A few years ago a shop owner I know was burglarized. He asked me to help him get the surveillance tapes into a format he could present in court, so I did so. R

A few years ago a shop owner I know was burglarized. He asked me to help him get the surveillance tapes into a format he could present in court, so I did so. Reviewing the tapes while transferring was interesting. It was a simple burglary. A guy came in through the roof. He appeared to be high on crack or crystal meth and weighed probably 100 pounds. He tripped the alarm, panicked, ran about the store, couldn't get out and eventually exited back through the roof. This was about 3 in the morning. 15 or 20 minutes later 2 officers arrived with my friend in his pajamas looking sleepy. He let them in and they crept about the store pistols drawn. No one was there. One of the officers pointed to the drop ceiling (good call... there was a gaping hole there) and they eventually exited the store. 3 or 4 hours later the swat team arrived. They stood behind shields and put in some sort of gas bomb. The tapes filled with smoke and you couldn't see anything for a period. Then, a number of officers entered with gas masks and examined inside the drop ceiling with a camera. No one was there of course. There were probably not less than 15 of them and they stayed around until noon or so wandering about and poking stuff. At one point one of the officers noticed the surveillance camera and turned it so they couldn't be filmed further. No one was brutalized but it appeared to be extreme over reaction. The store reeked of tear gas for weeks. I have to wonder exactly what the cost was to taxpayers. This certainly isn't an extreme case but it was an eye opener. Lots of these guys just want to play GI Joe and don't care what they damage nor how much money they waste. It is time for some reform.