I have to wonder if THIS was really necessary. The DEA, Sheriff’s police, two municipal police departments and the area SWAT team are out in one swoop to serve eleven warrants as part of an investigation. Nearby schools were locked down. Pretty serious stuff, right? Must have been some hardened, dangerous criminals there, correct?
"According to authorities, no arrests made, nor are any expected."
So why the lockdowns, SWAT team and all the rest? I know they will say it had the potential to be dangerous, but couldn’t sending in that kind of force to serve warrants kind of be encouraging violent reactions? These weren’t even arrest warrants for heaven’s sake. Come on, "Beaver Lake? Plattsmouth?" Do you have any idea how small these places are? We’re not talking about Detroit here. Even if we were talking about Detroit, that sort of force to serve warrants would still be insanely over the top. Nehawaka, Nebraska-"the wild west of the Midwest" all twenty-five people (OK, it’s a bit bigger than that, but still). If you’re going to lock down the nearby schools and call in the SWAT team it really ought to be because there’s an armed maniac shooting from the top of a grain elevator-not to serve a warrant for a drug investigation.
Really.
Look, here’s the thing: every situation has the potential to get out of hand and become dangerous. Maybe I’m cynical but I don’t believe that was even a factor in the decision-instead I sense it was a show of force designed to be intimidating-probably as much for the general population as for the people the warrants were being served on. It probably worked too.