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242 points LinuxBender | 5 comments | | HN request time: 0.619s | source
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plagiarist ◴[] No.42168920[source]
It should really not be possible for a single anonymous phone call to dispatch a heavily armed response team to break down someone's door.

Aside from that, people who do so are despicable. 20 years is a light sentence. Taking money to put people in situations that could easily become deadly.

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bigiain ◴[] No.42169045[source]
It wouldn't be a problem, if the "heavily armed response team" was properly held to account when they killed innocent people.

Cops kill people on the basis of ludicrous anonymous phone call because they know they'll get away with it when it turns out to be false.

And they like it that way.

There needs to be a few very public cases of entire SWAT teams getting 20 year sentences.

ACAB

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1. leoqa ◴[] No.42172618[source]
How many police officers do you know? Have you been on a ride along or attempted to understand their job?

Swatting victimizes the police as well, they’re responding to a potential hostage situation and do not have the benefit of hindsight. I guarantee these officers are horrified that the man was innocent and frustrated that they were put in this situation.

I encourage everyone who is adamantly “ACAB” to go on a ride along- contact your local department. At best, you get first hand experience to justify your beliefs and can virtue signal even more to your friends. Or you may be able to humanize the police.

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2. coldpie ◴[] No.42173020[source]
> I guarantee these officers are horrified that the man was innocent and frustrated that they were put in this situation.

How many cops do you know? They might say they're horrified to the media, but that's not how they operate when no one's watching. There's a reason these SWATting events keep happening: cops enjoy them just as much as the SWATters do. They get to bust out their fun military surplus toys and do their SEAL Team 6 cosplay. If they wanted to stop these SWATting events, they would have found a solution by now.

Check out these highlights (lowlights?) from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department:

https://racketmn.com/human-rights-report-mpd-needs-major-ove...

These are not people known for nuance or remorse.

Link to the full investigation report:

https://mn.gov/mdhr/assets/Investigation%20into%20the%20City...

3. bcdtttt ◴[] No.42173052[source]
Do you know why ACAB? Is not because they are rude, it's not cause they mean. It's because they participate in a societal role that requires them to do bastardly things.

They have to enforce unjust laws and unjust outcomes, and statistically do so more heavily across minority populations.

The institution requires them to be bastards, ACAB is a statement about the institution of police and the people who elect to join that institution.

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4. baq ◴[] No.42173937[source]
man who do you think joins swat teams
5. michaelt ◴[] No.42174574[source]
> It's because they participate in a societal role that requires them to do bastardly things. They have to enforce unjust laws and unjust outcomes

The problems with American policing aren't merely that the cops have to enforce the law.

It's the qualified immunity, the get-out-of-jail-free cards for their buddies, and the dog shootings.

If the police never shot the wrong guy, always replaced your door after breaking it down, and were polite and apologetic when a mistake was made - people in this thread wouldn't be equating swatting with attempted murder.