Here is a perfect example as to why the tactics used to find the Boston Bomber are a very BAD idea.

Any excuse to keep citizens in their homes via police order. An unconstitutional order.

What is next? Drug dealers? Speeders? JAYWALKERS?

Where (when) does it stop?

Cooperation with the police is not a bad idea. But a police state when the police decide that it is a good is NOT constitutional.

And I urge everyone to say “Enough!” when they try this in your town.

For all of my questioning about the way that the search for the Marathon bomber was handled, I do need to say that the cops had a difficult job. While I wonder why none of them ever questioned the constitutionality of the searches, and why they stopped and ID’d people who were OBVIOUSLY not the man they were looking for, apparently most residents felt that the officers were polite and decent.

This was, for all of them, a difficult and stressful job. Not one that most of us would have volunteered to do. There is a reason they get paid. The men who actually handcuffed the bomber had to be scared spitless that he would detonate himself as they approached. Big ball those guys have.

And yes, the cops flocked to the scene of every possible incident, as cops are wont to do. Yes, it looks like they all just want to “get in on the action”…and maybe that is a part of it. But remember, they do run TOWARDS the danger. Part of the way they react is their training. And sadly, their training for certain scenarios doesn’t always make sense, nor do they always use common sense.

BUT.

These police officers, even with their unconstitutional actions and with their sometimes foolish approach to the way they handled people…these men and women were still doing their level best to protect the citizens under their watch. They may have made mistakes and forgotten the Constitution, and we get the opportunity to judge them from the safety of our homes while they are out there doing their job. This does not excuse things, but it does go a ways to explaining it.

And again, while I and others may criticize them, and that criticism may be merited…and even useful…..These police officers did put themselves in harms way. They may not like the fact that we look from afar and criticize(or the fact that the criticism is sometimes dead on), but that does not mean that their work is not appreciated.

And they do deserve our thanks.

As George Orwell said:

“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would do us harm”

For things like this? I’d love an explanation from a LEO as to how things like this occur….Is it that police assume anyone not in uniform is a suspect? Or that they just like being badasses…..I can see no way that this guy fits the description of the fugitive….Other than being male and human.

I mean, he OBVIOUSLY could fit the description of the guy they are looking for..And he is under duress…Every reason to point a firearm at his head….Right? Right?
/sarcasm

I realize that tensions were high…I realize that the police have a job to do…But really? Following procedure is one thing. Common sense is another. And if they can’t understand the difference, then they shouldn’t be allowed to play with guns and all those other neat toys, much less have the authority and power that they do.

I’d also like to hear the explanation for this:

One would assume that there was a good, CONSTITUTIONAL reason for this. But I can’t think of one. I’ll withhold any comment until the police have a chance to explain. Citizens being treated like criminals? Why?  

Read THIS. 

Think

can be found HERE

Some of the comments are even worse.

“Exigent Circumstances”.

Yeah, hold an entire town hostage for half a day….And it is ok, because these are “special” circumstances.

How long can the “Exigent Circumstances” linger? hours? days Weeks/ MONTHS?

What are the definititions of “Exigent”?

Where is the line for a terrible enough crime that this order applies? There are thousands of criminals at large in our cities today….So where is the line?  Murder? Drug dealing? Grand Theft Auto?

Apparently the Constitution can be suspended if the circumstances warrant or if the criminal is evil enough….of if the need is great enough in the rulers government’s mind. Or if it makes the police officers job easier…?

Having said that, really, staying home was probably a good idea Friday afternoon, 4/19, in Boston and the surrounding area. Letting the police do their jobs, not a bad thing. Cooperation? Probably best. But really, their job was done by a civilian. They were alerted by a homeowner, one outside of their perimeter…and they all swarmed in that direction, sirens and lights…Easy to do because those pesky civilians were kept off the streets. Hundreds of cops standing around. Who was protecting the rest of the city?

Asking people to stay inside is a good idea…But to make it on pain of arrest? Really? And for a cop (or anyone) to feel that it is justified? To justify the action of threatening arrest if people were out on the street because “we are tracking a very bad man”….”And you civilians will just be in our way…” Keeping the population in their homes so that the police had control of the streets….

You who agree with the poster should be ashamed of yourselves. Your attitude is what leads to a police state. I am not saying that people should have walked the streets in defiance, but really, you police type folks need to get a grip. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THIS ATTITUDE. EVER.

You should be ashamed for even thinking like that. Remember Peele.

And it should be pointed out that the fugitive in question was found BY A CIVILIAN…outside the perimeter….after the “shelter in place” order had been lifted. Who then called 911 and let the pros handle the actual arrest and get credit for “finding and capturing” him

BTW, the arresting cops had big brass ones…They had to approach not knowing if he was wired to go boom. Gotta say, they had guts.

Where did the Chechen bombers get their money? Cash enough to live in a relatively expensive burb of Boston?

And (this one is imporant) where did they get their GUNS?

Enquiring minds want to know…….

Interesting that when everyone wanted the Bomber(s) arrested after the Boston Marathon, They all were OK with men with pistols and assaullt weapons doing the deed, running around their neighborhoods with guns in their hands ….guns with “High capacity magazines”.

And none of them have spoken up about the fact that they, the citizens of the Greater Boston Metro Area have been effectively disarmed by their government.

I also find it interesting that in the aftermath of the bombings, no one called for pressure cooker controls, background checks for BB’s and nails, etc. They simply pointed the blame where it belongs…on the two men who did this. Not at the retailer who sold the pressure cooker, not at the outlet that sold them the backpack…not at the place where they bought the thousands of bb’s. But at the perpetrators of this crime.

Why can’t they do the same when a firearm is used in a crime?

I know it is a stupid question, but really, can the liberals not separate logic from emotion and use logic in their arguments and criticism ?

That, according to record, today was the day that the jews in Warsaw chose to stand up and fight…

To choose not to die like sheep, but rather like wolves.

They know they would dies. They really had no other option.

But rather than cower and wait for their fate, they chose to stand their ground and let their deaths mean something.

Fought like wolves, died like free men and women.

Again, when you have nothing to lose, you fight better.

Some survived.

But more importantly, they stood up.

Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here —

Captain John Parker, Battle of Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775.

Is it legal for the authorities in greater Boston to force (Order) people in certain locations to stay in their homes? Can they enforce that order, legally?

Can they prevent you from going to work?

From going to your friends home?

From going shopping?

Can they order businesses closed?

Search homes without a warrant?

They can order you to do so… But can they legally enforce it?  Can they order a store or gas station to close?

The Police obviously did think that their orders were legal, and the populace (obviously) obeyed.

But did they have to obey those orders? Did those people have to stay home from work?

Where I live, those orders would be unenforceable. Not legal.

Now, make no mistake, if a crazed person were running round with explosives while being hunted by the police, following those orders might just be a good idea. Probably save a lot of hassle if you did so.

But One wonders if they were really legal.  Really enforceable. Or if the populace just went along. Which isn’t, really, such a bad idea in this instance.