Hello Freedomphiles! Well, thanks to Evren, I've got another botched wrong-door paramilitary raid to tell you about. This one regards some political exiles from Cuba, who presumably are happy that they have been treated the same way here as they would there - hey, at least they're...err...free? NBC6 reports:
Llorente said he was just leaving for work when unmarked cars pulled up, Drug Enforcement Administration agents jumped out, threw him down with guns drawn, handcuffed him, stormed into his home and searched for drugs.
"I asked them why they came to my house, they said a neighbor or somebody called and said I had a hydroponics lab in my house," Llorente said. "Then I asked them if a marijuana plant could grow inside my underwear drawer."
The Llorentes said they don't speak much English – they're immigrants from Cuba. They said one of the reasons they came to the U.S. was to escape oppression from the Cuban police.
Isabel Llorente said she never thought this could happen here.
Yeah, that's what they all say. Just take it. Don't you understand that tyrrany is the price of freedom? This was part of "Operation D-Day," where local Rambos raided 50 grow houses to stop the insidious threat of too much Playstation and a boom for the Hostess corportation.
Llorente, in her dismay, hit upon a very important and under-reported aspect to these raids:
She said what made it especially traumatic was not knowing if the agents were really police or imposters. She said she tried to call 911, but they wouldn't let her.
They tell you that you have no responsibility to pull over in a dangerous area or dark stretch of road. They say that you can continue until you find a safe place for a stop, that you can require the officer to show you his or her ID before submitting to their requests.
What about when a platoon of armed goons kicks in your door, points a gun in your face, slams you on the ground and puts their knees into the back of your neck? When is the appropriate time during that to request identification?
And what is to stop a cadre of real-life, non-government sponsored goons from doing the same thing and robbing you blind? Oh yeah, nothing.
Was it worth it, in the end? Radley Balko comments:
It's worth noting that while police say these tactics are necessary because drug distributors tend to be violent and armed to the teeth, this operation apparently turned up just eight guns from 150 homes.