sense of safety and security. Here is the latest piece of government-funded propaganda designed to brainwash us into thinking terrorists are lurking behind every brief case…
Eureka Genomics Wins DHS Anthrax Detection Grant
Image via Wikipedia
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bioinformatics company Eureka Genomics has reeled in a $750,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Department of Homeland Security to continue to develop tools to detect rare variants of the anthrax pathogen Bacillus anthracis.
Houston-based Eureka is a private firm that develops next-generation sequencing analysis tools for use in discovering microorganisms associated with disease. It also provides sequencing and analysis services.
Full Story On Genome Daily News
Related articles
- Now, suitcase-sized device to detect anthrax (news.bioscholar.com)
- Future Environment Designs sponsors Bacillus anthracis and Anthrax Video (futureenv.blogspot.com)
- Nanotechnology detector for deadly anthrax (nanowerk.com)
- Will the Cloud Save Genomics? [Mike the Mad Biologist] (scienceblogs.com)
