SWAT Team Raids Home To Recover Student Loan [Updated: Or Not]
from the pay-up dept
Chuck Norris’ Enemy (deceased) was the first of a few of you to write in about the rather insane case of a SWAT team raiding a home over an unpaid student loan. Update: As lots of folks have been pointing out, the original story has now been updated to say it wasn’t a student loan, but rather a larger criminal investigation… Still seems odd that it went down the way that it did, but we’ll do a strikethrough on the post. There have been so many stories lately of misuse of SWAT teams, but this one takes it to a new level. In this case, it was even more ridiculous, because the woman who hadn’t paid her loans had left her family and no longer even lived at the residence that the SWAT team kicked down the door and raided. But, really, let’s take a step back and ask the basic question:
Why is a SWAT team involved in a student loan recovery effort?
It appears that the Department of Education was seeking the woman to get the loan repaid, and somewhere along the way someone (who?!?) thought that this required a SWAT team to break down the door of this guy’s house at 6am in the morning, drag him into his yard, then shove him and his three kids into a police car for a few hours while they searched his house.
I tend to find claims that we’re in “a police state” a bit overwrought and excessive, but when you hear stories like this, it really makes you wonder.
Filed Under: student loans, swat team
Comments on “SWAT Team Raids Home To Recover Student Loan [Updated: Or Not]”
Calling my broker . . .
If anyone owns stock in The Onion, they might want to dump it now. Real life is now a parody of itself, rendering formal parody redundant.
Re: Calling my broker . . .
I disagree, this only means The Onion will get crazier…
Re: Calling my broker . . .
Actually I think this means that the parody is no longer a parody, and The Onion is now infringing on reality’s copyright…..
I’m not sure who will be suing, but you can bet if any lawyers thought they could get away with it, they would…
Wait, What?
This article is serious? That’s it, I ain’t ever going to America! (Sorry, Americans, I do like you, it’s juts your government and law officials I don’t like)
Re: Wait, What?
You think that’s crazy huh? Well in Florida, we have the right to stand our grown with fire arms if we are threatened or fear imminent bodily harm. What happens when it’s the police you fear imminent bodily harm from? Right to stand your ground vrs no knock warrant…
Re: Re: Wait, What?
“Right to stand your ground vrs no knock warrant…”
We’ll Never know since the SWAT team are going to double tap you in the head and you can’t file a lawsuit from 6 feet under.
Re: Re: Re: Wait, What?
Tell that to the two detectives in the story below.
With the amount of home invasions going around, your gonna see more and more of this…
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/latest/105231338.html?showAll=y&c=y
or this one…
http://www.totalcriminaldefense.com/news/articles/unusual/no-drug-bust.aspx
Re: Re: Re:2 Wait, What?
“while they knocked on the door with a battering ram” (first link)
See, they don’t need a “no knock” warrant. *starts pricing ram proof doors*
Re: Re: Re:3 Wait, What?
> See, they don’t need a “no knock” warrant.
> *starts pricing ram proof doors*
Won’t work. I ran a warrant with the Houston Police once and the bad guy’s house (and he really *was* a bad guy) was all done up with steel doors and iron bars on the windows just to make the house as police-proof as possible.
HPD rolled up with what is essentially an armored APC, hooked chains to the bars on one of the windows, and the other end to the tank, then drove it away to yank them off. Turns out the bars were stronger than the house itself and it pulled the entire wall of the house off. The drug dealers were sitting in their living room playing XBox and packaging their drugs and suddenly the entire wall disappeared and the house was swarming with cops.
Bad day for them.
Re: Re: Re:4 Wait, What?
“The drug dealers were sitting in their living room playing XBox and packaging their drugs and suddenly the entire wall disappeared and the house was swarming with cops.”
But that’s at least a good sign that it really is the cops and not an intruder.
Re: Re: Re:4 Wait, What?
Sounds like you did your due diligence, and were 100 percent sure you had the correct house/perps.
Imagine if you pulled the wall off that house and grandma and grandpa came spilling out terrified…spewing ensure in all directions because you were an idiot and didn’t verify the address and/or perps… lol…
Re: Re: Re:5 Wait, What?
> Sounds like you did your due diligence,
> and were 100 percent sure you had the correct
> house/perps.
I hear stories all the time of cops running warrants on the wrong house and busting in on innocent people, etc.
I honestly don’t know how that happens. By the time I apply for a warrant, I’ve already spent countless hours surveilling my subject day and night and know both his neighborhood and the place he puts his head down at night almost as good as he does. The warrant is just the last step in the process. I can’t imagine showing up at that point and going to the wrong house any more than I could imagine driving home from work tonight and instead of walking in my front door, walking into my neighbor’s house by mistake.
Re: Re: Re:6 Wait, What?
I hear stories all the time of cops running warrants on the wrong house and busting in on innocent people, etc. I honestly don’t know how that happens.
It happens because there is not adequate punishment, if any, for it.
Re: Re: Re:4 Wait, What?
Thanks for the *hilarious* mental image.
Re: Re: Wait, What?
I know. I’m envious of you and Texas. In NY we have a “duty to flee.” What a crock, some piece of shit breaks into your home and you can’t defend it.
Re: Re: Wait, What?
Yeah, and now the criminals are yelling police! on their way into your house to rape-rob-murder you, so you can’t even be sure it’s your own government you’re having to protect yourself against…
Re: Wait, What?
Cool, more America for the rest of us. Could you tell me a country that has government and police you do like???
Re: Re: Wait, What?
Cool, more America for the rest of us.
The Jews are leaving? More Germany for the rest of us.
— Adolph
Update to the story
I agree that this is completely insane on all levels. Though I do want to note that the Dept of Ed has sent an update to state that the raid wasn’t for unpaid loans but as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Unlikely that they needed a SWAT team (and they didn’t need to treat that guy the way they did), but at least not AS stupid:
http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/08/dept-of-education-swat-team-up
Re: Update to the story
There’s no less stupid if a story involves SWAT and a no-knock warrant for a non-violent charge on a person with no previous criminal history.
It is a massive abusive of power either way.
Re: Update to the story
Ok but that still doesn’t explain what the department of education has to do with SWAT
Re: Re: Update to the story
Maybe the dept of education is now under DHS …
Re: Update to the story
DoE + warrants + SWAT ?????
F*ck it !! I’m returning those overdue library books ASAP. The penalties are getting too damn stiff !!
Re: Update to the story
I agree that this is completely insane on all levels. Though I do want to note that the Dept of Ed has sent an update to state that the raid wasn’t for unpaid loans but as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Unlikely that they needed a SWAT team (and they didn’t need to treat that guy the way they did), but at least not AS stupid:
Thanks. This had to happen the one day that I’d be away from my desk most of the afternoon, huh? I’ve now updated the post.
Well the story has been updated
“Yesterday, the Depart of Education’s office of inspector general executed a search warrant at Stockton California residence with the presence of local law enforcement authorities.
While it was reported in local media that the search was related to a defaulted student loan, that is incorrect. This is related to a criminal investigation. The Inspector General’s Office does not execute search warrants for late loan payments.”
http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/08/dept-of-education-swat-team-up
interesting to see what comes out of this, still seems like overkill. Why SWAT? Its just a search warrant not an arrest warrant.
Re: Re:
Again, even if this was a criminal investigation, wouldn’t a little surveillance be prudent to determine whether or not the woman lived there before destroying property and terrorizing innocents. It looks like they skipped the investigation part here.
There has been an update to the story
It is now about bribery, fraud and/or embezzlement of student loans. I still have no idea why it warranted a SWAT raid.
http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/08/dept-of-education-swat-team-up
Re: There has been an update to the story
That was the inference of the blogger. The actual reason is yet to be disclosed.
Re: Re: There has been an update to the story
It was stated by the DOE in the same statement that they issue warrents for criminal issues such as “bribery, fraud, and embezzlement of federal student aid funds.” It’s not such a stretch to link the two.
I still don’t see how the DOE would be involved in a criminal investigation that involved a violent crime.
The “bribery, fraud, and embezzlement of federal student aid funds” basically means you didn’t repay and we think you lied to us to get the loan.
Re: Re: Re: There has been an update to the story
“It’s not such a stretch to link the two.” Agreed.
Well the update is now updated, and it seems to lean even more in this direction. Same link as above update.
Re: Re: Re:2 There has been an update to the story
“Police officers did not participate in breaking Wright’s door, handcuffing him, or searching his home.”
Though one would think they would stop the illegal actions since they were there at the time.
It may not be so simple
Just went to the Reason site and followed the link to the actual story on the News 10 web site. It appears that the story no longer appears on their site though a search on their site returns a link to the story. Clicking on it, http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=141072, gets you to error 404 page. However, a follow-up story does appear here: http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=141108.
Noteworthy in this follow-up is the following comment:
This may be a case of there being more than meets the eye especially with the last sentence. We may want to wait a bit more before jumping to conclusions on this story.
Re: It may not be so simple
Oops, looks like I did what a few others did here too, didn’t read the comments above before posting our own…d’op! Sorry about that.
Re: Re: It may not be so simple
duh, of course there’s more to the story.
But does that mean that Masnick will remove this article and it’s entirely incorrect headline?
This blog is such a complete joke.
Re: Re: Re: It may not be so simple
It’s called a developing story. I’m guessing Mike will post an update, and only you will be griping.
Re: Re: Re: It may not be so simple
You’re an idiot. It was the local media that reported that the raid was for a student loan, but later more information came out indicating this may not be the case. So Mike will likely add an update to the post as he always does. and your point is (beyond discouraging people from taking you and your position seriously by looking like a complete jerk)?
Re: Re: Re: It may not be so simple
Why are you here then? Seriously…
Use the thingy in your browser called the address bar… Just type “www.ILoveDisney.com” in it, hit the return key and go to the happiest place on the net. Then you can close your ears and eyes to the coming zombie apocalypse.
Re: Re: Re: It may not be so simple
Soon the title will have “Updated” in it, and there will be additional information at the bottom or mixed into the paragraphs with strikeouts. At least he doesn’t pretend his mistakes or incomplete information never happened.
Their reply is just as troubling as the original reason
It would be a better story if they broke down the guys door at 6am in the evening.
Update
Supposedly it wasn’t about a defaulted student loan but an ongoing criminal investigation. The AES still sent out the SWAT but for something along the lines of bribery, fraud, or embezzlement of federal student aid funds. That’s still just as bad. Why would you send out the SWAT for any of those?
Question, does the SWAT ever do recon before they bust down doors? Or do they just go into a potentially dangerous environment blind?
Re: Update
Recon? For SWAT? That’s not how they operate.
Think of them as the Marines.
Be efficient.
Be “polite”.
Have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
With all of the physical training that they do, I highly doubt they take negotiation tactics as an elective.
Well, in all fairness, it is a Special Tatic they used to try to get this woman to pay up…
(not that I agree with it)
In Mother Amerika...
Department Educates YOU!
Re: In Mother Amerika...
didn’t work too well did it?
Re: Re: In Mother Amerika...
…….
Come on Techdirt, you’re better than this.
This didn’t happen.
It was 1 cop who provided the “police presence” while someone from the OIG (Office of Inspector General) served a warrant.
Re: Re:
1) Developing story
2) #1 has already been covered in previous comments
3) DID happen, it just so happens DOE OIG was the one playing SWAT.
Re: Re:
Kenneth Wright does not have a criminal record.
“He had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there,” Wright said.
“I look out of my window and I see 15 police officers,” Wright said.
No record, no accusation of a violent crime, but he was met with violent force. THIS IS WHAT A POLICE STATE LOOKS LIKE!
15 not one.
who?
When did the DOE become the IRS?
What makes this even more interesting is that if you follow the links… the link that sends you to ABC’s Channel 10 that originally aired the report is now 404 (can’t be found).
Re: Re:
Still there, try again.
How many local, state and federal agencies are authorized to bust down a door? While I usually take any comments saying we live in a police state as a bit of hyperbole, maybe if even the department of education, or at least a semi autonomous unit of the doe, can bust down a door and handcuff people we really do live in a police state.
Re: Re:
> How many local, state and federal agencies are
> authorized to bust down a door?
Any agency empowered by the appropriate legislative body to enforce criminal laws can “bust down a door” if given the go ahead by a judge.
debtor's prison
If I recall my US history correctly (and I may not, so please correct me if I’m wrong) one of the grievances against the British “empire” and reasons for rebellion was that of an objection to debtor’s prison. Basically, if you owed someone money – at least a well-connected someone – you could lose your freedom.
This makes me wonder about how that applies EXCEPT when you owe the gov’t money. You can quite literally go to jail for A PARKING TICKET. How does THAT make any sense?
No surprise, then, that we have SWAT collection agecies.
Re: debtor's prison
> This makes me wonder about how that applies
> EXCEPT when you owe the gov’t money. You can
> quite literally go to jail for A PARKING TICKET.
> How does THAT make any sense?
You’re not going to jail for owing money. You’re going to jail for committing the offense they fined you for in the first place.
However, I’m not sure which jurisdiction you live in where parking violations are jailable offenses. Certainly isn’t the case where I live.
to the dogs
usually SWAT shoots all the pets in the house too, you know…America’s trigger happy law enforcement
swat teams
Remind me of a bunch of country boys settin a circus in the big city-but they do have some accomplishments to their credit
WACO
Well, it probably was a swat team. And now it's all CYA
CYA, because it’s indefensible to execute a violent search warrant for an economic offense. So, the paperwork will be amended.
Don’t worry folks. The gov’t is only out to help you.
And at least this time they didn’t murder a war vet.
Traditional Media
Seems like another example of mainstream media failing to fact check (or engaging in seo whoring) and the blogosphere correcting the story.
About Time!
Well I for one am happy to finally see the government doing something about deadbeats who don’t pay their student loans. You have people who take out student loans, try to file bankruptcy to try and avoid it only to find out they can’t so they jump from job to job to avoid garnishment. Hopefully this will send a message to all the deadbeats out there. This is how law enforcement should look like!!
I hope she gets several years in jail when they find her.
Re: About Time!
0/10. Try to be less blatant about it next time.
Re: About Time!
Or you have PPL that take student loans to better themselves, then the dot com bubble bursts and are left with not being able to repay. (A+, NET+, MCP, MCSE, MCSA.) NOT BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT TO. And what, garnish my wages when I am only making 25k a year, have a family to support, and wont accept anything less than 113 a month? When you are looking up from the bottom of a hole you try to find anything to stay afloat. Go F yourself. It must be easy when you live in your mom’s basement. Sorry douche, when it comes down to food on the table or repaying the GOV, the GOV waits.
“This is how law enforcement should look like” – Yeah in China.
Re: About Time!
Ambiguous sarcasm fail.
PoliceState
Yes, we live in a police state! Whats’ new?
God knows who would come knocking then if you hadn’t paid your tax bill!
Re: Re:
Seal Team 6
Perhaps journalistic integrity is too much to expect from Techdirt, but as the facts no longer fit your anti-government fervor, don’t you think the article should be re-written to reflect the truth? A continued unwillingness to correct the record really puts Techdirt in the same laughingstock category as suermarket tabloids.
Re: Re:
If you would learn to read, you would see the corrections and updates.
If you would learn to read, you would know that this is a blog and not a news site.
Fail on both counts. Go back to elementary school.
You got took, TD.
I expect better from you, TD. This story is clearly hinky, as it only gives the guy’s POV. He wasn’t the one they were after, so what does he know?
The DOE has already denied it was related to loans. SWAT wouldn’t be called in for a civil matter, so there are more unanswered questions than useful information.
Don’t be so reactionary. Give a story time to breath, so you can smell the ones that stink.
Wow. Glad this didn’t happen to me, I would have open up the shotgun on them and probally ended up dead.
I hope he wins his lawsuit against the goverment and that it is a record payout.
And the spin starts;
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56530.html
It may not be so simple
If this blog is such a joke, why are you here?
Wait, What?
Well here in the state of Indiana, they just passed a friggin’ law that that police may force their way into a home for any reason or no reason at all!! Supposedly the victim can challenge this in court but then its after they’ve barged into your home and slammed your ass on the floor!!
You got took, TD.
“I expect better from you, TD”
Dont hold your breath !
This is EXACTLY what I expect from TD and Masnick
It just would not be the same if Mikes rants were accurate, informative, or made a valid point !
Someone said “why would you even come here if you dont agree with Masnick, we’ll it’s the same reason why the people who DO agree with Mansnick.
Except you come here to reaffirm your belief system, and we come here to question your belief system.
(that is why you ‘types’, are so agressive when Mikes word is questioned).
Calling my broker . . .
No. Reality is infringing on The Onion’s copyrights.
Update to the story
Sorry to get you in the tangle, Mike. Regardless, you can replace SWAT with Department of Education and still be shocked. Second, not paying student loans or getting financial aid under false pretenses could constitute the “criminal” fraud charge they trumped out. She probably put her old address on the forms.
Side note: the beauty of the internet is that you can make updates to stories with changing information. The local news station had to shut down the original story. This flexibility is why the old forms of news media are ill adept at bringing accurate and complete stories in a timely manner.
Odd... the warrant includes seizing "Fruits"... multiple times
Here is a pdf of part of the search warrant that was used by DoE.
So, I guess the lesson to learn today is don’t hide your ill-gotten gains in fruits, be smart and place them in vegetables instead and you should be ok… unless the DoE gets wise and adds that to the next warrant.
Fruits?
Maybe since they were going after his wife, they the Department of Education should call this a TWAT team.
Fruits?
No info from the warrant on the “fruits of the crime” that may or may not have been seized, but the DoE “Agents” did tear the guys underwear taking him out of the house (as said by Kenneth Wright in this 3 minute video).
If they were “Fruit of the Loom” brand, I wonder if the were seized too?
I bet the MPAA/RIAA can't wait for the DoCS (Department of Copyright Security) to be formed and get the kind of powers DoE has...
Interesting tale of that morning:
http://hypervocal.com/news/2011/dept-of-education-sends-s-w-a-t-for-defaulted-student-loans-target-isnt-wright/
(in the comments section)
Mark Reichel says:
June 8, 2011 at 7:32 pm
I am the attorney for Kenneth Wright and his young children and will be filing suit on their behalf.
Mr. Wright, who is divorced from Mrs. Wright, was at home at 6 a.m. with his 3 children, a daughter aged 3 and two boys just slightly older. Their door was kicked down, Kenneth was dragged wearing only boxer shorts (which ripped during the dragging) to his front lawn and a knee was placed against his neck for 45 minutes. He was not shown a copy of any warrant, nor told much of what was going on. When he saw a patrol car by stretching his neck off the grass, he was pleased to find out it wasn?t some organized crime hit on his family, or a crime gang at the wrong address. His children were then marched downstairs with their hands up at gunpoint. Yes, that happened.
6 hours later, when their tiny house had been thoroughly searched by the 15 SWAT team members, they were told they were looking for Mrs. Wright, who appears to be a suspect for low level student loan fraud. This was news to the Wrights, who would have kindly allowed such a search and would have helped them to find Mrs. Wright, if they could. If they could have the knee off their neck. The 15 armed federal SWAT members were ready just in case Mrs. Wright started throwing phony loan documents at them, some with staples.
Mrs. Wright is not related to Osama Bin Laden. Financial executives who did more harm to this country than the Japanese at Pearl Harbor or Al Qaeda did in New York get charged with stealing billions of dollars and are courteously summoned to appear in court when charged. They are in essence ?asked? to appear, on their own, in their best suit, in a limo. She hasn?t been charged, is just under investigation.
Hamilton, Madison, Washington and Jefferson are indeed crying somewhere as they watch what has happened to the people in this country.
Mark Reichel
http://www.reichelplesser.com
If all that turns out to be true, and the woman hasn’t been declared “armed and dangerous” (she is a “known stapler”), then this is a clear case of excessive force being used. Sounds like somebody trying to justify their job, or get a new promotion, to me.
I wonder if the “agents” will come up with some story and say they heard “flushing sounds from inside the house” or “possible paper shuffling” and thought “important documents were being destroyed” which would make their expedient and violent entry into the house necessary for this alleged white collar crime.
Funny how such story’s evolve. From student loan lenen to criminal organisation.
Wait, What?
Not if you develop a master chief suit, that will be a story I would read. SWAT team wiped out in a petty raid by heavily armored bad a**