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Police SWAT Raid On Organic Farm After Tomato Plants Mistaken For Marijuana By Jackson Marciana and M. David for Counter Current News | August 18, 2015
A SWAT team composed of between 15 to 20 officers raided an organic farm, named the “Garden of Eden” and it was all because they mistook tomato plants for marijuana!
The commune in Arlington, Texas, was subject to a raid all because police had convinced themselves that the community “must” be growing marijuana.
A federal lawsuit filed by five victims of the SWAT raid, noted that the justification for this armed assault on their farm all boiled down to the police mistaking tomato plants for marijuana.
In the search warrant affidavit, Exhibit A in the lawsuit, Arlington Detective Magdalena Perez stated that commune leader Quinn Eaker possessed “a usable quantity of marijuana of two ounces or less” in Arlington “on or about July 30, 2013.”
The Houston Chronicle reported that “a search of Arlington court records turned up no marijuana or other drug charges in Eaker’s name.”
Reason magazine notes that Perez cited the Garden of Eden’s website for what it considered more “evidence” against the farming community:
The website for the Garden of Eden also advertises “Uber Dank High Vibe Cuisine.” While the website indicates that Uber can mean “over the top,” “extraordinary,” or “super,” and Dank can mean “high quality” (mostly for consumables) or “overflowing gratitude,” your AFFIANT knows through her training and experience that “Uber Dank” is also slang for high quality marijuana. AFFIANT also knows that individuals who consume marijuana often refer to the sensation felt after consumption as a “high.” The website mentions the word high multiple times while describing the food. In addition, AFFIANT knows that some people consume marijuana by baking it into their food.
Since the cops couldn’t find any real dirt on the farm, Perez said she started asking around.
“Based upon multiple reports that the residents of the property were growing marijuana,” she said, without ever citing who those “reports” were from.
In her affidavit she only cites “an anonymous source of information,” who said that “Quinn Eaker of the ‘Garden of Eden’ community is growing marijuana that is covered by bamboo and that there were weapons, specifically two rifles and one pistol, on the property.”
“I’m passionately convicted in saying this is not how we treat people and this is not how a successful, efficient, honorable society operates,” Eaker said the Chronicle. “This is not in line with freedom.”
The Free Thought Project notes that a lawsuit, filed by Garden of Eden residents just last month, contends that law enforcement violated the rights of those who live on and operate the farm.
They are suing for property and emotional damage, inflicted by the State, as well as seeking the recovery of legal expenses for this fiasco “because the City of Arlington and Detective Perez showed a reckless and callous indifference,” according to Reason magazine.
So, some of the things I'd like to discuss in this thread:
The hilarity of mistaking tomato plants for marijuana. I've seen both plants up close and they are not especially similar, other than being green and having leaves.
That the city is now going to have to settle a lawsuit based upon "anonymous sources" who in my opinion probably don't really exist, and certainly won't face any repercussions for their hot tip about the grow house.
That the city saw fit to roll a SWAT team based upon a suspected two ounces of marijuana.
But oh, my friends, Most of all, we need to talk about this fine fellow.
Just look at this clown. This is not a Navy SEAL, or a Force Recon guy behind enemy lines... this is a police officer! There are dudes in active war zones with less gear on than he has! What's with the assault pack - is he expecting a siege without resupply? Is he going to have to rappel somewhere? Why is he wearing full MARPAT? He's got his sidearm, he's got the required AR15 with a red dot sight, a side-flip magnifier, a flashlight, a laser, an angled foregrip, his flip up sights, looks like a suppressor, a magpul for his magazine, but obviously, not a helmet on his head. Why isn't he wearing a kevlar helmet? Is it more important to wear the boonie hat, as to keep the sun out of his eyes while he makes that long patrol from the back of his Bearcat 20 yards across the property?
There is so much wrong with policing in America these days, and man oh man, has this story got most of em covered.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2015/08/21 14:21:12
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
PS tactinerd correction - that's Multicam by Crye, not MARPAT.
That guy is definitely a wannabe. If you want to kick doors and kill people, join the military. Sad that these little men get jocked up on strutting around in combat gear pretending that they're warriors. I wonder if his Airsoft team all wears matching skull-face balaclavas?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/08/21 14:41:50
Just look at this clown. This is not a Navy SEAL, or a Force Recon guy behind enemy lines... this is a police officer! There are dudes in active war zones with less gear on than he has! What's with the assault pack - is he expecting a siege without resupply? Is he going to have to rappel somewhere? Why is he wearing full MARPAT? He's got his sidearm, he's got the required AR15 with a red dot sight, a side-flip magnifier, a flashlight, a laser, an angled foregrip, his flip up sights, looks like a suppressor, a magpul for his magazine, but obviously, not a helmet on his head. Why isn't he wearing a kevlar helmet? Is it more important to wear the boonie hat, as to keep the sun out of his eyes while he makes that long patrol from the back of his Bearcat 20 yards across the property?
Yes, but he looks tacticool as feth!
What annoys me most about that photo is he can't even be bothered to put his pack on properly. If he had to walk any distance or, god forbid, run in that it would bounce all over and hurt like hell. Pull the straps tight and use the waste band. At least you would look like you are carrying something heavy some distance.
Seriously, what the feth does he need in all those pouches? I can't see how he would need anything more than possibly 2 flashbangs and a first aid kit.
There is so much wrong with policing in America these days, and man oh man, has this story got most of em covered.
Yep. Why does it even need a SWAT team? It's the constant fear of worst case scenario. Every "drugs raid" might be a fire fight. Every car stop might be a gang member. These people don't seem to have been of any threat, or tried to be aggressive in any way. Whats wrong with sending two officers to knock on the door to start with?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/08/21 14:41:00
insaniak wrote: Sometimes, Exterminatus is the only option.
And sometimes, it's just a case of too much scotch combined with too many buttons...
Ouze wrote: But oh, my friends, Most of all, we need to talk about this fine fellow.
Just look at this clown. This is not a Navy SEAL, or a Force Recon guy behind enemy lines... this is a police officer!
While I agree with pretty much everything in your post, I am compelled to point out that this guy isn't just "a police officer", he's a SWAT team member. He's not just "a police officer" in a similar (but smaller) fashion that an army ranger is not just "an army soldier". I'm not saying his loadout doesn't look like utter insanity, it does. And there are most certainly weed farms out there where that sort of gear might be necessary (see: Kentucky). I highly doubt this SWAT dude was on his way to one though.
Just end the war on weed already. We're spending money fighting it, and the states that have legalized it are making tons and tons of money in taxes. Prohibition on alcohol didn't work and led to a dramatic increase in organized crime. Why on earth, then, are we still fighting for prohibition of marijuana? Look at the top producers of weed by state. Many of them would go from among the poorest states in the nation to the wealthiest in practically a flash. But you won't see it because weed bad politics won't let it happen nationally for a while, I think.
Incidentally, this is also why I haven't moved some of my own tomato growing indoors during the winter. I'm afraid of the cops busting in and shooting my dogs, all over a few freakin heirlooms.
Last I checked, plants can't run away. You know who owns the farm, you know who the suspects are, they can't escape with the goods...
Sounds like some farmers gonna get rich from lawsuits!!!
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streamdragon wrote: While I agree with pretty much everything in your post, I am compelled to point out that this guy isn't just "a police officer", he's a SWAT team member. He's not just "a police officer" in a similar (but smaller) fashion that an army ranger is not just "an army soldier". I'm not saying his loadout doesn't look like utter insanity, it does.
My thrust was that this guy doesn't appear in any way whatsoever to be a law enforcement officer. This guy is fully kitted out for combat, and I was trying to emphasize the problem with that approach, beyond just the bunker mentality: I think there is a total unnecessary risk to these officers just because they don't look like police officers and they are operating in a state with a highly armed populace. I feel like it's begging for someone to shoot at them who might not have shot at what they recognized as police officers.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/08/21 15:00:16
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
Seriously, what the feth does he need in all those pouches? I can't see how he would need anything more than possibly 2 flashbangs and a first aid kit.
Rob Liefield certainly has a lot to answer for it seems.
Perhaps Wertham was right after all !
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Ouze wrote: My thrust was that this guy doesn't appear in any way whatsoever to be a law enforcement officer. This guy is fully kitted out for combat, and I was trying to emphasize the problem with that approach, beyond just the bunker mentality: I think there is a total unnecessary risk to these officers just because they don't look like police officers and they are operating in a state with a highly armed populace. I feel like it's begging for someone to shoot at them who might not have shot at what they recognized as police officers.
I do not disagree; I'm FAR more used to the blue uniforms with SWAT written in bold white letters on the front.
OTOH, the reverse is often true in many cases as well, especially when it comes to the armed clusterf**k that is the drug industry in the US. Kentucky not long ago had a rather large population using Vietnam style punji and shotgun shell traps to deter law enforcement from checking their property. I don't doubt that there are plenty of groups in Texas that have issues with the government that would quite willingly open fire on police approaching their property (see: the three nut jobs taking pot shots at the Jade Helm soldiers).
Was this property one of those groups? Absolutely not. Should they have realized that? Abso-frelling-lutely; actual research and recon should have been done. Does this dude need all that stuff he's carrying for what should be a one day raid? Not even a little bit.
curran12 wrote: Because if you act reasonable and sane, you are soft on crime.
Of course, I forgot that police commissioners and (some) judges are elected in the US. Crime fighting for votes!
(Yes, I know we now have elected PCC's in the UK, but at least they have no influence on operational activity, and the British being British don't actually give a feth about them other than how much they spend)
insaniak wrote: Sometimes, Exterminatus is the only option.
And sometimes, it's just a case of too much scotch combined with too many buttons...
Police SWAT Raid On Organic Farm After Tomato Plants Mistaken For Marijuana By Jackson Marciana and M. David for Counter Current News | August 18, 2015
A SWAT team composed of between 15 to 20 officers raided an organic farm, named the “Garden of Eden” and it was all because they mistook tomato plants for marijuana!
The commune in Arlington, Texas, was subject to a raid all because police had convinced themselves that the community “must” be growing marijuana.
A federal lawsuit filed by five victims of the SWAT raid, noted that the justification for this armed assault on their farm all boiled down to the police mistaking tomato plants for marijuana.
In the search warrant affidavit, Exhibit A in the lawsuit, Arlington Detective Magdalena Perez stated that commune leader Quinn Eaker possessed “a usable quantity of marijuana of two ounces or less” in Arlington “on or about July 30, 2013.”
The Houston Chronicle reported that “a search of Arlington court records turned up no marijuana or other drug charges in Eaker’s name.”
Reason magazine notes that Perez cited the Garden of Eden’s website for what it considered more “evidence” against the farming community:
The website for the Garden of Eden also advertises “Uber Dank High Vibe Cuisine.” While the website indicates that Uber can mean “over the top,” “extraordinary,” or “super,” and Dank can mean “high quality” (mostly for consumables) or “overflowing gratitude,” your AFFIANT knows through her training and experience that “Uber Dank” is also slang for high quality marijuana. AFFIANT also knows that individuals who consume marijuana often refer to the sensation felt after consumption as a “high.” The website mentions the word high multiple times while describing the food. In addition, AFFIANT knows that some people consume marijuana by baking it into their food.
Since the cops couldn’t find any real dirt on the farm, Perez said she started asking around.
“Based upon multiple reports that the residents of the property were growing marijuana,” she said, without ever citing who those “reports” were from.
In her affidavit she only cites “an anonymous source of information,” who said that “Quinn Eaker of the ‘Garden of Eden’ community is growing marijuana that is covered by bamboo and that there were weapons, specifically two rifles and one pistol, on the property.”
“I’m passionately convicted in saying this is not how we treat people and this is not how a successful, efficient, honorable society operates,” Eaker said the Chronicle. “This is not in line with freedom.”
The Free Thought Project notes that a lawsuit, filed by Garden of Eden residents just last month, contends that law enforcement violated the rights of those who live on and operate the farm.
They are suing for property and emotional damage, inflicted by the State, as well as seeking the recovery of legal expenses for this fiasco “because the City of Arlington and Detective Perez showed a reckless and callous indifference,” according to Reason magazine.
So, some of the things I'd like to discuss in this thread:
The hilarity of mistaking tomato plants for marijuana. I've seen both plants up close and they are not especially similar, other than being green and having leaves.
That the city is now going to have to settle a lawsuit based upon "anonymous sources" who in my opinion probably don't really exist, and certainly won't face any repercussions for their hot tip about the grow house.
That the city saw fit to roll a SWAT team based upon a suspected two ounces of marijuana.
But oh, my friends, Most of all, we need to talk about this fine fellow.
Just look at this clown. This is not a Navy SEAL, or a Force Recon guy behind enemy lines... this is a police officer! There are dudes in active war zones with less gear on than he has! What's with the assault pack - is he expecting a siege without resupply? Is he going to have to rappel somewhere? Why is he wearing full MARPAT? He's got his sidearm, he's got the required AR15 with a red dot sight, a side-flip magnifier, a flashlight, a laser, an angled foregrip, his flip up sights, looks like a suppressor, a magpul for his magazine, but obviously, not a helmet on his head. Why isn't he wearing a kevlar helmet? Is it more important to wear the boonie hat, as to keep the sun out of his eyes while he makes that long patrol from the back of his Bearcat 20 yards across the property?
There is so much wrong with policing in America these days, and man oh man, has this story got most of em covered.
I agree completely. To note just one issue, the use of anonymous informants, violates the intent and plain language of the 4th Amendment and reaks of East German Stazi.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
I hope they didn't also eat the produce, threaten to assault an amputee, and try to destroy evidence of their conduct.
Prestor Jon wrote: Because children don't have any legal rights until they're adults. A minor is the responsiblity of the parent and has no legal rights except through his/her legal guardian or parent.
The police clearly realized that the are growing tomacco there and fortunately were able to shut the business down just in time. People still underestimating the danger of tobacco / tomato crossover plants...will somebody PLEASE think of the children?
Fun fact: new this year (to the US anyway, was available in the UK last year) is a plant that grows both tomatoes and potatoes called "Ketchup 'n' Fries".
Just end the war on weed already. We're spending money fighting it, and the states that have legalized it are making tons and tons of money in taxes. .
Yes. Yes. And Yes.
Unfortunately, now we have the watch the language. Reds8n that's going on in Ohio that's going to set back legalization in a lot of states that have yet to do it.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/08/21 19:21:42
Think of how much money the Arlington gov't could have saved had the cops conducted even rudimentary surveillance before unleashing the tacti-cool jackboots.
As for the picture of GI Joe, I have a bit of sympathy. They often get uniforms and other gear 'free' from DoD which may account for the camouflage instead of the traditional blue/black SWAT types used to wear. As for the amount of gear, a lot of folks subscribe to the 'better to have and not need than need and not have" school of thought. If it is a short duration raid and you are used to training in full gear, it won't slow you down all that much. If gak goes tango uniform and the raid turns into an extended confrontation, you have your gear/ammo/snacks/radios/reading material and so on with you. I just hope he had an E-Tool on the other side of that ruck. I would hate to think he would be a surface gakker if he had to poo during an extended op. Not much worse than a surface gakker.
Every time a terrorist dies a Paratrooper gets his wings.
MrDwhitey wrote: I hope they didn't also eat the produce, threaten to assault an amputee, and try to destroy evidence of their conduct.
Did that actually happen in a raid? Please tell me that happened.
Yes, yes it did. And they were caught on the security cameras in the store (the presence of which was advertised throughout) and tried to claim that they had a "reasonable expectation of privacy" to eat the marijuana edibles at the site of the raid. A judge decided otherwise, so they're probably fethed.
5000pts 
6000pts 
3000pts
