I’m not a fan of using SWAT teams to carry out routine search warrants. They have some uses, but they should not be used to carry out routine search warrants. They are just too dangerous. Besides recently killing a 90 year old grandmother in Georgia, chalk up another needless death of an innocent 17 year old in Texas. The Houston Chronicle reports:
A 17-year-old Wharton resident was shot and killed today by a police officer executing a search warrant for narcotics at a home.Daniel J. Castillo died about 1:30 p.m. at John Sealy Hospital, according to Becky Ivy, a spokeswoman for the Wharton County District Attorney’s office.
The shooting happened at 9:30 a.m., as members of the Wharton County District Attorney Narcotics Task Force, Wharton Police Department Emergency Response Team, and the Wharton County Sheriff’s Office Star Team assisted in the execution of the warrant.
The police stormed into Daniel Castillo’s house and then shot him dead. His crime? Bad luck. The police didn’t find any drugs in the house. Yes, you read that correctly, there weren’t any drugs in the house.