What follows are three articles and/or blog posts that reveal what occurred during a SWAT Team raid that was conducted while serving a warrant at the home of a former Marine’s home in Tucson, AZ on May 5, 2011, which begs to question whether or not we are beginning to witness actions by this President and his minions that normally take place in a police state, especially when we find that the individual responsible for said raid was no one other than the infamous Pima County Sheriff that was also in the spot-light during the fatal shootings that took place in Tucson, AZ in January 2011-You Decide:
I. Former Marine killed by SWAT was acting in defense, family says-Posted on KGun9.com-By Joel Waldman-Updated on May 27, 2011:
http://www.kgun9.com/story/14621212/marine-killed-by-swat-was-acting-in-defense-says-family
“TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - New details are emerging about Jose Guerena, the man killed last Thursday in a SWAT incident at his Tucson home. He was gunned down by SWAT members while his wife and young child hid in a closet.
Now, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has taken responsibility for the fatal shooting. The SWAT team said it was just executing a narcotics search warrant when Guerena threatened officers with a military rifle.
But the Sheriff’s Department has changed its story on whether Guerena actually fired at anyone.
On Tuesday, candles and tributes to Guerena could be seen outside his home. Family members said the 26-year-old former Marine served two tours of duty in Iraq.
A smashed window and a barrage of bullet holes might be the type of scene a battle-hardened Marine would find in a war zone but not the Tucson home he shared with his two children and wife. Guerena’s wife, Vanessa, said her husband died thinking he was protecting his family from an invasion.
“I saw this guy pointing me at the window. So, I got scared. And, I got like, ‘Please don’t shoot, I have a baby.’ I put my baby (down). (And I) put bag in window. And, I yell ‘Jose! Jose! Wake up!’” she explained.
Jose had just come home from working at the mine. Vanessa said he had fallen asleep two hours before, only to wake up to chaos in his house.
It was Pima County SWAT executing a narcotics conspiracy search warrant, but according to her, neither she nor her husband knew it was the authorities until it was too late.
“You’re saying only (they) yelled SWAT after the shootout?” asked KGUN9 reporter Joel Waldman.
“Oh, yes! Yes,” said Guerena.
Vanessa said Jose grabbed a gun to protect himself from what he thought were home invaders.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office denies that officers failed to identify themselves. Lt. Michael O’Connor told KGUN9’s Joel Waldman that the SWAT team has a standard procedure when serving high-risk search warrants of this nature designed to prevent the suspect from confusing officers with criminal home invaders.
“We will have a lot police vehicles there, with their lights and their sirens on. In this case... because it was a narcotics high risk type of a search warrant, we had our large armored vehicle there with the markings on it. It also has lights and sirens, it was going. So we do everything we can to portray the image that we are law enforcement, we are not home invaders.”
O’Connor also said emphatically that this was not a “no knock” raid. “This case was, we came in very high profile, lights and sirens. We go to the door, we pound on the door. We wait approximately 15 seconds. If no one answers the door, we breach the door with a heavy tool and open the door.”
The officer said that when the SWAT team got the door open, they found Guerena crouched in the hall pointing an assault rifle at them.
According to O’Connor, Guerena said, “”I have something for you!” He said that Guerena “brought this all on himself by presenting himself the way he did.”
Guerena’s relatives disagree. “Now, they’re saying this now that they admitted for him not shooting back (SIC). They want to throw more dirt on him,” said cousin Oscar Garcia.
Garcia is referring to the issue the change story about whether Guerena fired his gun. Initially investigators reported that he had, but then later, they corrected that statement and said that Guerena had not gotten off a shot. Deputies confirmed that Guerena’s safety was still on when his gun was recovered. Also, officials said that reports that some SWAT officers’ shields were riddled with bullets are also untrue.
SWAT gunned Jose down with 71 rounds fired in just about seven seconds; officials said they did not expect Vanessa to be home with their four-year-old son, Joel, who ended up witnessing his dad’s death. Now he has questions about what happened, like so many others.
“The only thing he asked me, ‘Mom, my dad a bad guy? They killed my dad! Police killed my dad? Why? What did my dad do?’” explained Ms. Guerena.
Jose’s relatives want his children to know he did his best to be a great husband, dad and patriot.
Authorities told KGUN9 that three other neighborhood homes were targeted Thursday, all tied to a narcotics conspiracy. They say a large amount of cash was found at one of the homes. But, not at the Guerena house; all they said they found there was “evidence pertinent to the case.” At this time, officials aren’t saying anything more. However, Vanessa Guerena has insisted there were no drugs or money in their home.”
Source:
http://www.kgun9.com/story/14621212/marine-killed-by-swat-was-acting-in-defense-says-family
II. Ex-Marine's lawyer opens up about SWAT, questions Sheriff-Posted on KGun9.com-By Joel Waldman-Updated on May 19, 2011:
http://www.kgun9.com/story/14674077/marines-lawyer-opens-up-about-swat-questions-dupnik
“TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - The same day the Pima County Sheriff’s Department issued a letter blasting the media’s coverage of the SWAT shooting death of Jose Guerena, the Guerena family’s attorney is demanding even more answers from authorities.
The May 5 shooting lasted only ten seconds. SWAT burst into a Tucson man’s home on a drug search warrant, fired more than 70 rounds, and left the Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran lying on the floor, fighting for his life.
Guerena’s wife, Vanessa, emerged from the closet she was hiding in with her young son and called for help. She was left alone in the house with her dying husband for about ten minutes after the shooting.
Christopher Scileppi, the family’s attorney, wants to know where SWAT was during that time, and why they didn’t seek medical help for Guerena. He said he understands that law enforcement usually won’t let paramedics run into a potential crime scene until the area has been secured, but he feels that SWAT should have cleared the home within minutes of the shooting.
“Is it your understanding that protocol would call for SWAT to go through the home, clear it, and bring Vanessa and the child out, and not let them linger in there for ten minutes?” asked 9 On Your Side reporter Joel Waldman.
“It is my understanding, and considering what happened and the size of the house, that wouldn’t have taken very long at all,” Scileppi said, adding that his biggest concern is that Guerena wasn’t given medical care after he’d been shot.
“I think it’s tragic on so many levels. On a human, level, it’s tragic. My biggest question is, why was he denied medical attention?”
Paramedics were standing by, but were not allowed to enter the home, despite Vanessa’s pleas to a 911 operator. After an hour and 14 minutes of waiting, emergency responders received word that Guerena was deceased.
“His last thoughts were, ‘I’m defending my home, my wife and children from a home invasion.’”Scileppi told KGUN9.
The search warrants remain sealed, but Sheriff Clarence Dupnik did open up. The Sheriff’s office released a statementWednesday, calling out the media’s “irresponsibility” in asking questions about this case, saying “it is unacceptable and irresponsible to couch those questions with implications of secrecy and a cover-up.”
Scileppi said he took issue with the letter and said the media has helped open the door in answering some puzzling questions. He is expected to announce his collaboration Thursday with a prestigious law firm to help litigate the case.
KGUN9 On Your Side has also learned that the SWAT team has also brought aboard its own attorney, Mike Storey. He represents many law enforcement unions throughout southern Arizona. He declined to speak to KGUN9, but did promise to give some answers on Thursday.”
III. SWAT raid draws criticism of Sheriff Dupnik-Posted on KGun9.com-By Claire Doan-Updated on June 2, 2011:
http://www.kgun9.com/story/14823433/swt-raid-draws-criticism-of-sheriff-dupnik
“TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – The raid on former Marine Jose Guerena’s home has garnered national and international attention, raising numerous questions about excessive force and proper SWAT protocol, with Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik at the center on an increasingly heated and political debate.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department released limited information on the debate, including yielding hundreds of documents, granting an interview with a lieutenant and raw video on the raid. Meanwhile, Dupnik has refused interviews, citing the need to maintain the integrity of the investigation.
However, the raw video has not quelled the debate over the SWAT raid or stopped questions about Guerena’s death, and it certainly has not ended the growing number of calls for Dupnik to come forward and justify what happened.
“It shows they were a bit overzealous. It shows that the Pima County Sheriff’s Office has got to readdress their entire SWAT usage,” said Richard Mack, former Graham County Sheriff, who is not the only one compelled to speak out.
Brian Miller, chairman of the Pima County Republican Party, said it’s not a matter of political affiliation, but the need to examine larger issues surrounding SWAT policies – not just locally, but nationally.
“Are you telling me that after 20 months of looking at this case, this option was the best they could come up with?”Miller asked, adding that SWAT had safer options, including stopping Guerena on the side of the road or serve the search warrant when he isn’t home. Miller expects the Sheriff to eventually explain why SWAT chose a more confrontational method.
“I obviously ultimately hold him responsible for this. The buck stops with him. He is the chief law enforcement officer of Pima County. The swat answers to him and so the tactics and techniques are used are eventually his call,” Miller said.
Also Dupnik’s calls: releasing as stack of documents and disclosing to the Arizona Daily Star that the raid resulted from a 20-month probe, while confirming there is an informant – all the while, stating that more details would jeopardize the investigation. And that seeming contradiction is giving critics more fuel for the fire.
“I think the hypocrisy exemplified by Sheriff Dupnik since the January 88 shooting. Now I find this one absolutely astonishing. I served with the Sheriff and I though he was smarter than this,” Mack said. “Now, everything is his fault on this one. He’s totally responsible for this entire fiasco.”
KGUN9 News requested an interview with Dupnik, but he was unavailable for comment Wednesday.”
Note: What follows are several blog posts that do a meticulous job of revealing that the SWAT Team raid may have demonstrated some tactical incompetence-You Decide:
I. The Jose Guerena Raid: A Demonstration of Tactical Incompetence-Posted on Captain’s Journal-By HERSCHEL SMITH-On May 27, 2011:
“Helmet camera footage of the SWAT team raid on the home of Jose Guerena has been released.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP0f00_JMak&feature=player_embedded
Bob Owen noticed the same thing I did. One of the team members fell in the doorway upon breaching and entering the home. The video speaks for itself, but by way of summary, let’s observe the following.
First, Mr. Guerena’s weapon, contrary to initial accounts by the SWAT team, was never taken off of safety. The team took no shots from him. Second, the team mills around for a while before breaching the home. Third, they don’t form into a stack. Fourth, absurdly, they knock and allow only four seconds for a response. Fifth, one of the members falls in the doorway. Sixth, upon shots being fired (by the SWAT team), more than one team member begins backing away from the incident. Seventh, one of the team members who initially backed away moves forward to fire shots over the heads of other team members who are in the home (it’s a wonder that SWAT team members didn’t get shot by their own team). All the while, several team members are standing aimlessly outside the home, doing nothing. Then to top it all off, even though medical responders arrived within minutes, they weren’t allowed into the home for one hour and fourteen minutes.
The Sheriff may as well have sent the Keystone Cops to raid the home. These clowns shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near weapons.
UPDATE: Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for the LINK.
UPDATE #2: So I asked a certain former Marine I know (combat tour of Fallujah in 2007) what he thought about this particular raid. Here are his thoughts. This would be hilarious if a man hadn’t died in the process. Tactically speaking, their raid was foolish, and they are guilty of murder. So this SWAT team wanted to “get some?” Great. Go join the Marine Corps and deploy to a foreign country and fight insurgents. You’re supposed to be peace officers, to prevent things like this from happening. As it was, Mr. Guerena thought his home was being invaded, and so what would you do in this circumstance? Well, you go get a weapon and post up. You send rounds down range to protect your family. Mr. Guerena even had the good discipline not to do that. This whole incident was evil.
UPDATE #3: I’ve had a chance to talk with my son about this some more, and a good summary of what this raid was like is to say that “It looks like the Iraqi Army raiding a house.” I had known that the ISF wasn’t present during much of his time in Fallujah (most of the security forces were Marines and IPs), so I asked him, “Why do you say that? Have you seen the Iraqi Army raiding a house?” He said yes, and I responded by asking him what it looked like? He said “It looks like that. Just like that. People falling all over each other, emptying their weapons, shooting at everything, and shooting at nothing.”
II. Further Analysis of the Jose Guerena Raid-Posted on Captain’s Journal-By HERSCHEL SMITH-On May 29, 2011:
http://www.captainsjournal.com/2011/05/29/further-analysis-of-the-jose-guerena-raid/
III. New Details on the Jose Guerena Raid-Posted on Captain’s Journal-By HERSCHEL SMITH-On June 2, 2011:
http://www.captainsjournal.com/2011/06/02/new-details-on-the-jose-guerena-raid/
Note: What follows is a touching article and/or blog, which also includes a video, that reveals an organized march that took place on Memorial Day in Tucson, AZ by members of Oath Keepers to honor former Marine Jose Guerena:
Walking A Mile In Freedom’s Shoes: Oath Keepers Muster * Tucson * Memorial Day, May 30, 2011:
Note: The following article and/or blog post seems to relate to this disturbing issue-You Decide:
No right to resist unlawful police entry, rules Indiana Supreme Court: ‘Decision says resisting officers would increase risk of violence.’-Posted on News Sentinal-Fort Wayne IN-By The Associated Press-Updated on May 14, 2011:
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20110514/NEWS/105140339
Note: We, as God, family and country loving Americans, must remain vigilant and keep our eyes on the ball, which is to take back our country, and not be distracted by the relentless propaganda being fed to us on a daily basis as part of this President and his minion’s transformation strategy.
My following blog posts contain numerous articles and/or blog posts and videos that relate to this disturbing issue-You Decide:
Daily Kos ‘Bull’s-Eyed’ Gabrielle Giffords for Defeat in 2008!
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/daily-kos-‘bull’s-eyed’-gabrielle-giffords-for-defeat-in-2008/It’s Getting Very Serious Now!
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/it’s-getting-very-serious-now/
Shocking New Report! Obama’s Real Terrorists: Targeting Patriots and The Right!
Veterans and members of our Armed Forces under attack!
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/veterans-and-members-of-our-armed-forces-under-attack/
The Congressional Assault on Criminal Justice!
http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/the-congressional-assault-on-u-s-criminal-justice/
Is it important to understand the Marxist assault on the foundations of our system?
Note: If you have a problem viewing any of the listed blog posts, please copy web site and paste it on your browser. Sure seems like any subject matter that may be considered controversial is being censored-what happened to free speech?-You Decide.
“Food For Thought”
God Bless the U.S.A.!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E&feature=related
Semper Fi!
Jake
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