| Taste of things to come? I'm all for enforcement of laws. I'm all for enforcement of laws that prohibit children from being hurt. I'm not all for the abuse of power the law enforcement officers had in this case.
The LEOs could of seen that:
A. No prior criminal record (I assume, by the article)
B. Amount of porn "traded". I have a feeling their IP was traced back to one child porn file being traded off P2P for instance. It's doubtful that an incorrect IP address would lead to multiple instances of a huge trader of this stuff. Yes, all child porn is bad, however having one or two files should result in a visit by the FBI, not a SWAT team tearing down your door. Save that for the pieces of shit that harm children by actually making the stuff.
C. A deeper investigation would of been better before running in guns drawn. Obtain warrants and packet sniff their data at the ISP. Or, at least, put a trace on their emails or web sites visited. Also, look at their bank statements for signs of issues. I'm ok with data gathering as long as there is a cause for it due to suspicion.. I'm not ok with a blanket data gathering law that covers the entire US population.
The guy who green lighted this raid should be fired. I think it was more publicity for the police department vs doing the right thing. Now a guy's life is ruined because his neighbors think he is a pervert. He might as well move to a new town.
I say a taste of things to come because with everyone being on edge, I expect law enforcement to jump to the extreme at the very first sign of trouble, like this case, instead of calming down and taking a moment to step back and view the big picture. |
