Continuing our exploration of the theme that America has way too many [armed] cops, expanding into a discussion of who the hell needs the ATF anyway . . . “Within hours of the Navy Yard shootings, the FBI had traced the gunman’s recent shotgun purchase and sent agents to the shop in northern Virginia where he bought it. Left out of the loop was the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,” startribune.com reports, “a surprising snub between top U.S. law enforcement agencies that comes as the ATF struggles to show its relevance in Washington.” Surprising to who? The ATF/FBI overlap is well-known, including the infamous . . .
fist fight between agents arriving at the scene of an explosion. Truth be told, Ronald Reagan’s ATF should be sent back down to the minors (a division of the IRS). Meanwhile, here’s how Mike Bouchard, a former ATF assistant director for field operations, explains the need for the Fibbies to stay off the ATF’s patch:
Bouchard said another law enforcement agency asking for gun sales records could be confusing for licensed dealers who have become accustomed to dealing with the ATF.
“Gun dealers are accustomed to dealing with ATF and will always be cooperative with any law enforcement agency,” Bouchard said. “But because of dealing with ATF there could be some confusion on their part as to what they have to do during an investigation, or if they should surrender records that they are legally instructed to keep by ATF.”
I don’t know about that. One jackboot is pretty much like the other.