MetaFilter posts tagged with balko

SWAT Raids, Stun Guns, And Pepper Spray: Why The Government Is Ramping Up The Use Of Force

empath — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:05:56 -0800

Shortly after Jared Loughner allegedly opened fire in the parking lot of a Tucson grocery store last January, we saw much hand-wringing about the threat of violence against the government. In fact, violence against government officials is actually pretty rare. But just three days before Loughner's rampage, police in Framingham, Mass., raided the home of 68-year-old Eurie Stamps. Stamps wasn't the target of the drug raid. Police were after the son of Stamps' girlfriend, and actually apprehended him outside the home. They raided the house anyway. Stamps, who was unarmed and broke no laws, was shot and killed by a police officer. By my count, he's at least the 46th innocent person killed in a botched drug raid. Every politician in Washington condemned the Loughner shootings, and rightly so. But nearly every politician in Washington supports the laws and policies that led to the death of Eurie Stamps.

-- Radley Balko continues his lonely crusade documenting the ongoing militarization of America's police forces.

Cory Maye free

vivelame — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:18:17 -0800

After spending ten years in prison for capital murder, most of it on death row, Cory Maye is to be set free.

“Frightened,” Maye said. “Very frightened.”

Sticherbeast — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 09:45:30 -0800

The Case of Cory Maye. A cop is dead, an innocent man may be on death row, and drug warriors keep knocking down doors.

The Militarization of Mayberry

ryoshu — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 12:22:19 -0800

Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America. Radley Balko (also mentioned here and here) has released a year long study of the militarization of police departments across the United States. Cato has a corresponding interactive map to track and filter botched paramilitary raids.

Puppycide

homunculus — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 20:51:48 -0800

The Drug War Goes to the Dogs. SWAT teams (usually the young ones) seem to commit a lot of puppy cide. (Via The Agitator, who is also a MeFite.)

Radley Balko fisks the DEA's Karen Tandy

Kwantsar — Mon, 16 May 2005 08:07:30 -0800

Radley Balko fisks the DEA's Karen Tandy 'So which is it? Are doctors a "very small part of the problem," or are they "the primary sources of diverted pharmaceuticals available on the illicit market?" ...I guess it depends on whether the agency is trumpeting its victories to Congress, or defending its tactics from critics in newspaper op-eds.'

The Agitator

sheauga — Sat, 20 Apr 2002 06:40:32 -0800

The Agitator prepares for a big day today. "My first anarcho-enviromentalist-anticapitalist protest. I sprang awake at 6:30am." Per Google, this is only the second thread in which an agitator has appeared.