Yet Another "Isolated Incident."

Hello Freedomfiles!  Radley Balko reports on another "isolated incident" of a SWAT raid gone awry.  Just as in the story I posted on the 5th, a SWAT team was used in an instance where no one was in immedeate danger and peaceful options were available.

This time, it wasn't a drug raid - they were looking for a murder suspect.  This time, they didn't kill the dogs.  They killed seven-year-old Aiyana Jones (above), by first burning her with a flash-bang grenade and then shooting her in the neck.

Her grandmother, Mertilla Jones saw the whole thing: "They blew my granddaughter's brains out. They killed her right before my eyes.  I watched the light go out of her eyes. I seen it."

At least they were looking for a murderer this time, but still - no one was in immediate danger - at least not until SWAT arrived.  They knew the suspect was in the apartment building somewhere, and they had gotten a warrant for the whole duplex.  Neighbors  warned the officers that there were children present, pointing out the toys strewn on the lawn.  

No matter, apparently, because instead of staking the place out, waiting for the suspect to leave, and arresting him peacefully on the street, they went straight for the paramilitary raid, as is often the case these days.

It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds, as there was an entire production unit there with them from the A&E show, The First 48.  This footage will be priceless in getting America to realize that SWAT teams are being overused and misused in this country. 

SWAT teams were originally created because of Charles Whitman, who went on a rampage at the University of Texas at Austin, climbing the tower with a rifle and killing fourteen people.  It took officers, untrained in that kind of situation, entirely too long to take out Whitman, and it was determined that a unit, versed in special weapons and tactics, was necessary to prevent future tragedies of that scale.

Originally, they were supposed to be used only for things like the tower shooting, or hostage situations - scenarios where there were innocent civilians in imminent danger.  Now, it seems, they'll use them to serve a bench warrant for a speeding ticket.

There is absolutely no reason that this poor little girl should have died.  The suspect wasn't even in her half of the duplex.  The next time you read about a SWAT raid - botched or not - ask yourself this question: Could this have been done peacefully, or was a full-on military assault necessary?

Chances are,  you will find more times than not, there was a peaceful alternative that would not put people like little Aiyana in the middle of a war.

If you'd like to see just how often these "isolated incidents" occur, check out The Cato Institute's Interactive Map of botched paramilitary police raids.