An ounce of lead is worth a pound of cure
The War on Drug claims another innocent victim. According to this article, from Newsday, (Click to read in new window. Warning: pop-up ads.), a 20 year-old man was killed, by accident, during a raid that recovered “eight ounces to a pound” of marijuana. The accident occurred when one elite police officer tripped over a tree root into another officer holding a semi-automatic pointed towards the victim.
The article continues with the police claiming that the victim did not lay down on the ground with arms outstretched, as police instructed. Can we safely assume that the officer would still be pointing his gun at the victim even after he was on the ground? If so, then the feeble attempts to spin this as the victim’s fault are not only groundless, but they are purposefully misleading. No weapons or drugs were found on the victim afterwards. He was merely an casualty of unfortunate circumstance.
Eight ounces to one pound of pot. Eight elite Emergency Service officers. One clumsy accident. One innocent victim.
Lest anyone think that I am bashing the cops, I am not. I do not blame the police, in this particular case. It is the insanely dangerous and stupid laws that are in place that create these types of all too typical situations. Now I can no longer claim in good faith that pot never killed anybody. When lawmakers assume we are all criminals, then anyone can pay the ultimate price for so-called justice.
Posted by Jonathan at 12:51 PM, 21 April 2002
Well.. the pot-head received more punshment than he / she deserved. He or she was a far cry from being innocent like you or I probably are.
Look at it this way: to get 8 elite narc division officers surrounding your house, you’re obvioulsy not living the life of an upstanding citizen.
He attracted a certain lifestyle which involves breaking the law. If those enforcing the law on you fuckup - well, they were doing their jobs.
Posted by: Kevin at April 21, 2002 1:15 PM
Kevin, thanks for your comments, but I don’t think you read the relevant article. This guy went to somebody’s house. That was his crime. He wasn’t there to buy or sell pot. He was there to payback some money he borrowed. That isn’t a crime.
And what is more, that is not the way justice works. If the cops fuck up, that is worse than a citizen breaking the law, since no one is guilty until determined in a court of law. The difference between an accident and police abuse is a fine one, especially in the eyes of the public. Police are enforcers, not executioners.
Posted by: Jonathan at April 21, 2002 1:31 PM