CO police cuff, search dozens of innocent people at gunpoint in frenzied manhunt

[singlesix]

OK let's say the plaintiffs win this lawsuit, SO WHAT! Is the police chief going to lose his job, or any of the officers involved? I doubt it. The tax payers will payout Millions and that's about it.

 

[ModernGunner]

"OMG!!! The 'mean' Police stopped me and searched my car during a manhunt! I'm gonna SUE somebody!!"

Bleh, been through 'em, on BOTH sides of the badge. Couldn't care less, AND have zero respect for anyone whining about it.

 

[rambone]

There's nothing worse than sissies whining about their "constitutional rights." Boo hoo. If you have nothing to hide, what's the problem? Merica.

 

[Destro]

Servin and protectin, Rocky Mountain style.

Destro will be along shortly to explain how this was not big deal. I mean, they did catch the BG, all the LEOs went home safe and the citizens rights were only violated for a couple hours.

The claims are serious

 

[Henry]

AURORA, CO — Seeking a bank robbery suspect with no description of the culprit, police barricaded an intersection, ordered dozens of people out of their cars at gunpoint, handcuffed every adult, and performed a warrantless search of all vehicles in the perimeter.

The incident occurred on June 2nd, 2012. New details are being revealed nearly 2 years later in joint federal lawsuit being filed on behalf of 14 people.

“We didn’t have a description, didn’t know race or gender or anything, so a split-second decision was made to stop all the cars at that intersection, and search for the armed robber,” Aurora police officer Frank Fania said.

“Nonetheless, the officers demanded that all vehicle occupants hold their arms up and outside of their vehicle windows,” the lawsuit states, adding that motorists were not even permitted to “shut off their vehicle’s ignition, put their vehicle in park, or lift their parking brakes.”

Those caught up in the dragnet were “detained, removed, searched, restrained — and terrified,” according to the lawsuit.

“They got behind shields. They had M-4′s, shotguns out; taser guns, everything,” said witness Ben Barker to ABC-7 News.

“They brandished shields and pointed assault rifles directly at innocent citizens, including children under ten years old. Officers with police dogs were at the ready. No one was free to leave,” the lawsuit says.



“Officers, weapons still drawn, proceeded to each vehicle,” the lawsuit states. Cops paid particular attention to those who appeared “overly nervous or anxious.”

The meticulous vehicle-to-vehicle search lasted 2 hours, “despite having no probable cause or reasonable suspicion that any particular individual had committed any offense.” All the while, people were left shackled and corralled helplessly on the sidewalk.

Tim Olson, a Denver mechanic, was one of those drivers trapped in the police dragnet. He told FOX-31, “Suddenly there was a police officer straight ahead, takes a shotgun or rifle and aims my direction. You know never having been in that situation before it was extremely confusing, extremely intimidating.”

During the long detainment, Mr. Olson had difficulty kneeling on the hard sidewalk, and fell “face forward onto the pavement,” according to the lawsuit, as an officer “continued to scream at Mr. Olson to [kneel] while waving his shotgun near Mr. Olson’s face.”

“I was telling the officer ‘you’re hurting me. Let go,”" Olson remembered. “They said ‘quit resisting.’”



Colorado police cuff, search dozens of innocent people at gunpoint in frenzied manhunt | Police State USA

All that matters is officers go home safe and people are under the perception of safety.

 

[hornadylnl]

How is this not kidnapping? These people were not even suspected of a crime. They were "paying particular attention to those that seemed overly nervous or anxious", seriously? I wonder what overly nervous or anxious is when you have guns pointing at you and your children. Whoever made the call to do this needs to be in jail, the officers that followed this order need to loose their jobs.

Once again, the anti pointing crowd is silent. It's safe when the government does it.

 

[churchmouse]

Once again, the anti pointing crowd is silent. It's safe when the government does it.

No it is not. I just chose to lay low in this one.

 

[IndyDave1776]

"OMG!!! The 'mean' Police stopped me and searched my car during a manhunt! I'm gonna SUE somebody!!"

Bleh, been through 'em, on BOTH sides of the badge. Couldn't care less, AND have zero respect for anyone whining about it.

I fail to see how it is a big stretch from here to the point of forcing people out of their homes and ransacking the places based on the belief that a criminal is in the general area. Oh wait, they already did that in Boston. Seriously, how can this be done without completely defeating the Fourth Amendment. After all, crises can be manufactured when needed.

 

[Smokepole]

There's nothing safe at all here looking at the first pic. That whole circus was a ND looking for a place to happen (see cop with his finger on shotgun trigger). Anyone wanna guess what THAT lawsuit would look like? Civil Liberties being denied and lives wrecked for nothing other than a power trip. No PC or RS to go on. Just a half-arsed assumption. We are seeing WAAAAY to much of this stuff and almost on a regular basis. It's almost surprising that there hasn't been a greater loss of life. Lucky with that so far, but the law of averages ALWAYS catches up at some point.

 

[Trigger Time]

More of the same. It's becoming common place. I think soon the dog will get tired of being kicked for no reason.

 

[ryknoll3]

Problem is, I believe in both the MD case and this one the police found their man, right? That always leads to ends justify the means reasoning.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Once again, the anti pointing crowd is silent. It's safe when the government does it.

The anti-pointing crowd is suing.

 

[Dead Duck]

I must have a computer problem.
All I can read in the OP is - Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[Lebowski]

I must have a computer problem.
All I can read in the OP is - Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

So if someone commits a crime in my general area, it's okay to remove me from a vehicle with no suspicion of any wrong doing? Someone stole some insured money from a bank, they didn't kidnap the president's kids... ffs. Instead of waiting for security camera footage so they know who to actually look for, lets just go pull people out of their cars, handcuff them, and point a ****ing gun in their face?

What happens if someone is innocent, but refuses? What happens when Mr. Finger-on-trigger trips over his shoestrings and blows the head off some innocent person? C'mon man.

Some will say the end justifies the means. I don't know. Call me crazy but it bothers me when people here fight so hard to maintain one right, and if it favours them, don't give a damn about other rights because part of their job allows them to take it away from others on a whim and a split second decision.

 

[HeadlessRoland]

So if someone commits a crime in my general area, it's okay to remove me from a vehicle with no suspicion of any wrong doing? Someone stole some insured money from a bank, they didn't kidnap the president's kids... ffs. Instead of waiting for security camera footage so they know who to actually look for, lets just go pull people out of their cars, handcuff them, and point a ****ing gun in their face?

What happens if someone is innocent, but refuses? What happens when Mr. Finger-on-trigger trips over his shoestrings and blows the head off some innocent person? C'mon man.

Some will say the end justifies the means. I don't know. Call me crazy but it bothers me when people here fight so hard to maintain one right, and if it favours them, don't give a damn about other rights because part of their job allows them to take it away from others on a whim and a split second decision.

Don't worry, the Machiavellians will be the first ones to complain when it's their rights being violated and their children whose faces are accidentally blown off when Officer Triggerhappy doesn't practice keeping the fingers off the bangswitch or when they're dragged from their car and put in cuffs and had a blast-machine pointed directly at their face in a State-sponsored carjacking. Then we'll get to hear them 'whine' about rights violations.

What sort of place is it that can go from the bastion of the world's freedom to just another police state in less than 250 years? America. **** yeah! Comin' to save the *********** day, yeah!

 

[drillsgt]

I must have a computer problem.
All I can read in the OP is - Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

This response is scary...

 

[armedindy]

I agree it is scary...believeing in the const. and our rights gets us labeled as cry-babies?

 

[jamil]

I agree it is scary...believeing in the const. and our rights gets us labeled as cry-babies?

Not sure why people are acting as if cops pointing guns at this group of citizens is okay without any reason but someone unknown robbed a bank nearby. It's not whining. It's unacceptable behavior from law enforcement. Those officers need to lose their badges. And I have to say that I'm not real comfortable with officers agreeing with this **** having badges either.

 

[Light]

If I remember right, didn't the money have a tracker in it, so they knew the suspect was at that intersection somewhere. (or at least the cash was)

I guess the question is, does knowing there is evidence of a crime within the general vicinity, most likely inside a vehicle, constitute as probable cause to search all the vehicles in the immediate area? My guess is no.

And on top of that, if it being known that there is evidence of a crime in the immediate vicinity, does that then mean that you can be suspected of performing that crime, and be detained for it, even though the evidence which has not yet been found, may not point at you? I also doubt that.

Anyone who claims the end justifies the means is wrong.

How it should have gone is all the "suspects", or cars in this case, should have been asked if they could search the vehicle. Most people would probably comply, those who didn't they could still look through windows and such. When they let one go and the tracker started moving again, they would have their guy.

 

[Arthur Dent]

"OMG!!! The 'mean' Police stopped me and searched my car during a manhunt! I'm gonna SUE somebody!!"

Bleh, been through 'em, on BOTH sides of the badge. Couldn't care less, AND have zero respect for anyone whining about it.

I must have a computer problem.
All I can read in the OP is - Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

You guys are some of the people ready do give up your rights, I take it. Since you don't believe in your rights there are better countries for you to live in. China, Russia, Iran.