No-knock SWAT raid on man's home in Washington DC nets one (1) decommissioned shotgun shell.
A Washington, D.C. man is facing a large fine and possible jail time after he was arrested for having an inoperable shotgun shell in his home. The shell was a souvenir that Mark Witaschek decided to keep from a hunting trip years earlier.
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Witaschek said there have been seven court hearings set since his arrest that summer, and he's still waiting to hear the government's justification for the raid.
He's been in court seven times since July 2012 over a spent shot shell. As in, it had no propellant in it, no primer and no lead ball. It was already fired and not re-loadable. Spent.
A spent shot shell taken in a full-up tactical raid that was conducted one full month after a complaint was lodged against the man. So obviously a raid conducted for effect and headlines, not to stop an emergency situation.
Just think for a second how much MONEY this is costing the DC taxpayer. The raid alone would run into the tens of thousands. This is a major budget line item, and therefore police management considers it a major priority.
A spent shot shell taken in a full-up tactical raid that was conducted one full month after a complaint was lodged against the man. So obviously a raid conducted for effect and headlines, not to stop an emergency situation.
Just think for a second how much MONEY this is costing the DC taxpayer. The raid alone would run into the tens of thousands. This is a major budget line item, and therefore police management considers it a major priority.
The message is clear: Big Brother USA is going to stomp on you if you have a gun, or even want to have one.
The Phantom
4 comments:
Having been left nearly speechless by the incredible ineptitude and/or corruption of the system in this case (and, no doubt, many others), I shall instead borrow the immortal words of Charles Shulz:
"Good grief."
Whoops, forgot to type my name in above.
-Alyric
Hi Alyric.
I think it is worse than ineptitude in this case. The authorities are clearly making an example out of this guy for political reasons.
Otherwise know as Soviet-style police state brutality.
I'll bet a doughnut this guy is a Republican of some description, too.
Reward your friends, punish your enemies, fleece the sheep.
This will be interesting to watch. After much research I could not find a law against keeping a empty bullet/shotgun casing as a keepsake that would be harmless unless you swallow it. No doubt it hasn't gone to court yet because they realize it would never stand up as is and they are looking for something else to pin on this guy. They know full well how stupid this looks and the backlash it will carry. As well as a lawsuit for harassment. I wonder if land of the free could sink any lower in meaning ?
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