A SWAT Raid Based On Faulty Info Kills a Man Over His ‘Huge Stash.’ Worth Maybe $2

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A SWAT Raid Based On Faulty Information Kills a Man Over His ‘Huge Stash.’ Worth Maybe All of $2.

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In a sad case of investigative error, a man has tragically lost his life in a SWAT raid. The raid turned up only $2.00 worth of marijuana in his possession.

A drug informant identified and accused Jason Westcott of dealing drugs for the Tampa Bay Police Department, despite Westcott’s having no previous criminal record.

The informant, known as Ronnie “Bodie” Coogle, has confessed to lying to the police after it was too late, according to the Tampa Bay Times:

Coogle said they were all wrong. He said he repeatedly lied about suspects, stole drugs he bought on the public’s dime and conspired to falsify drug deals.

One of those he lied about, he said, was Jason Westcott, a young man with no criminal convictions whom a SWAT team killed during a drug raid that found just $2 worth of marijuana. Critics from across the country condemned the Police Department’s handling of the case as an example of the drug war’s lethal excesses.

“They’re making statements that are lies, that are absolute untruths, that are based on shady facts,” Coogle said of Tampa police. “Everything they’re saying is based on the informant. And I was the informant.”

The victim of the SWAT raid, Jason Westcott, had fears of being robbed and even armed himself, on the advice of officers who had investigating threats Westcott reported.

Westcott, those close to him said, was left with a word of advice from the investigating officers: If anyone breaks into this house, grab your gun and shoot to kill.

When the SWAT team broke down his door, at the permission of a no-knock warrant, Westcott reached for his gun to protect himself from what he thought were robbers. He was met by a wave of gunfire by the SWAT agents, and died in his home.

Questions circling this story about the amount of force authorities used in the raid and the methods that were used to conduct the investigation. The initial explanation for the source of information had been supposed complaints from neighbors.

Police initially said that the investigation of Westcott’s alleged drug dealing began because of neighbors’ complaints. However, when the Times could find no neighbors who had called police and no records of the complaints, the department revised this assertion, saying the case began with a tip from the same informer who later bought the marijuana.

This story, along with several other recent events, have called into question the methodology of drug law enforcement, in light of botched raids and unnecessary victims. The question is, will Westcott’s tragic death now lead to reform? Who, ultimately, will be held responsible?

http://www.ijreview.com/2015/01/232044-3-man-killed-swat-raid-based-faulty-information/
 

sh00ter

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Prosecute the guy!

And as for drugs...I now think of them more like cigarettes...anyone who uses them is wrong but the idea of swat teaming someone for having access to a plant is insane...I am totally against drugs but think non-violent drug users do not need to be costing me tax money to house in a prison...decriminalize but educate the public and usage will go down like cigarettes have. At least for natural substances...perhaps man-made drugs are dangerous enough to still ban/regulate. And as for "what about someone being high and driving"...that is illegal now and should remain illegal...but it's just the idea of a "free" country and then imprisoning people and ruining their lives because some control freaks gets their jollies by denying someone access to a plant...That is the logic that made me change my opinion on the issue. Liberty should always be the default position by anyone on this message board :)
 

donner

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Don't worry, the 'he'd be alive if he hadn't been breaking law' folks will be along shortly to tell us all how $2 of weed is a 'red hearing' and how anyone who thinks the cops were wrong to use a full SWAT raid for this guy (or to be targeting weed in the first place) 'don't really grasp reality' or something to that effect.
 

ConstitutionCowboy

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Obviously, the 'informant' is guilty of murder along with the SWAT team and those who sent the SWAT team - to include the judge who signed the warrant. It appears no one did an investigation to verify any of the claims by the informant.

All a no-knock warrant is, is a death sentence carried out without due process. To wait to ban no-knock warrants is to condemn those who would be the victims to death before the fact. We are aware that it can happen and are duty bound morally and in the name of common sense to ban them.

Woody
 

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