Drug War Overkill: Five of the Biggest Tragedies This Year

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/five-cases-2014-drug-war-mayhem



Motorized Meth Madness Mayhem in Oklahoma

In January, outside Dill City, Oklahoma, an attempted meth bust foretold resulted in the deaths of three people, including two police officers, in an episode that could have been out of the Keystone Kops if not for its tragic result. Washita County Undersheriff Brian Beck, 39, had searched the home of Quentin Lee Johnson, 27, days earlier and found drugs, used needles, and a stolen handgun. Beck didn't arrest Johnson at the time, but warned him he would probably be back with an arrest warrant.

Baby Bou Bou Meets the SWAT Team

In May, in Cornelia, Georgia, a Habersham County SWAT team executed a 2AM no-knock search warrant for an alleged methamphetamine seller at a single-family residence. The supposed dealer wasn't there, and no drugs were found, but police did manage to seriously injure a two-year old infant. As the SWAT team tried to force its way through the front door and found it blocked by an obstruction, one team member tossed a flash-bang grenade through the doorway. The obstruction turned out to be a play pen, which was occupied at the time by Bounkham "Baby Bou Bou" Phonesavanh, whose parents had just moved in with relatives after their house burned down in another state.

SWAT Raids Take Another Texas Cop's Life

In May, Killeen, Texas, Police Detective Charles "Chuck" Dinwiddie became the second Texas cop killed in a SWAT drug raid in five months when he died two days after being shot in the face by a homeowner whose house he was raiding. Dinwiddie was a member of the Killeen Police SWAT team unit serving a pre-dawn, no-knock search warrant based on an informant's allegation that he had seen "bags of cocaine" at the residence.

Georgia Businessman Gunned Down By SWAT in Drug Raid That Came Up Empty

In September, in East Dublin, Georgia, homeowner David Hooks, 59, was shot and killed in his own home during a SWAT drug raid sparked by the word of a self-confessed meth addict and burglar who had robbed the property two nights earlier. Despite an intensive, 44-hour search after Hooks was killed, no drugs were found.