Ex-Marine gunned down by SWAT team

[Occam's Banana]

This is truly vile & disgusting. Read the whole story. It's infuriating.
Can anyone seriously claim we are not living in a murderous police state?

SWAT team fired 71 shots in raid [archive link: https://archive.ph/lknZY]:

The Pima County Regional SWAT team fired 71 shots in seven seconds at a Tucson man they say pointed a gun at officers serving a search warrant at his home.

Jose Guerena, 26, a former Marine who served in Iraq twice, was holding an AR-15 rifle when he was killed, but he never fired a shot, the Sheriff's Department said Monday after initially saying he had fired on officers during last week's raid.

Six days after Guerena was shot, few details about the investigation that brought the SWAT team to the southwest-side home Guerena shared with his wife and their two young sons are known.

William Grigg comments on this story at LewRockwell.com.

[Brian4Liberty]

This is truly vile & disgusting. Read the whole story. It's infuriating.

As infuriating as it is, lying and covering up are as automatic as breathing for most people. Ask a 4 year old if they ate a cookie they weren't supposed to. If they lie, they are future management material. No doubt it was someone higher up that immediately released a story that he fired on the Police.

Oh well, another mundane shot in his home in front of his family. Unless you are Osama Bin Laden, no ones cares.

[heavenlyboy34]

Ah, I accidentally started another thread about this story. Wish I'd known about this thread before. /facepalm @ self. Yeah, it's a sad and disgusting thing those cops did. The place where that happened is only about 30-60 minutes south of me.

[Brian4Liberty]

Let's play count the lies!

Here's number 1.

initially saying he had fired on officers

And 2.

The department says SWAT members were clear when identifying themselves while entering the home.

And 3.

Lt. Michael O'Connor of the Pima County Sheriff's Department. "We went lights and sirens and we absolutely did not do a 'no-knock' warrant."

And 4.

"The suspect said, 'I've got something for you,' when he saw them," O'Connor said. Guerena's wife denied he said that.

[Acala]

This is a small price to pay to keep drugs out of the hands of children - including the children who just had their father murdered in front of them.

Oh, and just a reminder, this is the SWAT team under the control of Sheriff Dupnik, recently famous as the Sheriff who blamed the shooting of Gabby Giffords on anti-government rhetoric.

[Occam's Banana]

Oh well, another mundane shot in his home in front of his family. Unless you are Osama Bin Laden, no ones cares.

The point you make is as horrifying & sad as it is true - which is "very."

[pcosmar]

Let's play count the lies!


And 4.

"The suspect said, 'I've got something for you,' when he saw them," O'Connor said. Guerena's wife denied he said that

They will just stop leaving live witnesses.

Expect it.

[KCIndy]

Deputies said they seized a "large sum of money from another house" that morning. But they refused to say from which of the homes searched that morning they found narcotics, drug ledgers or drug paraphernalia. Court documents showing what was being sought and was found have not been made public. A computer check on Guerena revealed a couple of traffic tickets and no criminal history.

Nice to see we live in an age of open, honest government.

How much does anyone want to bet that this turns out to be ANOTHER "oops, wrong house" scenario??

Guerena was a Tucson native and Flowing Wells High School graduate. He joined the U.S. Marines in 2002. He served two tours in Iraq in 2003 and 2005 as part of the Yuma-based MWSS-173 under direct supervision of Master Sgt. Leo Verdugo.

Verdugo was with Guerena's family Tuesday afternoon. He gave them a Marine Corps jacket and gloves to use at Guerena's burial.

"He was an excellent Marine, with a bright future ahead of him," Verdugo said.

"We had just bought a home and he was working graveyard shifts and overtime just to help pay the bills, we were just starting to make this house our home," Vanessa Guerena said.

Yep.

Sure sounds like a drug dealer. Everyone knows those nasty dope dealers bust their asses working 12 hour shifts in mines, because of course that's where the real money is.

The cops in this case aren't just idiots. They're murderers. If there was any justice left in the world, everyone who fired a shot in this case would be doing prison time.

I'm not going to hold my breath.

[Brian4Liberty]

They will just stop leaving live witnesses.

No doubt. They will double-tap Fido too, in case he's one of those talking dogs they show on YouTube.

[Brian4Liberty]

There are only two scenarios where the Police could be telling the truth about using sirens and announcing themselves:

1) Suicide by cop - No way. The guy was asleep, and the contact was initiated by the Police in the first place.
2) Wanted to fight the Police to the death - No way. He didn't fire a shot.

[Occam's Banana]

The place where that happened is only about 30-60 minutes south of me.

Yikes! But given how this sort of thing seems to be happening more often, all around the country, I don't suppose you're in any greater danger than the rest of us are.

At least a dog was the only fatality in my own hometown's most (in)famous example of jack-booted thuggery.

[KCIndy]

There are only two scenarios where the Police could be telling the truth about using sirens and announcing themselves:

1) Suicide by cop - No way. The guy was asleep, and the contact was initiated by the Police in the first place.
2) Wanted to fight the Police to the death - No way. He didn't fire a shot.

I think all the evidence clearly points to (yet another) law enforcement ****up in which they've very likely targeted the wrong house.

Now that someone's dead, it's going to be CYA time and they'll do their very best to smear the integrity of the victim. Otherwise it would be their own jobs - and asses - on the line, and of course that isn't acceptable.

To me, the common sense of this is inescapable:

* If the guy had been a big time drug dealer making lots of cash, why in hell would he be working 12 hour shifts in a mine? That's damn hard work.

* It clearly was NOT a "lights and sirens" raid - see Brian4Liberty's above post.

* The Sheriff's Dept. admits the deputies were IN the house when they shot Guerena. I find it very hard to believe that a Marine with two tours of duty in Iraq would not get off a single shot when guys are coming through is door. I'm guessing he realized at the last second that the intruders were law enforcement and he held his fire. If he had truly meant to fire on the officers, at least one or two would be dead.

[FortisKID]

These cops deserve nothing less than execution. This is flat-out MURDER.

[GunnyFreedom]

This gentleman was no less a Marine the day he died than he was while on active duty. There is no such thing as an ex Marine, except maybe for actual treason. (against the Constitution, that is)

[heavenlyboy34]

Yikes! But given how this sort of thing seems to be happening more often, all around the country, I don't suppose you're in any greater danger than the rest of us are.

At least a dog was the only fatality in my own hometown's most (in)famous example of jack-booted thuggery.

I dunno about that. Phoenix PD are pretty well known for their brutality. http://tucsoncitizen.com/three-sonor...hocking-video/
They've even been the stars of the show "Cops" a few times.
This murder was just reported today: http://www.kpho.com/news/25391310/detail.html

[hillbilly123069]

Oh well, another mundane shot in his home in front of his family. Unless you are Osama Bin Laden, no ones cares.[/QUOTE]

You put too much faith in the media. People care.

[heavenlyboy34]

Yikes! But given how this sort of thing seems to be happening more often, all around the country, I don't suppose you're in any greater danger than the rest of us are.

At least a dog was the only fatality in my own hometown's most (in)famous example of jack-booted thuggery.

btw, I watched that vid. It's $#@!ing outrageous and tragic at the same time.

[Pericles]

People - remember that this is Pima County - and who is the sheriff?


Heightened and "vitriolic" political rhetoric is being blamed by some for the kind of violence that landed Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in intensive care following a mass casualty shooting on Saturday, but others say a blame game is hardly appropriate or useful right now.
Pima County, Ariz., Sheriff Clarence Dupnik sparked much of the debate during a press conference Saturday evening in which he blamed talk radio and television for a decline in America.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...#ixzz1M74ZW89o

[AFPVet]

You see... this is why no knock warrants should be illegal. The man has a right to defend himself. What if he didn't have time to call 911 when some thugs burst through the door? He only had time to grab a rifle to defend his family with. Not everyone has ADT automated cellular security systems.... Are they going to mandate that we all have ADT cellular systems now?

[Indy Vidual]

...
Can anyone seriously claim we are not living in a murderous police state?
...

Getting way too routine, the shock value is gone.
What can we do?
Are there any groups, or people, trying to sue the local and state Governments, to possibly "fight back" financially?

[Mini-Me]

When on earth are people going to start demanding accountability for these murders?!?

[amy31416]

When on earth are people going to start demanding accountability for these murders?!?

I read the article earlier today, and I really don't understand the wife's comment that she "just wants answers about why it happened." I'd be looking for a hell of a lot more than answers, and they wouldn't have one good enough anyways.

[heavenlyboy34]

When on earth are people going to start demanding accountability for these murders?!?

when it gets too bad to ignore. Kinda like the debt crisis. Joe Average in his McMansion didn't give a $#@! till the collapse.

[AFPVet]

So is it going to take the 1960's all over again? I am sure that there are more than enough to march the streets like they did... even more!

[heavenlyboy34]

So is it going to take the 1960's all over again? I am sure that there are more than enough to march the streets like they did... even more!

Especially considering a LOT of folks are unemployed/underemployed now.

[Indy Vidual]

When on earth are people going to start demanding accountability for these murders?!?

RIP innocent victims:
Anyone know about cases where the families are suing the town and state for large amounts?

[doodle]

Incredible.

[ivflight]

I'm not sure fighting back financially does much.

Makes me sad to think about it, but I don't think things have been pushed nearly far enough to get a real reaction to this kind of thing. I really feel like things are going to have to be pushed so far that neighbors are willing to put their butts on the line for each other. Right now Americans have too much to lose so fighting back isn't worth it. When the cops have to call in the military to shutdown multiple city blocks at a time just so they can knock down a door without getting shot in the back from across the street, then we might get the proper political action to put an end to the mess.

[AFPVet]

I'm not sure fighting back financially does much.

Makes me sad to think about it, but I don't think things have been pushed nearly far enough to get a real reaction to this kind of thing. I really feel like things are going to have to be pushed so far that neighbors are willing to put their butts on the line for each other. Right now Americans have too much to lose so fighting back isn't worth it. When the cops have to call in the military to shutdown multiple city blocks at a time just so they can knock down a door without getting shot in the back from across the street, then we might get the proper political action to put an end to the mess.

How many people did they have in the 60's? My guess is that they didn't have near the political foot print which we have today!

[ivflight]

How many people did they have in the 60's? My guess is that they didn't have near the political foot print which we have today!

How many did who have?