In an ideal world, police de-escalate situations. They use their authority and firepower to prevent and stop violence, not create it. Which is why the militarization of America’s police is so dangerous to life and liberty. The arrival of a camo-clad SWAT team in a Lenco Bearcat at the scene of a domestic disturbance, for example, is not calculated to calm nerves and let cooler heads prevail. It’s designed to overwhelm and intimidate the “perpetrator” and “suspect.” You know: shock and awe. So what happens when the American citizen in question says “screw this I’m staying in my house”? I think you know where this is going, even if the Virginia SWAT team didn’t. Or did they? Check this out from policestateusa.com . . .
The situation began on August 29th around 2:40 p.m. when John Geer — a 46-year-old kitchen designer and installer — was told by his girlfriend that she had decided to leave him. The couple had two daughters together, ages 13 and 17. Emotionally distraught over the breakup, Geer exacerbated the situation by throwing her belongings onto the lawn of their townhouse.
This led to her calling the police. She informed the dispatcher that he owned a firearm. A SWAT team was sent to the quiet cul-du-sac.
Geer’s home was surrounded by armored vehicles and uniformed personnel. A police sniper was photographed lying prone in a neighbor’s yard aiming toward Geer’s residence. Men in helmets and military fatigues cordoned off the neighborhood. Police began making their demands. An armored truck a topside gun turret parked in his yard and prepared for a strike command. As time went on, helicopters whirred overhead and K-9 units were seen by neighbors.
“We’re just here to help you — come out with your hands up,” recounted neighbor Edith Eshleman, of the police negotiations.
What was it Ronald “Let’s Make the ATF a Federal Agency” Reagan said about the scariest words in the English language? “We’re from the government and we’re here to drive a tank through your front door and cap you ass.” Or something like that.
Around 4:30 p.m., with Geer sill “barricaded” inside his home, police used their $250,000 armored Lenco Bearcat to drive a long battering ram through the front door. SWAT team members made entry and ultimately found Geer deceased in his home.
Don Geer — the victim’s father — watched the scene unfold from the front lawn of the townhouse where officers positioned themselves with their guns trained on his son. He confirmed that his son’s hands remained empty and resting on top of a screen door throughout the confrontation with police. When John lowered his hands about six inches, according to Don Geer, one of the officers fired a shot and hit John, causing him to retreat.
Police did not immediately say whether John Geer was armed or why the officer decided to open fire, nor would they discuss the details of the conversation between the officers and Geer before the shooting. Geer’s father says that he was too far away to hear the conversation, but claims that a detective assigned to investigate the case told him that his son that his son was not holding a gun at the time of the shooting and that he did not have one on his person.
Aside from schadenfreude this incident has Newtonian (not Newtownian) implications. For every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Every time the police came down on the populace like the hammer of God members of the populace think the police represent the forces of fascism—and not for no reason. I believe the term currently in vogue is “radicalization.”
Catch the irony? Up-armored in the name of countering terrorism, militarized police may be creating/encouraging proto-terrorists. If these disaffected Americans act, the police come down even harder, which creates more call for more militarization, which limits liberty and puts us all at risk.
In short, we need to defund these police militarization programs pronto. And incidents like this need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And the law changed to create genuine accountability. Good luck with that. [h/t Gunracer1958]
Isn’t this EXACTLY what Virginia voters approved just earlier this week?
Not all Virginia voters approved it.
The fascist won by a quite slim margin.
Unless there is definitive evidence of the man reaching for a gun, then this is a much better incident to get pissed about, opposed to the ISU shooting. The latter was justified, this definitely appears to be a sever case of itchy trigger finger and over(kill) response.
It’s sad to see.
This looks like a mini Ruby Ridge with even less credibility.
I find it interesting that if you try to employ a private citizen to kill someone for you, you go to jail, but if you can call the cops to do it, it gets done. And all it costs you is a front door and some yard work.
I was about to listen to Moore’s latest soapbox rant, but then I noticed half an apple sitting on my counter and decided that watching it turn brown would be a much better and more productive use of my time.
When the big one finally hits him, someone please let me know. Until then, I’d rather not be reminded that this fat piece of sh*t is still wasting our perfectly good air on idiotic drivel like this.
Militarized COS play. One of these days I hope some of these over reacting b.s. teams hook themselves a full blown Panzer Division with Luftwaffe support.
let me get this straight, a platoon of camo dudes show up at a domestic disturbance because someone screamed “GUN!”… and we aren’t calling THEM the “terrorists”?
The sniper has a .50 cal. Because if there is one weapon that should be fired in a crowded subdivision it is one that will blow through standard home construction like wet kleenex. What did he think he was going to shoot that required him to uncase a 50 BMG chambered rifle?
Usually i give the cops the benefit of the doubt but this one doesn’t look good for them. She told the dispatcher he owned a gun. Maybe the dispatcher thought she meant he was holding the gun. Either way this one…I don’t know.
Owning a gun (pistol) is NOT a crime. Arguing with your self-estranged wife is not a crime, nor is helping her pack by throwing her belongings on the front lawn. Was there any allegation or proof that this man threatened her with the pistol she reported him owning? Or was the mere reporting of the argument and the weapon together sufficient to call out SWAT? If they did not have probable cause for a search warrant to be issued (nothing in the post mentions a warrant) then this man denying the police entrance to his home is not illegal. This kind of police over-reaction has GOT to stop. Based on this example any woman with a beef against her husband, boyfriend or ex can cause him no end of legal grief and expense, or have him legally shot, just by showing up, starting an argument, and then reporting to police that he owns weapons. How is that justice?
It isn’t. Its conditioning.
“Based on this example any woman with a beef against her husband, boyfriend or ex can cause him no end of legal grief and expense, or have him legally shot, just by showing up, starting an argument, and then reporting to police that he owns weapons.”
Note that actually owning weapons is irrelevant. Just the phrase “he owns weapons” is enough to get you executed by the terrorist organization referred to as “the police”.
Be sure to ask Mikey Moore how the illegal weapons charges worked out for his armed body guard or if Bloomer was able to take care off it, one armed hypocrite to another.
We live in interesting times.
Police used to do police work. Protecting, serving, that kind of thing.
There was not a police officer in that whole absurd clusterfu*k, just a bunch of cops. *spit*
What a bunch of pussies.
Suck a fat CHOAD Dick Metcalf. you talked smack and got sh*tcanned and yer ass handed to you for being a ZUMBO/T’SAI/RECOIL wannabe..
EFF YOU A-HOLE, I never liked you or your stupid commentary in GUNS & AMMO anyways.. you sanctimonious pr*ck.
Love it when people make my point for me. Your abbreviations and asterisks don’t do much to hide your zealotry and hatred. See my earlier comment.
They view these occasions as opportunities to practice, a training exercise for snipers to shoot live targets. To use all the military gear, equipment and vehicles that they have acquired . etc. America is finished, turn out the lights.
Yay! Red’s! Just a shout out for these guys. Great indoor range, and great people running it.
Looking forwards to the review/takedown.
He’s actually saying that the people who spoke out against him don’t respect Freedom of Speech? He had his freedom to say what he wanted, and they had the freedom to say what they wanted. And as it happened, they said that they wouldn’t pay money to someone who said something they disagreed with most vehemently. As I sometimes say, the freedom of speech includes the freedom for one person to tell another to shut up. They can’t use force to do so, and the government can’t do it, but we are well within our rights to say it.
Where do I order one?
I believe in the freedom of speech. I do not believe in the freedom from responsibility for said speech. He made his opinion known and paid the price for it.
Speaking of exploitation of hot babes, did anyone click on Destinee after the 3DPG vid?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iQWrQGYNi48
Ok, so I’m actually looking forward to Monday.
Heat. Its the only thing they are packing.
Hmm this will piss off the entire gun world… but I wonder if the lil plastic 3d printers could print a polymer 1911 frame.
Oh how long did it take to print that whole 1911 and what in the name of Zuess’ underpants is sintering?
If this turns into an “accidental discharge”, I’m leaving!
does anyone have any information on how well these rifles are selling?
So, how was New York?
Don’t Ask.
A dead forum with very few members and draconian rules is a lousy example. An active forum that is sponsored by a national political advocacy group is a much better indicator of what the anti-gun community will/won’t tolerate. By the same token, TTAG is a much better example of the 2A community than a little used, anonymous forum, wouldn’t you agree?
To be honest, I’ve been banned from a couple of gun forums for stepping out of line and posting up crazy things like “why did so-and-so get banned?” or “personally I like the 9mm cartridge”. I’ve made far more controversial comments here and the fact I can still post is why I frequent this site. The internet is full of “moderators” on power trips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXvqYYJSv3I
FPS Russia’s dads on vacation…
In regards to Nicks reference about Newtown, I didn’t give much thought to guns before Last December. Sure, my brother has a dozen (or more) kick butt handguns and rifles, but they were just…things. Cool yes, but because they were mechanically cool, like the manual shifter on an E-type Jag (which he also owns, bastard!).
Then I spent countless nights, doing research into gun laws, gun violence, mental health, etc. I am a problem solver by nature, and with 2 young kids, there HAD to be some answer, or answers, to guns and violence. It seriously kept me up all hours.
But the more I looked, the more I sought for a silver bullet to make ” everyone safe” from gun violence, the more I learned that you can’t change human nature. There will always be criminals, there will always be the mentally insane, and governments grow if unchecked. That is the world we live in. It sucks, but short of changing millennia of humanity in an instant, its what we got. Hence, the solutions are obvious to any rational thinker.
I still keep an open mind. I read NBC and Fox, one after another, in an attempt to see both sides, or at least 2 different focuses. I will read posts by csgv, looking for any truths or nuggets of wisdom that might come up. I will question every political post that this site (TTAG) publishes, looking for unsupported propaganda and lies. I take nothing at face value, and I question everything.
So its been a year, almost. Where am I now? I believe in freedom and liberty, more than I ever did. I believe an individual, looking out for his family and neighbors, will provide more help and support than any far-away nameless government can (armed forces and reasonable national security bureaus not included.). And I bought my first gun at age 41 (xds9). Not because its “cool”, or because I live in a dangerous neighborhood, or because I’m paranoid someone is out to get me. I did it because I can. To protect my family, if needed, but mostly because as a free human on this brief fragile earth, I live in a country that still (begrudgingly) allows me to PERSONALLY PROTECT my life liberty and happiness. That is a wonderful right…and I will protect it and fight for it until the blood ceases to run through my veins.
We have a miserable excuse for a human Congressman named David Cicillne from RI,an openly gay gun grabbing left winger who tried to get the state legislature to ban online ammo sales in favor of “face to face” sales.No such bill was submitted and it wouldn’t make sense-proponents suggest “anonymous online sales.It’s the furthest thing from the truth-online sales require a credit card and a residential or other actual physical address for delivery by an express carrier since USPS won’t transport ammo.UPS and FEDEX don’t deliver to box addresses.”Face to face”sales in RI are the same as for liquor.-if you look under 21 they can ask for ID(for handgun ammo-rifle/shotgun is 18) but if you are obviously older they cannot..A Walmart employee demanded my ID for some 45 ACP ammo I was buying once-I’m in my 60’s-and I refused-she didn’t want to complete so I had a manager called over and he asked why i wouldn’t show ID and I replied because I didn’t have to considering no one could possibly think I was under 21.I also said I didn’t intend for the clerk or him or anyone else in the store to see my home address because I don’t know who they or their friends are.I prevailed rather quickly.These people will buffalo you if they think they can.
Fascinating how many people seem to really really want to be fired from their positions. No other explanation as to why they are trying to curtail a right that is outside their (or anyone’s) authority to regulate.
I agree with guns.com on a few points. One, we do have a right to say what we want. And two, there are reasonable restrictions to the 2nd. I don’t think anyone here is going to put up a reasonable argument as to why felons should be able to own guns, or why free speech should be curtailed. The issue here with G&A, for me at least, is that optics matter. Dick Metcalf doesn’t speak for me (neither does G&A), but he does sit behind a very influential national microphone. That article gives fuel to the anti gun movement, in that they now have a quote from none other than an editor of a gun magazine, saying restrictions are reasonable. Doesn’t matter that he’s right (in a very limited sense), all that matters is the visual of “even the gun nuts agree with us”. Imagine the head of Planned Parenthood saying that sometimes, abortion is murder. Dick Metcalf should have known better than to say it. G&A should have known better than to publish it.
Wow, liberal organizations are all the same. News agencies are supposed to be unbiased and objective. They are supposed to get both sides of every story. CSGV doesn’t care, they only want their side to be heard, so people can be brainwashed to thinking like them. And of course they’ll manipulate stats and only tell the pro’s of gun control, never the cons.
I didn’t see a photoshoot….I saw magpul giving models a lesson in good trigger discipline.