LAwdog;
cossatojoe brings up a good point: what exactly is the criteria for involving local law enforcement on a raid? I mean, I recognize the cases that he's referring to and I've always wondered why the local yokels participated. Do the feds come in and say, "We need help with another drug dealing, baby raping, gun-totin' looney. Bring all of your SWAT stuff and let's go get this scumbag!!" or what? Are the local cops acting under orders? Do they have the choice to sit it out? On the surface, it seems like it comes down to "just following orders" a lousy defense for a soldier that killed civilians for no reason, and an even lousier one for a civilian police force.
I've never been a cop, don't want to be, and hope I never need one bad enough to call 911. But I sometimes wonder, do any of them ever question the Constitutionality of what they're doing? "No knock" warrants and confiscation of private property for crimes not yet tried in court are two of the reasons that the colonies revolted against the British. The cops I've known and associated with are above average in intelligence and political awareness, it seems inevitable that they ask themselves from time to time whether or not what they're doing is right.
