New Mexico couple says no to DEA drug raid

Couple in shock after drug raid: krqe.com

Acting on a "citizen's tip," a team of assault-weapon toting DEA agents were denied entry into a married couple's home in New Mexico.

"There came this huge bang on the door, front door, sounded like the door was going to fall in," recalled [Nancy] Parker.

She said her husband opened the door to multiple officers in raid gear with guns drawn.

"We were completely shocked, upset," she continued.  "I was panicked because I've never had anything like this happen to us before, never."

She said the officers demanded to come inside her home.

"And my husband asked, 'Do you have a warrant?  Who are you looking for?' and they said,

'Gerald Sentell,'" Parker said.  "We don't even know this person."

Apparently, the DEA did not have a warrant, because they left. But don't worry. DEA officials say the raid was simply "procedure" and that officers "did nothing wrong." They also didn't apologize to the couple, who say they are "shocked and upset" by the raid.

Couple in shock after drug raid (Via Reason)

• [pablohoney]

  Pretty amazing if you think about it. The DEA were being polite in this instance. They could have easily bashed the front door in after a quick yell through the door. 

  Why would law enforcement apologize? When’s the last time you’ve heard of the DEA, FBI, or police apologizing for a mistake? Doesn’t happen. Can’t happen because of posturing. 

  • [Brainspore]

    Pretty amazing if you think about it. The DEA were being polite in this instance.

    I’m sure that had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the people who opened the door were a middle-aged white couple.

    • [ordinal]

      Surely not.

  • [Cowicide]

    Sounds like the cops handled themselves really well despite the circumstances and they should be commended for their professionalism.  On the other hand, it was probably a damn good thing the couple didn’t have a dog come to the door since cops are known to shoot dogs and ask questions later.

    I think this says something quite different about the politicians that continue to perpetrate this costly drug war against the American people instead of focusing on decriminalization and drug treatment.  I’d much rather have these (apparently awesome) cops focusing their skills on other things beside this terrible drug war.

• [PiffL]

  This happens to people in the hood allllllll the time. And the police never walk away dumbly.

• [Huwman]

  Were the agents high or something?

• [ordinal]

  They don’t sound too panicked – they sound like they had admirable presence of mind, to say to a gang of armed men demanding to come inside “do you have a warrant? who are you looking for? never heard of them, no you can’t come in without a warrant, go away!” I hope I would be that balanced and sensible under the same circumstances.

• [Kaffenated]

  Better Call Saul!

• [Red Pill Junkie]

  Those raids are becoming increasingly common in Mexico. Not only do the police/soldiers refuse to offer an apology, they can even steal your watch too!

  I’m against anonymous tips. They take us back to the age of the Inquisition.

  • [marilove]

    Letting people leave anonymous tips is important.  There are tons of reasons why someone might want to remain anonymous.  That said, there should be more vetting involved.  Getting one anonymous tip and then immediately sending a SWAT team was probably not the way it should have gone down.

  • [Incipient Madness]

     
    

    I’m against anonymous tips. They take us back to the age of the Inquisition.

    I think anonymous tips are fine, but only if you actually do the simple and mundane police work you should do. Quick check of public records would have shown that this couple was unlikely to be connected with the suspect. If the tip does check out, get some detectives to ask some questions. May do a little light surveillance. If that checks out, get the warrant and bust a real criminal instead of terrorizing the populace.

    And yeah, it does happen more often in the hood and they’re seldom so nice about it. I live just two doors down from some dealers. One wrong number and this could happen to me. Good thing I don’t have a dog.

• [D Wyatt]

  Prohibition of alcohol didnt work and it caused murders arrests and organized criminals made millions.   Prohibition of marijuana also didnt work, you simply cannot stop something half the population wants.  Of the people, by the people, for the people.   Well its clear the PEOPLE want you to leave their weed alone.  Marijuana Prohibition-Arresting good honest citizens for 75 years!  

• [SHeadius]

  Sadly, the police in the USA have already become the biggest organized crime outfit in the world. Who’s to stop them?

• [librtee_dot_com]

  This is a valuable jobs program. It provides jobs for police, prosecutors, prison guards, and drug dealers.

  In the name of Keynesianism, let’s double it!

• [MrEricSir]

  “Hi I’m here from the government, you’d better treat your body the way we want or we’ll shoot you.”

• [bkad]

  I highly recommend “Flex Your Rights” series of videos, most of which are on youtube. Everyone should be taught to refuse voluntary searches and home entry. 

  I  doubt I would have done as well as this couple.

• [InsertFingerHere]

  Was this really a raid if the cops didn’t enter the house?    And would YOU know a warrant if you saw one?  I have zero idea what they look like. 

  • [Brainspore]

    …would YOU know a warrant if you saw one?  I have zero idea what they look like.

    No, but my lawyer presumably would. If they tried to pass off a fake one it could open them to a world of hurt down the road (unless they weren’t real cops in the first place, in which case they’d come in regardless of permission).

• [MrQuagmire]

  I’m super glad the war on drugs, much like the TSA, is being allowed to continue to plunder my tax dollars.

• [ahmacrom]

  I’m also glad that even MORE money is spent on the black covert shadow war on SOME drugs all over the world…

• [Thebes]

  I’m surprised the DEA didn’t taser one of them to death.
  These fucking thugs have demanded entry into my neighbors homes, down miles of dirt roads, all of them with AR style rifles in hand- no warrents, just wanted to look inside and intimidated the residents into an unlawful search.
  These fucking thugs have flown a helicopter in circles around  my RV and half built cabin at a mere 50 feet high, waking my wife and I up and scaring the piss out of us.
  This bullshit “war on drugs” needs to end, it is destroying our nation, and it has already destroyed Mexico.

• [Guest]

  I am left wondering just how, in this day and age, that someone can not check to see just who is living in this home BEFORE banging on the door. 
  This sounds as if the DEA had no clue who was there and were trying to flush a fugitive out of the house by merely banging on the door, without a warrant.

  • [Sparg Otyebat]

    After years of observing cop behavior in urban and rural settings, and having a step-father cop, I’ve come to the conclusion that most of the ills have come from cops being lazy.  It’s easier to ask forgiveness that to ask permission.

• [Mister44]

  Fuck the DEA. They should dismantle it and let all the officers go back to being mall cops.

• [John C. Randolph]

  “Procedure”, my ass.  There is no constitutional authority for an agency like the DEA to even exist.  It took a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol, and that amendment has been repealed.  

  To hell with the drug war.  Vote for Ron Paul or Gary Johnson if you’re tired of these crimes against the American people by their own government.

  -jcr

  • [lknope]

    Clarification:  Ron Paul’s personal belief is for the decriminilization of all drugs but his political policy would be to leave it up to the states.  So he doesn’t give a fuck if there are ”crimes against the American people by their own government” as long as it’s their State government and not their Federal government.  Same with abortion, gay marriage, etc.  So vote for that if you think those are things that should be voted on rather than basic civil rights for all Americans.

• [Guest]

  Mrs. Parker, welcome to the police state your pension paid for.

• [ghostbear]

  If you can read then you can determine if it’s a warrant. I’m former LE and I would ask the samething. I kind of wish they would have apologized don’t know how much help it would have been but if you make an honest mistake some people will leave it at that.

• [billstewart]

  “Procedure” means that they make an ongoing practice of armed raids on people’s homes without getting warrants first.  Are they willing to admit to that in writing, and is the local DA willing to ask a grand jury to indict them for it?

• [Emo Pinata]

  So DEA agents knock on the door, ask to be let in, and then go away when asked – but we’re still trying to twist this into an anti DEA anti police message? Screw an apology, they literally did their job exactly as they should have.

  At some point you have to recognize why conservative idiots are able to brush you off as easily as you brush them off.

  • [Metlin]

    It’s the principle behind the act — we are a civilized society, are we not? If you inconvenienced and frightened someone and demanded to be let in without due process, the least you could do is be man enough to admit that you screwed up and apologize for said inconvenience.

    Is it too much to ask to be polite to another human being, and apologize when you’re in error? Anyone who is incapable of that should be given lessons in civility, much less guns and the right to storm households.

    • [Emo Pinata]

      They knocked on the door, asked to come in, and left when denied entry. That is all that happened. Nothing in those events even comes close to violating due process, and all parties acted entirely within their rights without even coming close to pushing boundaries.

      What are we arguing here? That police shouldn’t knock loudly? That they should be required to say “please, sir, may I perchance enter thine residence?” Require that police get completely hamstrung by not following tips on the field without going through the courts first? Demand apologies for having the gall to do their jobs in an efficient, safe, and professional manner?

      As an even more specific case, Roswell, NM is a dangerous shit-hole that is a few hours from Juarez with a large elderly population that refuses to admit their town has turned into a dangerous shit-hole. Expecting anything different from the DEA in this case is just ignorance and a level of detachment that is frightening given the way things are.

• [Mordicai]

  So what if the War on Drugs has civilian casualties!  So what if the War on Drugs makes civilians into criminals?  So what if criminals aren’t the same as enemy combatants?  WAR ON DRUGS!  We have to stop people from doing drugs!  By any means necessary!

• [Deidzoeb]

  Maybe Nancy Reagan’s quote was cut off too early: Just say no to drug *wars*.

• [Daniel]

  Also yeah, this is what the DEA should have done, I don’t see any real reason to complain.  Apology would be “nice,” but I wouldn’t have expected one in a thousand years, especially since the DEA can plausibly maintain they did nothing wrong.

  Heck, I can’t even imagine the whole gang of armed agents getting turned down at the door and then walking away.  Must have been a very satisfying sight.

• [Antinous / Moderator]

  Compose yourselves, please.

• [Red Pill Junkie]

  “Anonymous tips are somewhat open to abuse, but the cases where they’re
  needed are enough to justify them.  Look at some rape statistics.  It’s
  horrendously underreported in part because women are made to feel ashamed for accusing their attackers.”

  There are plenty of problems with rape accusations too, my friend. A (distant) member of my family just spent the last 4 years accused of raping two girls who identified him on account of his SUV. Once fingered, there was nothing he could do, and the only thing that saved him from still being behind bars was that the actual rapist attacked the same two girls again. The girls thought kin had walked out and reported it, but later they realized that ‘Oops!’ they made a mistake. So, you’d think the authorities would have released
   him by then, right? WRONG! he spent years wasting his life savings on lawyers and going through the hard and filthy path of Mexican law procedures, and even after three judges reviewed his case, one of them voted against releasing him because in Mexico you’re either guilty or innocent —not ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ like in the States— and so even if he wasn’t guilty, the law demanded someone to pay for the crime, and until they actually caught the real criminal, he had to stay in jail.

  And yes, part of the reason the review of his case lasted so long was because the authorities wanted to avoid a similar embarrassment to the one caused by the documentary ‘Presumed Guilty’. My family member and his lawyer decided to ‘play by the book’; not something I agree with, but then again it wasn’t my ass the one incarcerated for 4 years :(

  Bottom line: In Mexico there’s no Justice. There’s only connections and influence for the people that can afford them.

• [Shinkuhadoken]

  “Do you have a warrant?”

  Words to live by. And I do mean “live.”

• [tensity1]

  What’s sad about this is that this was “procedure” and the agents “did nothing wrong.”

  So, it’s procedure to go on an anonymous tip, not do basic vetting, then show up banging on a citizen’s door in full militarized gear WITHOUT a warrant.  I applaud you, DEA, I applaud you. . . .

  On a related note, here’s a petition at We the People I’m trying to help promote:

  Eliminate or Reform Departments whose Officers are Required by Law to Lie to the American People.

  http://wh.gov/gKN

  This one isn’t yet publicly visible or searchable at the site because it hasn’t passed the 150 signature threshold. Only 26 more–it’s almost there. Help out if you find it worthy of signing, and please spread the word.

  This petition looks to pressure President Obama from another angle than “legalize marijuana.” This one looks to inform people about the undue power the ONDCP has in trying to stymie any legalization efforts of a Schedule I substance, regardless of what science shows. That’s just wrong.

  Hopefully this petition will appeal to people who may not specifically support MJ legalization but are fed
  up with corrupt and arrogant government.  The MJ legalization petitions are going heroic–this one aims to be their sidekick.

  There are many other petitions there on varying subjects worthy of consideration.  Please check them out, and be sure to visit the site every day–it takes only 5-10 minutes to catch up on new petitions.  Some may be related to petitions you’ve already signed and need support.

  Thanks for your time.

• [Duncan20903]

  Well as a matter of fact just a few weeks ago, and it was in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

  The despicable action:
  http://rt.com/usa/news/cavity-search-drug-cruces-947/

  Unfortunately the follow up article is no longer available for free. Easy to find outraged articles about the action. If you want to buy the article:

  http://nl.newsbank.com/nojavascript.html

  Metro Narcotics pays in body cavity search

  Author:    Ashley Meeks [e-mail]
  Article ID: 18849645
  Date: September 8, 2011
  Publication: Las Cruces Sun-News (NM)

  LAS CRUCES -
  The law enforcement agency that ordered a forcible body search on a Las Cruces woman suspected of holding drugs has paid her hospital bill for the search.The 19-year-old woman, who received a $1,122 bill from a local hospital for the body cavity search, asked the county to pay the bill in a tort claim notice filed last week by Las Cruces attorney Michael Lilley. The search did not turn up any illegal substances. The Metro Narcotics Agency has paid the bill,

• [Eridani 0x]

  This particular DEA team has an unusual amount of honor.  Typically, they’ll bust down the door, seek out the nearest dog, shoot it dead, then point their weapons at the homeowners for a good while.  The fact that this team demanded to be let in rather than letting themselves in, and then leaving, is quite astounding.  Yes, their tactics were still awful, but considering the DEA’s past raids, it’s quite a step foward to lawfulness.

• [malcolmkyle]

  Prohibition bears many strong and startling similarities to Torquemada­’s inquisition­, it’s supporters are servants of tyranny and hate who’s sole purpose is to make the rest of us suffer their putrid legacy of incalculable waste and destruction.

  Prohibition engendered black market profits are obscenely huge. Remove this and you remove the ability to bribe or threaten any government official or even whole governments. The argument that legalized regulation won’t severely cripple organized crime is truly bizarre. Of course, the bad guys won’t just disappear, but if you severely diminish their income, you also severely diminish their power. The proceeds from theft, extortion, pirated goods etc. are a drop in the ocean compared to what can be earned by selling prohibited/unregulated drugs in a black market estimated to be worth 400,000 million dollars. The immense illegal capital, gifted through prohibition, is what gives these criminal cartels and terrorists power. Power that has allowed them to expand into other areas with near total impunity.

  Each day you remain silent, you help to destroy the Constitution, fill the prisons with our children, and empower terrorists and criminals worldwide while wasting hundreds of billions of your own tax dollars.

• [Mordicai]

  Err, that isn’t exactl what the 6th says, but lets move that on– anonymous tips ARE important.  There are people who have useful, important information that are in a position where sharing that information would put them in danger.  Having a framework in place that allows for anonymous tips provides an avenue for people who are scared to be able to share what they know.  It is easy to armchair quarterback & say that people should come forward, but that is from a position of safety & privilege, which a lot of people don’t have. 

  I mean, don’t get me wrong– having a ton of riot cops show up to terrorize you for no reason is clear evidence that the system ain’t right, & the War on Drugs is pretty silly & pretty stupid; I’m just saying anonymous tips have a place in the world.

• [Abe Lincoln]

  “Err, that isn’t exactl what the 6th says…”
  Well SCOTUS  does not agree with you.   You will find that the 6th Amendment, in pertinent part, says:   “…to be confronted with the witnesses against him;…”
  Now what about that don’t you  get? And you know what I don’t see in the 6th? Anything that says “excepting for the fact the witness is too much of a wuss to man up and come forward”. So your fear does not absolve the court of it’s legal requirement. If that offends your sensibilities then feel free to petition the states and congress to change the 6th Amendment. And if things are allowed to be as you suggest then what happens to my 5th and 14th Amendment rights to due process?

• [Mordicai]

  Ah, see, now you are peppering in the important terms like “court.”

  Though again, your choice of terminology– like being a “wuss” & “man up”– is really undercutting your argument.  There is actual, real, clear & present danger out there in the real world.  We’re not talking about people who are too chicken to go ask their neighbors to turn their stereo down.  This isn’t a Chuck Norris flick, either, where tough moral fiber will protect you.

• [Abe Lincoln]

  So did you have an actual rebuttal or was it your intention to paraphrase yet again your dislike for the current state of the law?  I’ll try 1 last time.  It doesn’t say you have a right to confront your accuser unless there is clear and present danger to that  person.  And, specifically, how does the use words like “wuss” or “man up” undercut the argument?  I find your declaration unconvincing.   So you would object to the words “straight line” instead of “differential metric with zero curvature”?  You have yet to state a single reason why the rule should not be applied other than some vague reference to a hypothetical possibility. If you’re so fearful then you should avail yourself of the 2nd half of that piece of advice… keep your mouth shut if you’re too afraid to come forward. So yes… the world must construe according to it’s wits. The court has to construe according to the law.

• [Mordicai]

  Police =/= Court of Law.  I’m not trying to be obtuse here, but let me spell it out again for you just in case I’m not coming across.  Giving the police an anonymous tip is not the same thing as violating the confrontation clause in a court of law.  Does that help clarify my point? 

  As to terminology, derogatory & gendered terms like “wuss” & “man up” don’t help any one.

• [Mordicai]

  I’m going to keep assuming good faith here, despite your snide tone. I’ll just say here that I guess we’ve come to a point where going “well, this explains why legal standards of proof are so complicated & why so many lawyers argue about it!” is as far as I can go. I don’t have any legal training, but I can recognize the difference between reasonable suspicion, probable cause & things like a preponderance of evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, all that jazz. You seem to have made up your mind pretty firmly but you haven’t convinced me that your argument really holds up to a legalist interpretation, let alone a more pragmatic one.

• [Daniel]

  Anonymous tips are somewhat open to abuse, but the cases where they’re needed are enough to justify them.  Look at some rape statistics.  It’s horrendously underreported in part because women are made to feel ashamed for accusing their attackers.

  That’s one example.  I can think of other important cases like workplace discrimination, domestic abuse, sexual harassment — basically any situation where the wrongdoer has authority over the victim or poses some kind of physical threat.  Note that anonymity is pretty much entirely necessary for accusations of government wrongdoing because the government has so many ways to attack or otherwise nullify known accusers.

  Also, notice that the Salem witch trials occurred about 150 years before the American justice system ever came into being.  This was in a settlement of a few dozen malnourished, superstitious folks trying to start a civilization from scratch.  It has zero to do with our current system of legal jurisprudence.  I don’t think anonymous tips are the problem you’re claiming they are, and there are much more serious problems with our justice system (prosecutorial immunity just as one example).