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* Michael R. Burhans - Out Of My Mind *
* A Weekly Electronic Column *
* April 5, 1994 *
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Drug War Collateral Damage
Or
"You have the right to remain silent... forever."
Friday night the twenty-fifth of March the nation's war on drugs
claimed another innocent victim. The Boston Police Department's SWAT
team acting on an informant's tip, raided the apartment of the
elderly Reverend Accelynne Williams. The Reverend, noted for being
quiet and shy in his personal life and for his dedication to helping
people get off of drugs, was understandably shocked when without
warning his front door exploded open and a team of helmeted men in
full body armour armed with military style weapons came screaming
into the room. While for most people such a moment of sheer terror
would only lead to years of nightmares, pain and therapy, for Rev.
Williams it was his last moment. These ninja suited drug warriors
literally scared him to death. We can only imagine what terrified
thoughts ran through his mind in those last moments. His family,
friends, and parishioners are left behind wondering how this could
possibly happen in America. It is a valid question that we should
explore.
The first question that we must ask is just what lead to this bust
in the first place. According to the spokesman from the Boston
Police they got a tip from an informant that cocaine was being sold
from that building and he mixed up the apartment number. They lay
all the blame for this homicide on this unnamed snitch. I beg to
differ; what kind of police department stages a full scale SWAT raid
on a single uncorroborated tip? Doesn't the Boston Police Department
employ detectives? Do they not bother to utilize even a token amount
of investigation or surveillance? Is it standard operating procedure
to stage a full scale raid on each and ever drug tip that they get?
Think of the abuse such a policy is prone to. Say you break up with
your lover and want to make them miserable? Call in an anonymous tip
that they are dealing cocaine and sit back and watch the fun as a
dozen drug warriors destroy their property and piece of mind. Hey,
you might even get lucky and have Officer Rambo-wannabe accidently
shoot them! You just got fired? Call in an anonymous drug tip and
watch your former place of business get torn apart! It may be days,
weeks, or even months before they recover, perhaps even never.
Haven't we lost enough of our rights in the name of this drug war
already? When I was a small boy we were taught that one of the things
that made the United States great was that a person's home was their
castle. In America, we were told, roaming squads of police did not
kick in people's doors and drag them off without a well investigated
legally issued warrant. Now it seems this view is outdated, no
investigation is needed. The police act on the merest scrap of
suspicion, even single uncorroborated tips. Judges turn their back
on the Constitution and what is right, and simply issue any warrants
the police ask for. In this unthinking bureaucratic process all
semblance of justice and rights are lost. Innocents die in their own
homes; victims of Drug War Death Squads who should be more at home in
El Salvador or Communist China than here in America.
It is time for the people of the United States to stand up and
reassert our roles as the rightful rulers in our society. This war
on our rights must stop before the body count rises any higher. The
law enforcement community must be put back into its proper place.
Our Constitutional guarantees of freedom must once again be followed,
or the entire fabric of our society is doomed. So far our leaders
only plan to repair the societal chaos resulting from this usurping
of our rights is to limit, and even remove more of our rights. This
is unacceptable.
Lastly I was struck by the closing comments the Boston Police
Department's spokesman made. In reference to the death of Rev.
Williams he said words to the effect that they would, "...make this
situation right again." We can only be amazed at this level of
hubris. It seems that the Boston Police Department has become so
full of itself that it has decided that not only do the rules of
proper Constitutional law no longer apply to it, but it seems neither
do the rules of natural law! I for one will anxiously await to see
exactly how they plan on resurrecting this good man that they so
cruelly and unjustly killed.