Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Collateral Damage in the War on Drugs

One of the many costs imposed by the failed US War on Drugs is the collateral damage suffered when innocent people are subjected to para-military SWAT raids by misinformed officers. Case in point, Brooklyn Park:

Brooklyn Park police were looking for a meth lab, but they found a fish tank and the chemicals needed to maintain it.  And a few hours later, when the city sent a contractor to fix the door the police had smashed open Monday afternoon, it was obvious the city was trying to fix a mistake. ...

The mistake appears to have happened in large part because of a combination of a self-appointed vigilante, an inexperienced judge, and an inexperienced cop:

Police were executing a search warrant signed by Hennepin County Judge Ivy Bernhardson, who believed there was probable cause the Adams’s home was a meth lab. Berhardson, who was appointed to the bench less than a year ago, did not return KARE 11’s phone calls. ...

... the drug task force was acting on a tip from a subcontractor for CenterPoint Energy, who had been in the home Friday to install a hot water heater. “He got hit with a chemical smell that he said made him light headed, feel kind of nauseous,” Roehl said. The smell was vinegar, and maybe pickling lime, which were clearly marked in a bathroom Mr. Adams uses to mix chemicals for his salt water fish tank. “I said, ‘I call it his laboratory for his fish tanks,’ “ Mrs. Adams said, recalling her conversation with the CenterPoint technician. “I’m looking at the fish tank talking to this guy.” ...

Police say the detective who asked for the search warrant is an 8 ½-year veteran, but he just started working in the drug task force.

Suppose the homeowners had a dog who tried to defend them from intruders; the dog probably would have been shot. Worse yet, suppose the homeowners had been armed and used deadly force to defend themselves. They’d both probably be dead, perhaps along with one or more of the cops. All in pursuit of a completely failed drug policy.