Thread: COLORADO - Police Point Guns At People At Massive I-270 Road Block

CORRECTION: This occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland and not in Colorado.

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Political Outcast
3/17/14

The robbers held up a bank and the cops held up an interstate full of traffic. Both pointed guns at innocent people to get what they wanted. In one case, they wanted someone else’s money. In the other case, they wanted to catch a criminal. I approve of the latter motive. But I don’t understand how pointing guns at people and putting them in danger can be considered a justifiable means for attaining the goal.

Police Point Guns At People At Massive I-270 Road Block

VIDEO

I understand that police are supposed to catch bad guys. And I understand that a society where bad guys get cause is safer than a society where they get away with crimes.

And, in this case, since the bad guys were caught without anyone being shot, one could say that the police did their job.

But their methods seem legally questionable and extremely dangerous to bystanders.

From the Washington Post:

“Police halt Montgomery County commuters on I-270 to hunt for bank robbery suspects.”

Police arrested three bank robbery suspects in Montgomery County on Tuesday after officers set up a roadblock on Interstate 270 and walked car to car with pistols, shotguns and semiautomatic rifles drawn. The rapid show of force stunned late-morning commuters but allowed officers to nab the trio 44 minutes after the robbery.

“I guess it turned out well, so it’s hard to argue with success,” said Don Troop, who was heading to the District when traffic came to halt. A group of officers made its way to his car and other cars around him. “They were just walking along saying: ‘Pop the trunk! Pop the trunk!’”
It is not clear to me why they had the authority to stop literally everyone on the interstate and search their cars. I see nothing in the story that indicates they had reason to believe anyone was riding in the trunk of a car.

At 10:02 a.m., police said, officers were called to the Wells Fargo bank branch along King Farm Boulevard in Rockville. They learned that two men armed with handguns had come in, demanded money and left with it. They got into a silver Kia, where a third man was waiting, and drove off.
A short time later, the Kia was spotted on southbound I-270. Officers in cars raced toward the area and shut down traffic in both directions.

At the time, Troop was trying to get to the District, where he is a senior editor at the Chronicle of Higher Education. Just south of the Montrose Road exit, “everything came to a halt,” he said.

Again, nothing is said about anyone hiding in a trunk.

The Easy Bake Gun Club has a report with some pictures.

Traffic backed up for miles on the freeway for over an hour with no explanation from police. Commuters exiting their vehicles to see what was happened were met with hostility from police. As one woman leaned out of her vehicle to vomit she was yelled at by an officer to stay inside and close her door. I suppose she's supposed to puke inside her car while they trample her rights.

During this encounter motorists were approached by armed officers and ordered at gunpoint to submit to warrantless searches of their vehicles.

That’s one way of looking at it. I guess if they can do it to Boston they can to it to drivers on an interstate.

I want to bring up another consideration. The robbers had one firearm in their vehicle but they surrendered without resistance. What if they had shot at police? Hopefully Maryland police are far more accurate than police in Los Angeles or New York City. But even if they are, by stopping and jamming all traffic on I-275, they had created a situation with many bystanders who could have been hurt or killed.

[B]y putting armed criminals into a miles long roadblock authorities made it more likely they would take someone hostage or commandeer an innocent bystanders vehicle. Some will say that the ends justify the means and as long as the robbers were arrested, the "operation was worth it".

What, in the final analysis happened? The robbers held up a bank and the cops held up an interstate full of traffic. Both pointed guns at innocent people to get what they wanted. In one case, they wanted someone else’s money. In the other case, they wanted to catch a criminal. I approve of the latter motive. But I don’t understand how pointing guns at people and putting them in danger can be considered a justifiable means for attaining the goal.

Read more at http://politicaloutcast.com/2014/03/...ocOSMm609xu.99

Police Stop, Handcuff Every Adult at Intersection in Search for Bank Robber

Police in Aurora, Colo., searching for suspected bank robbers stopped every car at an intersection, handcuffed all the adults and searched the cars, one of which they believed was carrying the suspect.

Police said they had received what they called a “reliable” tip that the culprit in an armed robbery at a Wells Fargo bank committed earlier was stopped at the red light.

VIDEO AT SOURCE

“We didn’t have a description, didn’t know race or gender or anything, so a split-second decision was made to stop all the cars at that intersection, and search for the armed robber,” Aurora police Officer Frank Fania told ABC News.

Officers barricaded the area, halting 19 cars.

“Cops came in from every direction and just threw their car in front of my car,” Sonya Romero, one of the drivers who was handcuffed, told ABC News affiliate KMGH-TV in Denver.

From there, the police went from car to car, removing the passengers and handcuffing the adults.

“Most of the adults were handcuffed, then were told what was going on and were asked for permission to search the car,” Fania said. “They all granted permission, and once nothing was found in their cars, they were un-handcuffed.”

The search lasted between an hour and a half and two hours, and it wasn’t until the final car was searched that police apprehended the suspect.

“Once officers got to his car, they found evidence that he was who they were looking for,” Fania said. “When they searched the car, they found two loaded firearms.”

The actions of the police have been met with some criticism, but Fania said this was a unique situation that required an unusual response.

“It’s hard to say what normal is in a situation like this when you haven’t dealt with a situation like this,” Fania said. “The result of the whole ordeal is that it paid off. We have arrested and charged a suspect.”

The other people who had been held at the intersection were allowed to leave once the suspect was apprehended.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headline...r-bank-robber/

Related ..

Massive Roadblock, Warrantless Searches in Maryland

Yesterday was the ATF raiding Ares Arms in California.

What never got reported was Tuesday's massive highway roadblock and car to car searches by armed law enforcement officers in Maryland. Were there warrants for these searches? No. Was there reasonable cause to stop every commuter at 10a.m. on a Tuesday morning? No.

"When I saw a wall of police officers with automatic weapons approaching our cars, it was apparent that something serious was taking place," one commuter told local media.

Rockville city, Montgomery County, and Maryland State Police blocked both lanes of Interstate 270 with more than 30 police vehicles, numerous dogs, helicopters, and officers going to car to car with weapons drawn as seen here:



What caused this open manhunt and dismissal of the citizen's 4th Amendment rights? A bank robbery where the three suspects were believed to have driven their getaway car onto the freeway.

Motorist Carlton Higdon told local reporters there was, "a lot of yelling, a lot of orders being given... helicopters, dogs barking, sirens, police cars driving by".

Traffic backed up for miles on the freeway for over an hour with no explanation from police. Commuters exiting their vehicles to see what was happened were met with hostility from police. As one woman leaned out of her vehicle to vomit she was yelled at by an officer to stay inside and close her door. I suppose she's supposed to puke inside her car while they trample her rights.

During this encounter motorists were approached by armed officers and ordered at gunpoint to submit to warrantless searches of their vehicles. According to one witness police were just walking along, weapons drawn ordering people to "Pop the trunk! Pop the trunk!". He overheard a man in a truck next to him call out to another motorist: The police are looking for bank robbers. Shortly after, about nine officers approached his car - including state police in tan uniforms, county police in dark uniforms and at least one plainclothes officer wearing a yellow tie.

Is it possible that there were consensual searches? Is anything ordered at gunpoint consensual? Reportedly not one person was brave enough (foolish enough?) to refuse the hostile violation of the 4th Amendment. Would you be?

Montgomery County Police Captain Paul Starks described the searches as an operation of "systematically checking the trunks and rear hatches" of the vehicles caught in the roadblock.

Rockville Police Chief Tom Manger remained defiant and unapologetic when he told local station WTOP, "For those folks that wondered how is that the police can just walk through traffic like that and get folks to show their hands, get folks to pop their trunks, between the exigency of the circumstances and the information that we had, it gave us the legal foundation to do what we did".

The massive roadblock and 4th Amendment violations did net the bank robbers and the stolen $7,000 dollars. The robbers were found in their vehicle and did not resist when taken into custody. They were not found hiding in anyone else's trunk.

Of course, by putting armed criminals into a miles long roadblock authorities made it more likely they would take someone hostage or commandeer an innocent bystanders vehicle. Some will say that the ends justify the means and as long as the robbers were arrested, the "operation was worth it".

Was the roadblock worth it? Not if you believe in the principles of "liberty and justice for all". The criminals were caught, but the innocent motorists were treated as part of the crime during warrantless searches by officers with weapons drawn simply because they happened to be on a stretch of highway going about their day.

Was this Maryland's "Intro to Police State" class?

http://easybakegunclub.com/news/4814...l#.Uycjs4XCvW4

Police halt Montgomery County commuters on I-270 to hunt for bank robbery suspects


(Courtesy of Don Troop/ ) - A suspected bank robbery suspect is arrested Tuesday on the shoulder of I-270 in Maryland.

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Police arrested three bank robbery suspects in Montgomery County on Tuesday after officers set up a roadblock on Interstate 270 and walked car to car with pistols, shotguns and semiautomatic rifles drawn. The rapid show of force stunned late-morning commuters but allowed officers to nab the trio 44 minutes after the robbery.

“I guess it turned out well, so it’s hard to argue with success,” said Don Troop, who was heading to the District when traffic came to halt. A group of officers made its way to his car and other cars around him. “They were just walking along saying: ‘Pop the trunk! Pop the trunk!’ ”

Video


Suspects in a bank robbery in Rockville have been taken into custody after a police chase temporarily closed a section of I-270. ">

Video


Police in Montgomery County stopped traffic along Interstate 270 on Tuesday morning to search for men who allegedly had just robbed a bank in Rockville. Police arrested three suspects and reported no injuries. Don Troop, a commuter making his way to the District from Frederick County, recorded this video. ">

Police in Montgomery County stopped traffic along Interstate 270 on Tuesday morning to search for men who allegedly had just robbed a bank in Rockville. Police arrested three suspects and reported no injuries. Don Troop, a commuter making his way to the District from Frederick County, recorded this video.

Officers found the three suspects inside a silver Kia SUV, along with at least one gun thought to have been used in the heist, police said. They also found cash from the bank in a nearby dump truck, leading them to conclude that it was tossed there as police closed in. No one was injured.

“It was a good ending,” said Officer Janelle Smith, a Montgomery police spokeswoman.

Among the factors working against the suspects was the area in which they were traveling — an interstate just south of central Rockville that tends to have a large police presence. Among the agencies that quickly joined the pursuit: Rockville city police, Montgomery police, the Montgomery sheriff’s office, Maryland State Police and neighboring Prince George’s County — in a helicopter. The suspects also were on a road that could be contained once it was shut down, not a neighborhood with side streets.

“It was a combination of things,” Smith said.

At 10:02 a.m., police said, officers were called to the Wells Fargo bank branch along King Farm Boulevard in Rockville. They learned that two men armed with handguns had come in, demanded money and left with it. They got into a silver Kia, where a third man was waiting, and drove off.
A short time later, the Kia was spotted on southbound I-270. Officers in cars raced toward the area and shut down traffic in both directions.
At the time, Troop was trying to get to the District, where he is a senior editor at the Chronicle of Higher Education. Just south of the Montrose Road exit, “everything came to a halt,” he said.

He overheard a man in a truck next to him call out to another motorist: The police are looking for bank robbers. A short time later, about nine officers approached his car — including state police in tan uniforms, county police in dark uniforms and at least one plainclothes officer wearing a yellow tie.

Among their commands to motorists that Troop heard:

“Stay in your car.”
“Pop the trunk.”
“Get your hands on the steering wheel. Get you hands up where we can see them.”

Meanwhile, three officers in a helicopter had arrived from Prince George’s.
“We saw that they were searching traffic and going vehicle to vehicle,” said Cpl. Aaron Smith, the pilot. The crew spotted the Kia, became concerned that officers had walked past it and landed the craft on an empty portion of the interstate. Smith said he then helped direct officers on the ground to the Kia. Three people were apprehended at 10:46 a.m., according to Montgomery police.

Troop and other motorists were eventually allowed to continue driving, slowly, in the right lanes.

Earl Michael Kenney, 55, of Capital Heights and Michael Anthony Heard, 40, of the District have been charged with one count of armed robbery and one count of using a firearm in the commission of a violent felony. Ricko Damon Ford, 20, of Forestville has been charged with one count of armed robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...51c_story.html