Secret Paramilitary Maneuvers on Rowe Street

[XLFD]

According to TV 9&10 News:  Mason County sheriff says around 3 Friday afternoon the Ludington police, Mason County Sheriff's Office and SSCENT carried out a search warrant on the 300 block of Rowe Street in the city of Ludington. The story has been absent from the MCP and the COLDNews aped the 9&10 report, primarily because that's all of the information the officials want to feed the public.

What else is known is that they used quite sophisticated armored equipment in serving this warrant and quite a bit of similarly armored personnel.  Below is a picture taken by a neighbor of the assault craft used to approach the house. 

No bus was seen in the backyard of the house, and seven hours later, the police are still tight lipped about what the search warrant was for, what they found, and what actions they took against the residents.  The area being targeted by SSCENT is one block away from the Ludington City Hall/Ludington Police Department, as seen in the diagram below.  As most politically savvy people know, the best time to do things to avoid news coverage is Friday afternoon.

SSCENT is a multi-jurisdictional task force which has very little oversight by the public since what they do are often declared to be immune to FOIA requests, even when an investigation is over.  Whereas it may be wise and safe for those concerned in conducting such warrants to prepare for the worst, it may be unwise and unsafe for the public at large if such precautions are not otherwise warranted. 

As is typical, the general public is not given the ability whether to ascertain if such was the case here.  Discretely mentioned but very public operations like this tend to make the public, even the law abiding public, more fearful of those who are not only supposed to protect and serve them, but to keep them informed of their activities, and whether those activities are themselves done lawfully and properly. 

[XSFD]

This was on the 300 block of south Rowe.

[XLFD]

Thanks XSFD, the original report I heard said it was North Rowe, and the 9&10 didn't specify.  The original article has been changed to reflect that. 

[shinblind]

Careful X.

Maybe this was just a ruse, a practice run for Chief Barnett and the boys before they storm their real objective, The Headquarters of the Ludington Torch and its auxiliary organization The Ludington Pitchfork. Don't be surprised if they obtain a warrant for unmowed weeds or something, then attack and plant a bunch of subversive and illegal evidence in the HQ's. They can them call in the local media to frame you in the press. Mayor Holman might even plan on calling together a special session of the City Council to vilify you in public.  No three minute time limit will be enforced, the session culd run for hours.

This might also explain why I heard that a couple of City Boy's were seen trying to jump start the army tank over at the American Legion.  Guess they figure they  might need to bring in heavier artillery in your case.   

Just consider this a warning X. 

[XLFD]

If they do all that, they're wasting quite a bundle.  All they need to do is wait around city hall on a meeting night and collar me-- but they better wait until after I gave my two comments or I'll make a federal case out of it.  If they're in a hurry, they need only call a special meeting and not notice it properly-- I'll be there with bells on. 

If they need a crime, I forgot to change out the cat litter this last week, I've got some firewood scraps in the backyard, I still have the Christmas wreath out in front, I still have fecal remains from the dog out front from the winter, I have a trailer out back with a bad wheel that needs to be picked up by the owner.  Don't know why they haven't came for me yet.

[Willy]

I wonder who owns the glorified jeep in the photo and what agency the passengers [riding illegally] belong to. I notice a State Police [blue] vehicle parked in the photo. It seems to be a bit of overkill especially in a small town like Ludington. Law enforcement could take a few pointers from an old movie regarding the building and the use of assault vehicles. Anyone remember this?

[XLFD]

That belongs to those animals over at Delta Tau Chi, with Bluto popping out of it after a full out assault on a staid parade in a college town.  That was before he hijacked another parade car and became Senator Blutarski, you know. 

Chief Barnett has a strong strain of Dean Wormer; here he is talking with a young John-Shay-type about Delta House , which was that generation's Ludington Torch:

[Willy]

Dean Wormer"s lecture to the boys about their midterm grades is classic " Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go thru life son".

[shinblind]

IHaveANotion

You cut down a few trees prematurely  in Copeyon Park as a McGuffin and soon most of the locals will forget that an assault vehicle ever was actually here.

Am waiting for them to next claim that the pic of vehicle was photoshopped.

Last time I saw law enforcement riding on the running boards of a vehicle like that was in the movie "The Untouchables". I wonder if the local enforcement officers were allowed to have a ride on the outside so they too could look cool.

[XLFD]

 IHAN, this link Ludington's Other Secret Police is long and ends with a court brief you may not fully understand, but it initiates you into the uber-secretive SSCENT squad, our area's local drug enforcement squad and how they think their public information is somehow none of your business.

I am a big believer in steering clear of drugs and can reluctantly agree with some drug enforcement being done by our police, even though the idealistic libertarian in me thinks there are better ways to control the issue. 

Although I won out on most points in the case, prevailing so that I got all of my costs and disbursements repaid. the judge ruled that most of the SSCENT records in possession of the LPD were in actuality the property of the MSP, who effectively runs SSCENT operations.  I disagreed with that part of the decision, as it disregarded how the SSCENT task force was set up. 

But I witnessed such deceit by various police and court agencies in following the underlying criminal case regarding Gene Foster, that I am convinced that in a lot of their work they are running a scheme of entrapment.  To whit, they catch somebody with illegal drugs and make a deal of leniency with them if they entice others to make drug deals with their unit operatives.

In Foster's case, they apparently had one of these druggies set Foster up with a hard luck story along the lines of 'this guy's in town from downstate, he has a MM card but can't get to his caregiver, and he's in great pain and needs some medicine'.  That part wasn't recorded by the police, the operative couldn't remember anything about anything in court. 

Foster sold some of his medical marijuana to the undercover officer at the price he got it from his caregiver, out of mercy.  You can tell that from the texts and video.  The Michigan MM law indicates that such transfer is legal between cardholders, but it's a legal gray area that seems to be losing in high courts.  They then tried to get Foster on two felonies for being merciful. 

Sad, and sick, for law enforcement to go after people with MM cards using such entrapment procedures, while neglecting to record the set-up stage.  There's enough drugs around this area, that they shouldn't have to make their own drug crimes, but it's their business:  more drug busts, more funding.

[XLFD]

I effectively know which house it was, which rental unit in that house the search warrant was for, and that the police refused to let the landlord approach his own house during the time the warrant was being executed. 

This last one concerns me, as I know the landlord and know they wouldn't be part of any drug cartel.  I also know that unless there was an undeclared safety issue, he should have been allowed to get on his own property, albeit, the tenant had the right to keep him out of the unit being searched if they so desired. 

I only have hearsay sources at this time, however.

[stump]

Why on earth would any person or the land lord want to go on this property with the place surounded by a police force armed to the hilt with military weapons and vehicles?  Oh, I got to check the furnace filter .LOL

[XLFD]

Perhaps to make sure they don't shoot up and ransack his place?  I presume the landlord and the tenant that necessitated the search warrant being performed had a lease agreement signed between them, and that they had a modicum of trust between them at one point, at least.  This landlord has probably went to the unit several times for repairs or rent collection without a fully armored assault unit overflowing with police and assault weapons.  I know I would be concerned for my investment seeing this muster outside of my rental property, so I don't fault him. 

When police agencies escalate responses like this just to conduct a search warrant without any reason given, I believe it makes the bad guys (and some of the good guys who distrust an overreaching and unaccountable government) more reason to invest in arms and armor themselves, and make these operations dangerous for everyone in the community.