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Content from our friends over at The Collin County Observer
Monday, January 4, 2010
Is Collin County district attorney building his own SWAT team?
The question isn't if the DA can fund his own SWAT Team, but rather should a local DA have his own cadre of heavily armed troops?
It would appear that John Roach, the Collin County district attorney, wants to build his own personal SWAT Team.
On the commissioners court agenda for Monday morning is item AI-31289 (PDF). Listed under "Decisions mandated by legal entities outside of commissioners court authority", item AI-31289 reads, "Budget amendment in the amount of $25,306.46 utilizing Drug Forfeiture fund to purchase equipment for the District Attorney Emergency Response Team."
So what "equipment" does the DA's Rapid Response Team need?
How about:
2 DPMS "AP4" 5.56 caliber Panther Carbines
2 Remington Model 870 12 gauge shotguns with 7 round magazines, pistol grips and folding stocks.
2 LED lights for the shotguns
2 Tactical Ballistic shields
10 Ballistic helmets
2 shoulder ammo bandoleers (a la Pancho Villa?)
2 Blackhawk Tactical backpack kits, includes a heavy duty ram, a bolt cutter and a hooligan tool (for breaking down doors).
6,000 rounds of 5.56 caliber NATO ammunition.
etc...
Wow! It sure looks like Collin County is planning on training some really bad ass prosecutors.
The District Attorney's request is simply pro forma. In fact, the Drug Forfeiture fund is his to spend as he sees fit as long as it is used for "the official purposes of his office." (Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 59.06(c)1).
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 59.06(d)
"Proceeds awarded under this chapter to a law enforcement agency or to the attorney representing the state may be spent by the agency or the attorney after a budget for the expenditure of the proceeds has been submitted to the commissioners court or governing body of the municipality. The budget must be detailed and clearly list and define the categories of expenditures, but may not list details that would endanger the security of an investigation or prosecution. Expenditures are subject to audit provisions established under this article. A commissioners court or governing body of a municipality may not use the existence of an award to offset or decrease total salaries, expenses, and allowances that the agency or the attorney receives from the commissioners court or governing body at or after the time the proceeds are awarded. The head of the agency or attorney representing the state may not use the existence of an award to increase a salary, expense, or allowance for an employee of the attorney or agency who is budgeted by the commissioners court or governing body unless the commissioners court or governing body first approves the expenditure."
The question isn't if the DA can fund his own SWAT Team, but rather should a local DA have his own cadre of heavily armed troops? Recent articles and editorials in the Dallas Morning News have highlighted the issues surrounding the formation of little-used SWAT teams by constables, school districts, and other law enforcement departments.
A recent Dallas Morning News article quoted Paul Hershey, the president of the Texas Tactical Police Officers Association, saying, "To throw SWAT uniforms and tactical vests and ballistic helmets on police officers ... and a semiautomatic machine gun in their hands ... and offer them very little training – that does not give you a SWAT team."
What it gives you are over-armed and under-trained officers who have the ready ability to escalate force levels beyond their training and expertise. Cool automatic rifles and helmets may be great for pumping up law enforcement testosterone levels, but they can also cause excessive violence.
According to the News, "Without proper training, 'my personal opinion is that some of these so-called SWAT teams put the public at greater risk by going out there and trying to handle something they shouldn't be handling,' said Lt. D.L. Hodge, who oversees the Dallas Sheriff's Department tactical team."
Perhaps a better use of the Drug Forfeiture money would be for Mr. Roach to buy another $25,000 worth of fancy office furniture, like he did in 2007. He could then order all his prosecutors and bailiffs to simply program their cell phones with 972-547-5100.
That's the number for the Collin County Sheriff's Department. They have a real SWAT team, and they're right next door to the courthouse.
Pegasus News Content partner - The Collin County Observer
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Pop icon Peter Max exhibits paintings at the Crescent Hotel this summer
"humbleness"??????
Um, Mr. Means (reporter), your fourth-grade English teacher is going to smack yo
Phillip Wilkinson, verified:
Another loco power hungry dude, someone should check his med's.
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truthmatters1, anonymous:
I doubt there is anyone with a bigger ego than Mr. Roach so any chance of anyone talking any common sense to him about this subject is slim to none. It is common knowledge that most of the DA investigator's are anything but "SWAT team material" but merely do there jobs by routing or subpoenaing witnesses for trial. They don't even do real investigations-but are glorified secretaries the way they are used by the DA's office. And now in "low crime and nothing much happening Collin County" he is going to give them semi automatic weapons...............for what purpose unless Mr. Roach thinks he needs the protection. Incredibly stupid ideas and this DA has many of them.
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garciadamon, anonymous:
Even a law and order guy like me doesn't think this is cool. There is clearly some disconnect between DA Roach and the Collin County Sheriff's Dept. It's the latter's responsibility for on the ground law enforcement, not the DA's. And if he's got under-trained and hot-headed cats doing his bidding with assault weapons, then he's asking for trouble. If and when something goes down with his "Rapid Response Team," this DA will almost surely kiss his re-election goodbye. Not to mention the potential for excessive force violations and tort claims against his office, and perhaps even against him personally.
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festus72448, anonymous:
I would refer you to Lubbock, TX and the 2003 SWAT incident there. The untrained SWAT was sent to an "in city limits" home where no crime had been committed. An untrained SWAT sniper (with a high powered large bore rifle in a residental neighborhood) killed one of his own men and it then escalated to a free fire with machine guns. The innocent subject of the event was wounded then charged with capital murder. Eventually the charges were dropped and the victim was granted a large judgement. Law enforcement should never, but never be allowed to have machine guns. I can't imagine any situation where machine guns are needed in a law enforcement vs. civilian environment. Semi-automatic small caliber rifles are OK and could be within the needs. Would anyone care to guess what political party Roach belongs to? He sounds very unstable and out of touch.
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tcallahan1982, anonymous:
I don't have an opinion, per se, on a DA having a SWAT team, but I'd like to clarify somthing for the previous anon poster. The DPMS AP4 Panther carbine IS a small caliber semi-auto rifle. It fires .223. One shot at a time. The shotguns involved are pump action. The shoulder bandoleers are necessary to carry 12 ga shotgun ammunition, because it is bulky. "Machine Guns" by definition fire multiple rounds, for a long as the trigger is pulled. The DPMS carbine is not one of these.
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What do you think?