General Discussion

Earth_First

(14,910 posts) Tue Sep 11, 2012, 08:26 PM Sep 2012

DHS/Border Patrol executing mutual assistance to local law enforcement...

It's marijuana crop season in our rural neck of the woods. It's not uncommon to hear from the locals that such and such farm had a warrant executed (99% times unrelated to the farmer) for marjiuana crops in mid/late autumn.

Tonight as I was driving home from work, I passed by a farm that borders the river. Two Sheriff vehicles, an unmarked Jeep and 5 middle aged men all carrying very visible sidearms, and what appeared to be their 'credentials' around their neck along the shoulder of the road.

Hovering along the river was a Border Patrol helicopter. As I made my way into town, heading out of town with the characteristic White/Green DHS/Border Patrol SUV heading out of town towards the river. I do not live far from where this was occuring, when I got home, I could hear the hovering of the helicopter. Almost 30 minutes went by, the helicopter made two giant loops over the village before heading North and out of sight for the evening.

This isn't the first occasion of this happening either, twice this past winter in Rochester (NY) Border Patrol was utilized alongside RPD in a hostage situation and in a missing persons instance.

This bugs me.

Has this federal organization been deputized to engage in civilian law enforcement operations, is this the new norm?

2 replies

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DHS/Border Patrol executing mutual assistance to local law enforcement... (Original Post) Earth_First Sep 2012 OP

Law enforcement agencies can request assistance from other law enforcement grantcart Sep 2012 #1

I think it is the new norm.. dixiegrrrrl Sep 2012 #2

grantcart

(53,061 posts)

1. Law enforcement agencies can request assistance from other law enforcement

Reply to Earth_First (Original post)

Tue Sep 11, 2012, 09:04 PM

Sep 2012

Agencies.

There are times during flooding, for example, that rural LEOs will request BP assistance because they have specialized equiment. It would require extra ordinary circumstances like a missing person or someone endangering the life of a LEO to allocate helicoter time.

They would have no interest in a lone MJ field unless a BP unit had followed suspicious persons from the port of entry (which they do a lot).

BP agents have no interest in making drug busts of US citizens with personal use. At checkpoints when dogs alert and small amounts of drugs are found people are given the opportunity to throw away their drugs or wait while they call local police.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)

2. I think it is the new norm..

Reply to Earth_First (Original post)

Tue Sep 11, 2012, 09:22 PM

Sep 2012

militarizing the police and combining various law enforcement agencies is becoming pretty common. Part may be a budget issue.
I remember there were officers from several counties and cities in Oakland during the Occupy there last year.
and FBI, it was reported.

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