Utah Man Killed in Outrageous Police Raid

[Jim Finnel]

Shocking. That’s the only word that comes to mind when seeing the video of Todd Blair, 45, gunned down by armed police storming his home on a no-knock raid in Utah last September. Blair, no doubt surprised by the sound of yelling and having his door kicked in, emerges from an interior doorway holding a golf club over his head. Before Blair can react, Sgt. Troy Burnett shoots him three times and Blair slumps to the floor dead.

No “drop the weapon,” no “get down on the ground,” just bang!, bang!, bang! It’s a chilling scene that’s over before it started, and all the police found was a small amount of marijuana and an empty vial alleged to have contained other drugs.

This type of raid won’t come as a surprise to regular readers of our blog, of course. We see these stories all the time because they’re playing out every day in this country at an alarming rate. Lives are ruined and lost, and for what? A few grams of marijuana? It’s just another—albiet outrageous—example of how prohibition has failed as a policy at every conceivable turn. If videos like this aren’t a sure sign that it’s time to end marijuana prohibition and adopt sensible polices like taxation and regulation, then I’m not sure what is.

News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
Author: John Berry
Copyright: 2008 Marijuana Policy Project Contact: Contact MPP
Website: VIDEO: Utah Man Killed in Outrageous Police Raid — MPP Blog

 

[Jacob Bell]

THANK YOU JIM!!!! I'm so glad you found this article!! You da man!!

 

[Jacob Bell]

I was outraged when I first saw this. I still am, actually. When I first saw it, last week or so, I emailed the white house immediately, and asked the pres, is this what you want happening in your country? I even put the video in the email. I'm sure the pres. never saw it, but it felt better to at least do something, anything. From what I have read, this is not the first time the officer shot first and said "get down" later. It's the 3rd time. Yet somehow this man is still an officer.
It's things like this that do 2 things to me as a human being:
1. Make me want an arsenal to protect myself, and an iron house lol.
2. Get cannabis legalized, RIGHT NOW, so this type of thing stops.
This man, this poor man, didn't even get a chance. Not one. I take human life very seriously, maybe more than I should, but who can say? Yet this officer regarded him as a dog to be put down. And for what? Is drugs, any drugs, worth taking a human life? NO.
I don't know what else to say right now. Life is precious. Let's get cannabis legalized, so we can save lives.

 

[greengo840]

According to the Huffington Post the warrant was for the dead man's ex-roommate.

"Burnett, who shot Blair, told investigators that it is "absolutely not our standard" to carry out such a raid with as little planning as was done, according to the Tribune.

It was so hastily carried out, in fact, that police forgot the warrant. According to the Tribune, in the video it obtained an officer can be heard asking: "Did somebody grab a copy of the warrant off my desk?""

Police Kill Man In Drug Raid Gone Wrong (VIDEO)

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."

~Mohandas

 

[ProHemp]

How sad when stuff like this happens. Here in Michigan we get idiots posing as police officers and knocking on doors hoping someone will let them in. Because of this they tell people not to open their doors without being shown proper I.D. Yet police here still kick in doors in the middle of the night. Well in my house and especially at night, if you're already inside without being asked, you're an intruder and will be treated as such.

 

[Velodrone]

Uhhhh... not really sure what to say here. I almost cried when I saw that. If this is what our country considers "policing", we are in some serious trouble.

I suppose that by the same standard we should go execute a "Citizens Arrest" for the murder that was just shown. Held to the same standard as these officers were, it should be no big deal and "legally" justified.

Uhh, this type of shit makes me sick!

 

[retcwby]

That makes me ILL seeing that

 

[Jacob Bell]

Velodrone, it did make me cry. It made me mad as hell as well. I'm still mad. I honestly want to... I can't say it. But ya, I do.
If this is what the "war on drugs" has led to, then we damn sure better fix this, before more lives are lost.
This is unconscionable. This cannot stand. Nor can it be tolerated. Every American who has a shred of morals left in them, needs to stand up and be counted against this. We need to write our Senators, our Pres, etc. The People of Utah need to protest at their local police stations. Etc. I am personally going to email this video to every single news station I can find, and hope it goes viral on the Net, and nationally.
This cannot happen in MY COUNTRY. OUR COUNTRY. It must be stopped. Must be. Life is so precious.
We get one go around in this World. After that, who knows what happens. I don't, I never met a dead person. But I tell you this, if some person thinks they can take my freedom or life from me because they don't agree with what I do, then they have another think coming. I hurt no one. I interfere with no one. So what makes them think they can do this type of thing? Without sounding bad, I won't allow it. I don't go to them and shoot them, or imprison them for what I think is wrong, so what gives them the right to do that to me? Nothing. Nothing at all.

 

[Odin]

I saw this video a while back on another message board I frequent. Its downright, fucking sick. This is ultimately what the War on Drugs (among others) has come down to. Murder of American Citizens under the guise of "national safety".

If that video twisted your stomach in a knot, watch this one. It will make your blood boil. Just remember, this could be you, your friend, or a loved one in these videos. Could be anyone of us.

YouTube - Pastor Jonathan Ayers Killed in Drug Sting

"And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed–if all records told the same tale–then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'" George Orwell, 1984

The lies about Cannabis, Hemp, and the War on Drugs are not the only lies imposed upon us all every day. These lies run through every vein of the government.