"On the morning of May 5, 2011, after working the graveyard shift at a copper mine, Jose Guerena and his wife were awoken at 9:30 AM to loud noises and voices outside their house. Guerena, a 26-year-old former U.S. marine who served 2 tours in Iraq, sprang from his bed began to secure his family. He and his wife thought that their home was being invaded. He hid his wife, Vanessa, and his 4-year-old son in a closet and grabbed his rifle. He was correct that his home was being invaded. What he did not realize was that the invaders would be wearing uniforms labeled “police.” The noises that jarred Guerena awake would later be revealed to be the detonation of concussion grenades in their back yard. Unbeknownst to him — only seconds earlier — an armored truck had parked in their front yard and a SWAT team was rapidly preparing to break down his door. Guerena approached the front door toward the source of the noises. Wearing only his boxer shorts, he defensively waited in the hallway for the unidentified bad guys to make their move. Within seconds the door was battered in. After a brief silence, Guerena peered around the corner. Four police officers unleashed a barrage of bullets down the hallway. A fifth one scurried up to the doorway and stuck his gun down the hallway, not wanting to miss his opportunity to participate in a kill. For 10 seconds the shots continued, a total of 71 in all. [...] In August 2011, Vanessa Guerena sued the county, claiming the SWAT team acted negligently throughout the whole process, from procurement of the search warrant until after the shooting, when paramedics were prevented from tending to her bleeding husband. Her lawsuit was settled in September 2013. How is it that a county can admit wrongdoing — to the tune of $3,400,000 — but manages to retain all parties involved? Why was no one fired? What policy changes have been made to prevent others from being killed in the name of keeping plants off the streets?"
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 20:25:12 +0000
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