Odessa cops raid fake drug den, get caught on camera
tags:
Stumble ThisKopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing marijuana. When faced with a suspected marijuana grow, the police usually use illegal FLIR cameras and/or lie on the search warrant affidavit claiming they have probable cause to raid the house. Instead of conducting a proper investigation which usually leads to no probable cause, the Kops lie on the affidavit claiming a confidential informant saw the plants and/or the police could smell marijuana coming from the suspected house.
The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster's attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster's secret mobile office nearby.
The attorney was handcuffed and later released when eleven KopBuster detectives arrived with the media in tow to question the illegal raid. The police refused to give KopBusters the search warrant affidavit which is suspected to contain the lies regarding the probable cause.
Source: NeverGetBusted.com (includes news footage)
The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster's attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster's secret mobile office nearby.
The attorney was handcuffed and later released when eleven KopBuster detectives arrived with the media in tow to question the illegal raid. The police refused to give KopBusters the search warrant affidavit which is suspected to contain the lies regarding the probable cause.
Source: NeverGetBusted.com (includes news footage)
He was barricaded in his house, and he had nothing to lose.
The cops decided that they would try to take him out with out negotiations or special weapons and tactics.
They were going around to the side of the house, and forgot about the windows on the side of the house. Do I need to say any more?
This is why there are rules that uniforms have to follow, warrants that you do not lie on. Etc Etc. These things are there to keep citizens safe, and moreover to keep the uniforms safe.
Playing the system that was meant to keep citizens and uniforms safe, only leads to people getting hurt or worse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3Fu4YVH8nA
It appears that someone was using IR tech ilegally.
I can imagine California having a state law about it, maybe Oregon and Washington...
Y'know if EVERYONE would use a halogen light it would render the helicopter InfraRed sweeps useless since EVERY house would glow "hot".
You have to play by the rules, or you are no better then the criminals you seek. It's that simple.
Also weed is completely harmless as a substance. The behavior of addiction is what is bad, no matter what the substance. Useless to blame the substance, and especially so in this case. Weak.
I'm sorry, could someone point me to federal laws prohibiting infrared imaging into private property?
I can imagine California having a state law about it, maybe Oregon and Washington...
Bamdrew in order to get a warrant there needs to be a clear Images of evidence. Beyond a doubt. If these officers could not see in from a window, and get a clear concise picture of the "weed" then they did not uphold the standards for a search warrant.
cited=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy#An_individual_right
You can argue tit for tat over laws, but judging by your comment I can gather that you either are ignorant (its non colloquial form) of the laws, or do not care for privacy.
If no one enforces their rights to privacy then there are no rights at all. I cannot believe that we are arguing over an innate right that all free people should have. Even if that freedom is relative, or imaginary.
As to private property, they cannot be on said property when they took the photos, because that would be a violation of the law. Assuming that they took images from public property, then the likelihood of them getting the images they need for a lawful warrant is very unlikely.
When it comes to the law, the cards are stacked against you, they always are.
Police should not be held up to such a high standard, they are people just like you and me. They have bad days and good days, and their shirts get wrinkles in them just like ours. There are bad apples among the good apples.
But when it comes to drugs and fame, you can always count for the basest of human emotion to come out.
The guy in charge of all of it is a cop who's sister was falsely arrested. She had weed planted on her by an "informant" who later admitted in court what he did. She is still in prison serving a 8 yr sentence because of CROOKED cops.
That is what this is about. Cops breaking the law to enforce it is a slippery slope that we know how it ends.
See also this news report
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3Fu4YVH8nA
embedded:
Inefficiency at best... Criminal at worst. Wasting resources is bad.
There's nothing the slightest bit criminal about it; the lights they were using are perfectly legal. As for wasting resources, tell that to those running the War on Drugs.
Does it make their actions unlawful because they were fooled?
I'm against law enforcement agencies shirking the constitution, but I don't hold kopbusters in high regard either.
Saying that the war on drugs is a waste is not a good argument.
Does it make their actions unlawful because they were fooled?
The SCOTUS has already ruled on the use of IR cameras without a search warrant. It's unlawful because they violated the 4th ammendment. I don't care how many people they catch that are guilty using this illegal means. They broke the law and should be punished for it. If you don't agree with this then you don't deserve the protection that the constitution provides you.
Wasting a local police department's time and money for a fucking tv show. Whether or not the cops were wrong - I don't care. But don't waste tax payer money for your fucking show.
...Whether or not the cops were wrong - I don't care...
I am sure you are in the minority here. The Blue Code of Silence is strong and deserves to have a light shone on it.
I'll tell you what's terrible :
Wasting a local police department's time and money for a fucking tv show. Whether or not the cops were wrong - I don't care. But don't waste tax payer money for your fucking show.
How about not wasting tax payer money by lying on an affidavit so you can bust someone warming a couple of xmas trees?
Or, how about not wasting tax payer money by incarcerating millions of people for non-violent minor possession charges?
Some things, like the right to privacy, are a bit more meaningful than money.
These guys should be out busting meth labs anyway.
PS: In your opinion MG, what's with the slow motion raid? These guys look like their toking up themselves. Thank god there wasn't an armed criminal in there!
I'll tell you what's terrible :
Wasting a local police department's time and money for a fucking tv show. Whether or not the cops were wrong - I don't care. But don't waste tax payer money for your fucking show.
Exactly. I mean just think about how many illegal searches they could've made or how many search warrants they could've faked in that time. They could've planted evidence or beaten a confession out of an innocent person. Don't waste the time of corrupt cops, just don't do it.
As for the slow-mo raid - they were asking to get shot. Never give the OpFor the chance to strike first.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibiton (website)
A sifted video about L.E.A.P.
I never said these cops were right, but to specifically set something up that will waste taxpayer money is bullshit.
If law enforcement set up a fake bank sting for bank robbers to rob, the robbers are at fault. The COPS are the ones wasting money here, because they are the ones illegally raiding.
And it's not like Odessa doesn't have some real crime to fight.
The situation was deliberately set up to bait the cops...by looking like something that 99% of the time is a drug operation. How is that not probable cause?
the point is that it is ILLEGAL for cops to use infrared scanners on houses.
The ONLY way cops could come to the conclusion that it was a drug growing operation is IF THE COPS BREAK THE LAW.
it was set up to bait ILLEGAL Practices.
roughly equivalent to cops sitting on the side of the freeway with a radar gun looking for speeders.
^ No shit. Marine, I agree with you 99% of the time but this is bullshit. It's a video of the police breaking the law. That's not a waste of resources. Breaking the law you're being paid to enforce is a waste of resources.
These guys should be out busting meth labs anyway.
PS: In your opinion MG, what's with the slow motion raid? These guys look like their toking up themselves. Thank god there wasn't an armed criminal in there!
i think slomo raid is their only options, they look rather overweight and immobile that bunch
roughly equivalent to cops sitting on the side of the freeway with a radar gun looking for speeders.
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your argument, but...isn't that perfectly legal?
Perhaps a better analogy would be when the police set up a prostitution sting. You can bitch all you want that you were set up, but you would have never been snagged if you weren't soliciting in the first place.
I really think these sorts of operations are going to be key to protecting our rights in the next decade or so. For a long time crooked police were fairly untouchable as it was just your word against theirs. With the proliferation of cheap technology (cameras, GPS, cell phones) and the availability of the internet, they have to be on their best behavior. In a matter of minutes, bad behavior can be captured and released to the public and no amount of threats will make it disappear.
We're shining a light on these cockroaches, but I don't see them scattering.
>> ^vairetube:
Inefficiency at best... Criminal at worst. Wasting resources is bad.
There's nothing the slightest bit criminal about it; the lights they were using are perfectly legal. As for wasting resources, tell that to those running the War on Drugs.
You misread. I AM referring to the Police Department.
I'll tell you what's terrible :
Wasting a local police department's time and money for a fucking tv show. Whether or not the cops were wrong - I don't care. But don't waste tax payer money for your fucking show.
Hey MG, if the cops did their homework properly in the first place they would never have raided the house and money wouldn't have been wasted...
There were zero grounds for a warrant or even a reasonable suspicion. So hey, instead of pointing fingers at the guys setting up the sting, how about you point a finger back at the people who claimed it was necessary to waste all that money on bum steer...
>> ^sometimes:
roughly equivalent to cops sitting on the side of the freeway with a radar gun looking for speeders.
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your argument, but...isn't that perfectly legal?
In this case, Copbusters are the "cop" waiting on the side of the road with the radar gun...
And the police blew through their road trap doing 120 throwing empty beer bottles out the window... =)
In this case, Copbusters are the "cop" waiting on the side of the road with the radar gun...
And the police blew through their road trap doing 120 throwing empty beer bottles out the window...
This analogy doesn't work, because the cop on the side of the road isn't baiting drivers to speed - he's just waiting for them to do something illegal of their own accord.
Overcast's prostitution sting analogy is better.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Copbusters had someone call in an "anonymous tip" which lead to a legitimate warrant. It's not that I don't think the cops could have been illegally cruising with IR scanners, just that it wouldn't surprise me to find that the bait went deeper than a couple of lamps.