by In a column for PJ Media, Mike McDaniel examined the killing of two home owners when their homes were invaded by SWAT teams. In both cases, neither home owner had broken the law and no evidence of any wrongdoing on their part was found. Their only “crime” was to be armed in the presence of overzealous SWAT teams. In the case of Jose Guerena, the police had a warrant but no probable cause for its issue. In the case of Andrew Lee Scott, they had the wrong guy and the wrong apartment when they knocked on the door.
McDaniel is a former police officer, detective, and SWAT team officer so I think he knows of what he speaks.
In a free society, a society with a fundamental right to keep and bear arms, police officers believing they may shoot a citizen in his own home simply because he is carrying a firearm cannot be tolerated. Officers must absolutely avoid putting citizens in situations where they might be armed, or even pointing firearms in the direction of police officers banging on or breaking down their front doors. If such misconduct is tolerated, as in the cases of Jose Guerena and Andrew Scott, the next knock on any citizen’s door may be the last they ever answer.
Good column, and how long will it be before a legally armed citizen shoots back? Or FIRST if they believe they are being robbed???
the fist sentence in that quote made me cry, because police will continue to shoot armed citizens, and the public will tolerate it.
Having a gun in the home increases the odds of being shot by S.W.A.T. Ergo, we should ban guns.
Just as McDaniel was embarrassingly wrong on the crazed drug addict Erik Scott, he is wrong on Guerena. Guerena's widow was lying about looking out of the house and seeing "armed men." What she saw were armed, uniformed, deputies. The police and deputies preceded their "knock and announce" with a siren from a cruiser in front of the house, that also had its flashing lights on. Guerena decided to shoot it out with the police, plain and simple. Just as Scott decided to draw down on three officers.
And one should ask McDaniel how he had access to the LVMPD report on the Scott shooting while it was under court seal.