A SWAT team raided Jonathan Whitworth’s house in Februrary looking for a “large amount of marijuana.” They shot his two dogs, killing one. All they found was a pipe, a grinder, and a “small amount” of weed. Now there’s video. With an almost admirable efficiency, the Columbia, Missouri SWAT team knocked down the Whitworth family’s door, shot both dogs, and handcuffed Jonathan against the floor while hustling his wife and kid out the door. They were acting on information that Whitworth had a significant amount of marijuana he intended to sell. What they found instead was some stoner paraphernalia—a pipe and a grinder—and a “small” (i.e. misdemeanor) amount of the drug. This unfortunate (and unfortunately common) experience with the war on drugs—one that was shared by the entire Whitworth family, including the seven-year-old son—made the internet rounds when it happened in February, but without some kind of audiovisual stimulation it’s hard to communicate the sheer terror of a dozen heavily armed men breaking into your house at night and shooting your dogs. Now we have video. Via Radley Balko, here’s what it’s like to be raided by the police:
link: SWAT Team Raids House, Shoots Dogs over ‘Small Amount of Marijuana’ – Police – Gawker