How much cash does a raid like that cost us?

@2: Probably not nearly as much as the inevitable lawsuit will.

Sounds like terrorism to me.

@4 for the win.

If she had a shotgun, they'd be dead and the drone would have burnt her house down.

@4 It sounds like gross incompetence to me. I personally think that if you're in charge of the raid and your dumb ass can't read the address on the warrant, resulting in something like this, there should be serious consequences for your career in law enforcement. But alas, I'm sure that won't be the case.

This shit happens all the time. She should be grateful that they didn't haul her out naked and kill her dog.

@2 Maybe they still come out ahead from all the times they get to confiscate all the money and loot when they get the address right, a policy that has turned our cops into shakedown crews.

By that I mean grateful generally, not grateful to the incompetent assholes that broke into her house.

@5 A shotgun in the shower? Have you been watching old episodes of C.H.I.P.S.?

Even if she'd had time to fetch a shotgun, there'd probably be one dead narc and one dead mom. You do realize that unless they're deliberately lining themselves up for the slaughter (not a tactic narcs train for, I'll bet) shotguns still only kill one person per shot, don't you?

I don't understand how no one on the raid team was familiar enough with the location as to be able to say 'Hey guys, this is the wrong place; the house we've been staking out is actually down the block' prior to knocking down the door.. Someone had to apply for the warrant right? And wouldn't you think that person would probably also be present for the raid?

@11, My old granddaddy (a classic paranoid old coot) kept a .410 stainless steel, single-shot break action on a hook next to the toilet, within reach of the shower, so it is technically possible.

Goggle maps is free. I wonder how much "Patriot Act" money they got to buy those tricked-out Hummers and equip a SWATthey are apparently too stupid to run?

@14, not only is Google maps free. So is the associating pictures. The dumbass cops could have spent 30 seconds looking at an actual picture of the house, provided free of charge by Google, before breaking down mom's door.

Welcome to the 21st century, dumb fucks.

Even more fun: even though the cops broke into the wrong house, they can still confiscate all her stuff -- computers, cars, art, your house itself, whatever she's got -- as "drug proceeds" and keep them or sell them for a profit. The burden of proof is on you, not them. That's how most police departments fund themselves these days. You can sue to get it all back, but suing the police department is expensive, beyond the reach of most people. Pretty sweet deals in those police auctions, I hear.

And let's remember, Obama approves of this.

No, he doesn't approve of raiding the wrong address, but he approves of a process that is guaranteed to result in wrong address raids.

Just like he doesn't approve of blowing up innocent men, women, and children overseas, but he approves of a process which is guaranteed to have those results.

At 16
"You can sue to get it all back, but suing the police department is expensive"

You'd fine no loss of very good firms who would love to take this on based upon a contingency basis.

Sadly, @16 ftw.

She was really lucky these armed thugs didn't take her freedom away. Lucky.

Tuttle/Buttle.

I bet she believes that Obama's DOJ is targeting cannabis in states where it is more legitimized than other states.

No one else here does, but y'all are never gonna be convinced, so who cares?

@17: You may as well say that we should abandon the entire justice system because the wrong person may get arrested once and a while. Any process is susceptible to error.

I also really do not understand the hatred of drone strikes. The military is going after terrorist leaders, either by drone strikes or putting soldiers on the ground. Soldiers on the ground lead to more American and civilian casualties, and results in keeping civilians in an active war zone for much longer amounts of time.

There has always been a "kill list," there were already drone strikes. All Obama has done is demand personal say over the process, instead of giving all the responsibility to nameless, largely unaccountable generals. How is this worse?

Rail against the basis of going to war itself, but not against a strategy that is safer for combatants and civilians, more appropriate, and has proven to be highly successful.

Although the reclassifying of what constitutes a civilian and "enemy combatant" is bullshit, I will give you that.

Do these people not think to verify the addresses, maybe get pictures, before they commence a raid? You'd think something like a raid would warrant a high degree of preparation and thought.

@23 re: "You may as well say that we should abandon the entire justice system because the wrong person may get arrested once and a while. Any process is susceptible to error."

Bullshit. The fundamental problem here is that military-style raids on houses are standard practice for enforcing laws against drugs which shouldn't even be on the books to begin with.

No one is saying that nobody should be arrested for anything, ever. We're saying that these laws are insane and the use of force in their enforcement is completely out of proportion.