As The Drug War Escalates
goose outlet canada This article is the second in a six part series about the canada goose uk outlet drug war and canada goose clearance sale police reform. Read Part 1 here. goose outlet canada
canada goose outlet online store OGDEN, Utah Former Sheriff William “Dub” Lawrence has watched with dismay as America’s war on drugs has escalated, and SWAT teams have become more aggressive, more militarized, and less focused cheap canada goose uk on resolving disputes peacefully. canada goose outlet online store
canada goose outlet germany “SWAT teams have been infiltrated by bullies canada goose black friday sale with badges and guns who foster a mentality that killing criminals reduces recidivism,” he says. “We’re on the wrong track. I look at what’s happened to law enforcement today, and I’m ashamed and heartbroken by what I see. We’ve lost sight of what’s important. We’ve lost sight of what the job should be about, which is protecting the constitutional rights of the people.” canada goose outlet germany
canada goose outlet washington dc In 1975, canada goose store Lawrence started what would become the Davis County, Utah, SWAT team. The elite tactical units were coming into vogue across the country canadian goose jacket at the time, after they were introduced in Los Angeles in the 1960s, following the Watts riots and a number of mass shooting incidents. canada goose outlet washington dc
canada goose womens outlet “We saw what was Canada Goose Online happening in Los Angeles at the time,” says Lawrence, 69. “We thought we needed something similar if we ever had Canada Goose sale to face down a shooter, or someone who had taken hostages.” canada goose womens outlet
canada goose outlet shop Lawrence was choosy about who he put on the SWAT team. “You have to pick guys who have the right mentality, the right temperament, and Canada Goose Coats On Sale who show good judgment,” he says. “I finally found four guys buy canada goose jacket cheap I could trust, and we went about training them.” canada goose outlet shop
canada goose outlet phone number In September 2008, however, he watched helplessly as the same SWAT team he helped create over 30 years earlier shot and killed Brian Wood, his 36 year old son in law. canada goose outlet phone number
canada goose outlet jackets Wood had a history of psychological problems, and uk canada goose he had barricaded himself in his truck with a gun following a domestic picframer dispute. After a 12 hour standoff with police, the SWAT team moved in and shot Wood eight times with a stun gun before finally shooting him as he lay on the ground, an outcome Lawrence criticizes as an overreaction. canada goose outlet jackets
canada goose outlet 80 off “I told my family, I said, ‘These guys are well trained. You can trust them to talk him down,'” Lawrence recalls. “I then had to explain to my daughter why this team I helped create had just told her to trust had just killed her husband.” canada goose outlet 80 off
canada goose outlet in canada Since then, Lawrence has become a leader of Utah’s growing police reform movement. He’s served as a consultant to the victims of a number of police incidents in the state, including the family of Matthew David Stewart, who was arrested in a botched raid on his house in 2011 after being suspected of growing marijuana in his basement. The raid claimed the life of a Canada Goose Parka police officer, and Stewart, an Army buy canada goose jacket veteran, later hanged himself in jail. canada goose outlet in canada
canada goose outlet website legit Lawrence is also crafting legislation, together with activists Jesse Fruhwirth and cheap Canada Goose Connor Boyack, restricting the use of SWAT teams, and he’s working to reach out to police groups and sell reform to the public. canada goose outlet website legit
canada goose outlet england “What you see in all of these cases the common denominator is that the police describe the incidents in the precise language they’ve been taught to use so that the shootings will hold up in court, and to indemnify them and their departments from any liability,” Lawrence says. “They’ve Canada Goose Outlet been trained to use force, they’ve been trained to cover up their mistakes, but there’s just no training on how to avoid force and violence.” canada goose outlet england
canada goose stockists uk Lawrence got his start in policing in 1971. He’d just served two years in the Marines, had recently married, and was attending Brigham Young University, when a neighbor who also happened to be the police chief in the town of Bountiful told him about an opening in his department and encouraged him to apply. Lawrence did, got the job, and switched his focus from business classes to justice administration. canada goose stockists uk
canada goose outlet official In 1974, he was hired to perform executive security for the Mormon Church. Shortly thereafter, he saw that the Republican sheriff of Davis County was running unopposed. Despite having logged just three and a half years as a cop, Lawrence filed papers to run as a Democrat in 1976. He surprised everyone when he won. canada goose outlet official
canada goose outlet winnipeg Lawrence says his tenure uk canada goose outlet as sheriff didn’t win him many friends. In addition to the SWAT team, he established a paramedic unit within the police department, which didn’t sit well with the fire department. Lawrence also disbanded the police department’s anti narcotics unit, which he says took Canada Goose Jackets up too many resources and placed too high a priority on canada goose uk black friday drug enforcement. canada goose outlet winnipeg
canada goose outlet black friday “The drug unit was also allowed to break the law in order to enforce it [by buying drugs undercover, or with informants]. I didn’t like that. I thought it gave guys the wrong impression that they were above the law,” he says. canada goose outlet black friday
canada goose outlet 2015 He also made a number of high profile arrests of public officials (including the superintendent of the highway patrol at the time, who was arrested on a DWI charge) and Canada Goose online refused to let them off. canada goose outlet 2015
canada goose premium outlet Lawrence says that his philosophy that the law applies equally to everyone is the reason he only served for one term. Ultimately, he says, he had made too many enemies, and he lost his bid for reelection in 1978. Senate. Today he is officially retired, but policing remains his passion. canada goose premium outlet
canada goose kensington parka uk “I think my relatively short tenure as a cop before running for sheriff was a blessing,” he says, looking back. “I hadn’t yet become entrenched in the culture. So when I took office, I could see the things that needed canada goose coats on sale fixing.” canada goose kensington parka uk
canada goose outlet michigan The Weber Morgan County Narcotics Strike Force began in Utah in 1988 with a grant canada goose coats from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Program, a federal program named for a New York City police officer killed by a drug dealer. Over the last 25 years, hundreds of similar units have sprung up all over the country as America’s war on drugs has escalated. canada goose outlet michigan
canada goose outlet price These task forces have been involved in a multitude of scandals involving mistaken raids, shootings, corruption and abuse of force. Just four months before raiding Matthew David Stewart’s home in Ogden, Utah, the Weber Morgan team shot and killed 45 year old Todd Blair during a drug raid in the town of Roy. canada goose outlet price
canada goose outlet belgium Blair was a meth user, but the police were actually investigating his roommate for distribution. As the strike force broke in, Blair emerged from his bedroom wielding a golf club, and an officer shot him dead. As with the Stewart raid, the officers were cleared of any wrongdoing. canada goose outlet belgium
canada goose outlet nyc Critics say that because task forces span jurisdictions, and can be mostly or entirely funded through federal grants and asset forfeiture, there isn’t enough local supervision and accountability. canada goose outlet nyc
canada goose outlet online reviews In 2009, the Justice Department attempted to conduct a nationwide study of the Edward Byrne program’s effectiveness. “Not only were data insufficient to estimate what task forces accomplished,” the report stated, “data canada goose factory sale were inadequate to even tell what the task forces did for routine work.” canada goose outlet online reviews
canada goose outlet authentic The George W. Bush administration had begun phasing out the program. But in 2009, the Barack Obama administration refunded it at record levels. Today, across most of the country, the task forces are as busy as ever. canada goose outlet authentic
canada goose shop uk The Weber Morgan County Strike Force is no exception. According to an investigation by canada goose uk shop the Standard Examiner, the unit served 120 search warrants in 2012, double the number it served in 2007. canada goose shop uk
canada goose outlet uk sale The task force program is just one initiative leading to the increasing canada goose jackets on sale militarization of today’s police forces. In Utah, for example, between task forces, sheriff’s departments, police departments, state police and federal agencies, many residents are covered by a canada goose clearance half dozen or more separate SWAT teams. In Ogden alone, in addition to the canada goose Weber Morgan County Strike Force, the Ogden Police Department also has a separate SWAT team, as does the Weber County Sheriff’s Department. canada goose outlet uk sale
canada goose outlet store calgary Other towns in the area have their own SWAT teams as well, even when such tactical units would seem to be largely unnecessary. Logan, a city of 50,000 about 50 miles north of Ogden, has had a SWAT team since the 1980s. As of 2011, however, Logan hadn’t seen a murder in five years. Morgan Quitno, the publisher that measures and ranks cities on crime, living standards and other criteria, has named it the “safest city in America” twice, in 2005 and 2007 canada goose outlet store calgary.