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CHL holder in FL gets shot in the "War on (some)Drugs"

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  • sharky47

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    Man killed in Pembroke Pines drug raid is identified
    Pines police say he confronted detectives

    By Andrew Ba Tran | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
    June 14, 2008

    Pembroke Pines - A 46-year-old man who was shot and killed by police executing a search warrant for drugs was identified Friday as Vincent A. Hodgkiss.

    Hodgkiss was shot in his home at 6824 SW 10th Court about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, said Deputy Police Chief David Golt.

    The Pembroke Pines police department's Special Response Team and narcotics detectives had entered the home to look for drugs, officials said.

    Hodgkiss was shot when he confronted officers, police said.

    Police on Friday also said they had arrested a Hollywood woman as a result of the raid.

    Lisa Ann Jones, 19, faces one count of cannabis possession under 20 grams, Golt said.

    Records show Hodgkiss has a concealed weapons permit, but police have not said whether he was armed when he was shot.

    Police declined to provide further details about the investigation Friday.

    Police said Thursday that three people in the home were taken into custody and a gun was recovered.

    The name of the officer who fired the shots has not been disclosed.

    Police said narcotics detectives watched the house and collected enough evidence to file for a search warrant that a judge signed Tuesday.
    Lynx Defense
     

    sharky47

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    Overzealous drug war claims another casualty

    Michael Mayo | News Columnist
    June 15, 2008

    The question isn't whether a Pembroke Pines police officer was justified in fatally shooting Vincent Hodgkiss in his home early Thursday morning, or whether illegal drug activity was taking place there.

    The real question is this: Was a paramilitary-style dawn raid the best way to go about serving a drug-related search warrant?

    Deputy Police Chief David Golt defended the use of the Special Response Team, Pembroke Pines' version of SWAT, to carry out the 6:30 a.m. raid that left Hodgkiss, 46, dead.

    "We use SRT to serve all narcotics warrants," Golt said Friday. "You never know what you're going to encounter."

    Michael Mayo Michael Mayo Bio | E-mail | Recent columns
    Related links

    *
    Michael Mayo: Pembroke Pines family, police paint two portraits of one man

    In this case, a middle-aged man with a concealed weapons permit and no record of violent crime encountered his demise in his home of 14 years.

    Jack Cole, a former New Jersey narcotics detective who now heads a drug-law reform group, questions the use of SWAT raids for drug searches. Too often they lead to tragic consequences for police, bystanders and suspects, he says. Especially in the dazed and darkened confusion of dawn.

    "I've never thought this was smart policing," said Cole, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. "It's better to use stealth and imagination, wait until you get people out of the house."

    We've seen this tragic outcome before. In August 2005, Sunrise police used a SWAT team for a lethal pre-dawn raid on a suspected drug dealer. Anthony Diotaiuto, 23, was shot 10 times. Police found a little more than an ounce of pot in the home.

    "That's just insanity," Cole said.

    In that case, two officers were cleared of criminal wrongdoing, but the family's civil case is ongoing.

    Attorney William Scherer III said Sunrise police detonated a flash-bang grenade after forcing their way into Diotaiuto's house. "You can imagine what that does to you if you've been awakened by someone breaking into your house," Scherer said. "How can you expect someone to respond intelligently?"

    Said Cole: "Put yourself in the occupant's position. You're asleep and you're woken up by a huge crash at the door. I know if it was my house and I had a gun, I'd probably go for it, too."

    At this point, Pembroke Pines police haven't revealed many details about the raid on Hodgkiss' home. Police aren't saying if any illegal drugs were found, apart from a small amount of marijuana that led to the arrest of Lisa Ann Jones, 19, the girlfriend of Hodgkiss' son Chris, 22.

    Police haven't said if Vincent Hodgkiss was armed when he was shot.

    And Golt would not say how many officers entered the home, if they forcibly entered or if they used a flash-bang grenade.

    "We don't discuss procedures," Golt said. "But we implement all acceptable methods used as SWAT tactics."

    Golt said Pembroke Pines uses the Special Response Team to carry out about 25 drug warrants a year, and nearly all go off without incident. He said there hasn't been a fatal shooting by Pembroke Pines police in at least 25 years.

    He also pointed to escalating violence against police and the fatal shooting of Broward Sheriff's Deputy Todd Fatta in a 2004 child-porn raid that didn't use SWAT as reasons for using the SRT unit.

    According to statistics kept by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, police drug raids have resulted in 42 deaths of innocents, 24 deaths and injuries of police officers, and 22 deaths of nonviolent drug suspects since 1985.

    "Even if no one got hurt and police always got the right house, I'm just not comfortable using these paramilitary tactics for nonviolent drug offenders," said Radley Balko, who wrote "Overkill: The rise of paramilitary police raids in America" for the Cato Institute. "If we're going to have a drug war, there are better ways of doing this."

    Add Vincent Hodgkiss' name to the casualty list.
     

    JKTex

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    While him being a CHL holder has no relevance in this case at all, it does question these kinds of tactics to "search for drugs".

    I know I'd be armed in a second if I heard my front door come down. And I'd expect that if I came out armed and ready, LEO's would have to engage me, whether I shot yet or not. There's less than a spec of a nano-second in which to figure out what's going on. That's not realistic.

    It's a tough call. But first and foremost, we have to preserve a persons right to protect their home, and not get killed by LEO's for doing so.
     

    sharky47

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    Yeah, the CHL does not mean that much here, just threw that in there since this is a gun forum AND it does kinda show the guy's character. I mean, a nasty drug dealer type - the type that would warrant a SWAT no-knock raid - would never even attempt to apply for a CHL.

    What I am trying to say is, cops *shouldn't* be afraid of a CHL holder and call for stormtroopers, since CHL holders are typically level-headed, law-mindful types.

    Also, chalk up another victim in the ongoing "war on individuals freely exchanging goods and services".......I mean, "the war on (some)drugs"..........cause, prohibition worked so well!
     

    txinvestigator

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    Why the hell would you no-knock a KNOWN firearms owner.

    Idiots.


    Idoits? What is YOUR experience in dealing with this?

    I have no problems with the police excuting such warrants, and if the criminal gets killed too bad.

    My problem is when raids are executed on the WRONG residence. That is a topic of conversation.
     

    noelnkeith

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    This sounds like all the info hasn't come out yet, but they damn well better have some info other that a little weed from the guys girlfriend or this could look bad. I agree to go into crack houses with that force, but I also agree that if this guy was on the up & up and his kid wasn't, maybe a few phone calls to this man and a different type raid might've saved his life, hopefully the truth comes to the surface instead of all this protocol and not releasing the facts - either way
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    Well, what exactly is a no knock search warrant? I mean, I was under the assumption that the officers/SWAT guys, etc still have to identify themselves upon entry by calling out POLICE or something to that effect. Is it still required for a no knock? I mean even if someone wakes up to the sound of their front door being busted down, I would think the 10+ guys screaming POLICE! POLICE! SEARCH WARRANT! and tossing in flashbangs.....I would think that would leave little doubt who's coming in?
     

    sharky47

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    The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

    Sure would be nice huh?
     

    Texas1911

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    Idoits? What is YOUR experience in dealing with this?

    I have no problems with the police excuting such warrants, and if the criminal gets killed too bad.

    My problem is when raids are executed on the WRONG residence. That is a topic of conversation.

    Is it not illogical to think that this guy is more likely to surrender to police considering he went through all the legal red tape, classroom session, and permitting fees to carry his pistol legally? Put yourself in his shoes... the POLICE are the ones that are used to this kind of situation. Them barging in on someone is going to trip the fight or flight. How alert and logical would you be if I came crashing through your door with about 5 people screaming and yelling.

    My experience is that police officers often times get stuck on stupid, just like anyone else in life. Problem is, their lack of foresight get's people killed. Either police officers or civilians, both are unwarranted.

    No one knows the series of events, so who's to say I am wrong, or right for that matter. There are two ways to view this situation. Just because they are police doesn't make them right.
     
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