Sheriff deputies in Lake County, Florida are the focus of public outcry after they went to the wrong home to arrest an attempted murder suspect, did not announce they were officers, and then shot and killed Andrew Lee Scott, 26, when he pointed a gun at the strangers at his door.
Scott went to the door armed after he heard pounding on his door at 1:30 a.m. Since the officers did not identify themselves and Brown was not expecting someone at such an early hour, he clearly thought it was trouble. It was.
They were looking for Jonathan Brown who is suspected of attempted murder. Brown had been seen in the complex and his motorcycle was parked across from Scott’s front door. So the only connection to Scott was that the motorcycle was across from his door in a large complex. Yet police still did not announce that they were officers.
This is technically not a “no knock” search. In such searches, there is no knock but the officers are supposed to announce their identities in going into the property. We have seen tragedies like this one involving such searches. Indeed, I have criticized the increasing use of “no knock” warrants. Police now routinely ask and receive warrants that waive the constitutional requirement to “knock and announcement.” Not only is this requirement codified in the U.S. Code, but it is viewed as a factor in determining if a search or seizure is reasonable under the fourth amendment. In 1995, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Wilson v. Arkansas that the requirement was indeed part of the constitutional test and in Richards v. Wisconsin the Court later rejected categorical waivers for “knock and announcement” for cases like drug investigations. Police must show on a case-by-case basis that they have reasonable suspicion of exigent circumstances.
In this case, it would seem that police should have been more careful to announce their identities since they had no clear evidence that the suspect was in the apartment. Given the time of night and the large number of lawfully held guns, the chances that the owner would be in fear of the visitors was great — particularly in a crime ridden neighborhood. I understand the fear of letting the suspect know of the presence of the officers but, given the dangers, the balance of considerations favors identification by the officers in my view. What do you think?
Source: WESH
What is especially appalling here is the police action after the shooting. First, they blame the victim:
Police spokesman Ryan Perry, “He was the wrong guy and he got shot and killed anyway. There’s fault on both sides.”
This is total BS. The man was completely within his rights to answer loud knocking on his door at 1:30am by strangers with a gun in hand.
Then later, they smear him with an entirely irrelevant disclosure:
Drugs and other paraphernalia were found during a search of Scott’s apartment. The victim has a criminal history of drug-related arrests, the sheriff’s office said.
From http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2012/7/16/deputies_say_they_di.html
What would be more relevant is the name of the shooter and his discipline record as a deputy, but you can bet they won’t release that information any time soon.
Zimmermans with badges.
Mike Spindell, obviously it’s an issue with guns in civilian hands – if one were to execute such a warrant upon a household without firearms the police would have no cause to shoot and kill the homeowner/occupant.
Mileage Varied http://jonathanturley.org/2011/01/20/utah-police-execute-no-knock-warrant-on-home-and-shot-and-kill-man-holding-golf-club/
for one such homeowner.
The other, perhaps more palatable option, is for Citizens to be compelled to avert their eyes, face a wall, placing their hands upon their heads upon police approach. Of course that means that the 100,000 or so State Security Police who operate plain-clothes can beat, Tazer®, or gun you down with impunity for violation of the Prime Directive.
The problem is with the Citizenry, not the State, nor the methods of policing. We need to repeat, instill, and never-ever lose this message, until these rogue elements like Andrew Lee Scott (oh, sorry… I meant Jonathan Brown) are brought to justice.
Frankly, in the past year, there have been two home invasions in our semi-rural county. Victims were elderly men in their 80s. Perps were young men, apparently looking for money or something to steal–law enforcement suspects both crimes were drug related. Neither home invasion turned out well for the bad guys. Both were met by the homeowner wielding a 12 gauge shotgun. One was killed outright, but the other made eligible for a Darwin Award because he was removed from the gene pool. Seems a 12 gauge round to the groin at close range guaranteed he will not propagate.
Reblogged this on Thoughts on Business and Faith.
Woosty,
As a fellow resident I sadly know what you mean. Florida minus warm climate is on a par with countries like Brazil. Surface flash, but a seamy underbelly, where inequality reigns. Rick Scott may rank as one of the most disgusting governors in U.S. history.
but owning guns makes me safer!!
It is hard to fault the police response when confronted with a man with a gun. Particularly since they thought they had a murderer in front of them. If I were that guy I would not have trusted a voice on the other side of the door saying they were police anyway. I would have told them I was on the phone to 911 (and I would have been).
We keep ratcheting up the violence and then are supposed to be shocked when the inevitable happens. A very large part of this is the panicked paranoia fueled the NRAs gun nuts and “if it bleeds it leads” amoral news media. The police are just as vulnerable to this thinking (maybe more so since they are in a position much more dangerous than you or I) but at some point we are going to have to figure out how to walk back from here & start understanding that the danger we fear is not nearly as great as the danger we have created.
Blouise, you are an optimist.
SlingTrebuchet
1, July 17, 2012 at 7:56 am
Is Florida a complete zoo or something? (rhetorical question)
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I have been here for about 15 years and have watched the ongoing rape and selling off of one of the most beautiful and unique places in the USA. The crap that goes on here is getting worse and the decent Floridians are being sold out as more and more the gross cretinish underbelly suns itself batantly in the light of day. I have ‘made friends and influenced people’ by pointing out the obvious for years naively thinking it was not the intent to completely destroy this place. Silly me.
Anyone that thinks these exponentially increasing, lawless, aggression mongering events are not the by-product of a failed and corrupt economic ‘plan’ are living in a bell-jar.
Sadly I hear it may be like this everywhere now?
Manslaughter
Mike, I have a tactical flashlight to use when I go to the door under those circumstances. First I have bright porch lights I turn on, but that small flashlight has a 17,500 candlepower high beam as well as a fast strobe function that will disorient anyone and can even cause seizures. Furthermore, it looks like an ordinary flashlight and not a firearm. On the other hand, most people do not care to spend upwards of $150 for a flashlight.
http://streamlight.com/product/class.aspx?cid=2
OS,
That sounds good. My measures differ but also would not leave me vulnerable to attack, or mistake of my intentions. One can never be safe from a well-armed and well thought out intrusion, but those are quite rare. Burglary on the whole is not a smart criminal profession, but because of that they are potentially dangerous. One also needs a mindset that understands that allowing the intruder to get the upper hand, by being tied up for instance, makes you more vulnerable to lethal attacks. I would rather take a chance at being shot, than let someone bind me.
To quote my dear departed grandmother, “This country is going to hell in a handbasket”.
How much could we get for Florida? I know the perfect place for a wall.
There’s no excuse for this kind of policing.
While I still believe in the right to bear arms, it is situations like this that are the reason I personally not own a firearm. To me there are other defensive options available that afford me protection with lesser risk. This instance is one that bears my feeling out. Owning a gun Mr. Scott naturally went to his door armed and I would have done the same. The police, single mindedly looking for a killer, responded by shooting this innocent victim. They are definitely to be blamed for the entire exercize of stupidity and bad procedure. An innocent man is needlessly dead.
OS, correctly reveals the outcome of this sad affair. If the facts presented stand, I believe that these officers should be summarily fired, though we know that will never happen, as OS has explained. For this continued slaughter of innocents to change our nations LEO’s need a change of culture, better training and the need to feel they are in an us vs. them situation with them public. Right now the chances of that happening are slim and none. Not as long as we have effete politicians proving their manlihood by “getting tough on crime”; repression of people of color; the ridiculous “war on drugs”; and a punitive culture reinforced by misinterpretation of religious values.
The law of the jungle …
I have no doubt there will be a thorough (PR word) Internal Affairs investigation, after which the officers will be found to have “acted appropriately” (PR phrase). Then their liability carrier will write the family a check for an “undisclosed sum” (lawyer words) and the whole thing will be forgotten as soon as a new shiny thing appears to distract the public.
Then……sometime in the next few days or weeks it will happen again somewhere. With the same outcome.
Isn’t there still an exception to the warrant requirement when actively seeking a fleeing felon…. Still the evidence suggests they had no logical connection…… I suppose a blank check is in order for this man’s family…..
Is Florida a complete zoo or something? (rhetorical question)
Presumably, the victim would have walked free had he simply opened fire immediately on the people banging down his door – and killed them.
He wouldn’t even have needed the ‘mobile’ version of SYG. He was inside his castle.
Sounds like they’ll be needing some “administrative leave.” /snark