Winning the War on Drugs in Columbia, South Carolina.
A Richland County woman is being charged with dealing drugs after her husband was killed by a sheriff’s deputy in a drug raid Wednesday.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says April Bosket was fully aware of her husband’s actions, and is therefore responsible. “There’s no doubt she knew those drugs were in her bedroom. There’s no doubt she knew what he was doing.”
A deputy was wounded and the suspect killed in a shooting off Laredo Drive near Broad River Road and I-20 on Wednesday morning.
Richland County Coroner Gary Watts identified the shooting victim as 34-year-old Larry Darnell Bosket.
Investigators say a photo taken March third shows Bosket caught in the act of selling pot to a couple of teenagers near Broad River Road. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says deputies seized a bag of marijuana from that sale….
That same uncertainty is why April Bosket says her husband fired first. “We have had our home broken into before. That’s the purpose of being that ready when someone intrudes.”
“If you hear that noise and it wakes you up out of your sleep, what’s your first natural instinct is to protect your family and your home. He reached for his gun and he shot.”
Each time I post one of these Winning the War on Drugs pieces over on Slog, there’s a mixed reaction in comments of rage at the officers, rage at the drug dealers, and rage at me. The theme in most of the posts – that someone is shot and killed in a drug raid – is enraging. No doubt. But there’s a reason I keep posting them, even if, although they are verbatim news clips, they seem a little sensationalistic. It’s to pose a question.
But the question, as per this story, isn’t whether selling drugs to kids should be a punishable offense. Of course it should be. The question isn’t whether cops should return fire at people who are shooting at them. They must. The question also isn’t whether armed raids are among the tactics cops should use. Sometimes they are. And it’s not whether drugs should be outlawed. That’s a bigger ball of wax. This is it: Is raiding a private residence in the middle of the night with guns drawn the right way to enforce suspected nonviolent drug-law violations?
Now, I imagine some people would say that this guy shot a cop and so obviously he’s violent. Thus, a violent raid is justified. But the house wasn’t being raided to enforce a suspected violent crime, according to this news report, and Bosket became violent only when woken up in the middle of the night by an armed stranger charging down his hallway. In this country, it’s legal for most folks to have a gun in their house, and a lot of completely law-abiding citizens will fire their gun at anyone who trespasses in the middle of the night—cop or not.
Some would also say an armed raid is necessary to avoid a violent confrontation on the street. And that is always a possibility. But that doesn’t seem likely here, Bosket was suspected of selling marijuana. Besides, hundreds of thousands of arrests are made each year, of nonviolent and violent offenders, without resorting to armed raids. Normal enforcement practices seem to work fine. Suspected drug offenses are often singled out for armed drug raids.
There’s just too much collateral damage to cops, bystanders, and suspected nonviolent offenders to justify armed raids unless it’s necessary. Innocent people are shot and/or killed—like this one-year-old baby and his mom. Officers are killed, like this officer, who was raiding a house that turned out to have a maple tree that looked like pot. And other times, like in this case, a suspect who probably could have been apprehended by more civil means and possibly rehabilitated, is left dead.
Although police suspected him of selling drugs, the transaction didn’t happen at his house.
Police could have arrested him when he committed the crime in the first place. Or police could have knocked on the door and arrested him, which is how many arrests are made. Police knew what he looked like and Bosket left his house regularly; police could have apprehended him in his front yard as he was leaving his house. Or stopped him while driving and taken him into custody. But raiding his house made the problem worse, left a cop injured, and a man dead. This scenario has repeated countless times before and will continue. We should stop armed raids on the homes of people suspected of nonviolent crimes, save for exceptional circumstances. It’s a matter of saving lives.
c863t
5qR6vH dkg93jfbkSdLk496c
Hi, cool post. I have been wondering about this topic,so thanks for writing.
<a
Привет. Грамотно пишете. Кстати 24 сентября — Всемирный день моря
Appreciate it.. Yet one more exceptional posting, this really is why My spouse and I arrive to your wordpress bog constantly.
MILAGRO
LifeLock
<a href=
Yes, that is true, I agree with you, but I am not sure if there are no other options.
<a href
Nice weblog post.
This is a great blog. we visit here frequently and we get always valuable updates, Thanks!
Hello, I have browsed most of your posts. This post is probably where I got the most useful information for my research. Thanks for posting, maybe we can see more on this.
Amazing post! I initially found your blog a week or so ago, and I subscribed to your RSS feed the very same day. I have several cool ideas for some upcoming posts you could write. I’ll send you an email shortly. Keep up the great work.
I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post
I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but it really compensated for my time. I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful.
Thanks for taking the time to chat about this, I feel fervently about this and I benefit from learning about this subject. Please, as you gain information, please add to this blog with more information. I have found it really useful.
Hey - nice blog, just looking around some websites, seems a really nice platform you are using. I’m currently using Wordpress for a few of my sites but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run.
Considerably, the blog post is actually the greatest on this worthy topic. I concur with your decisions and will thirstily look forward to see your approaching updates. Saying thanks will not just be adequate, for the phenomenal lucidity in your writing. I will at once grab your feeds to stay informed of any updates. Delightful work and much success in your business endeavors! Have a nice day
Thank you for another informative blog. Where else could one get that kind of information written in such a perfect way? I have a presentation that I am just now working on, and I have been on the look out for such info.
Sorry for the huge review, but I’m really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.
Thank you for another fantastic blog. Where else could I get this kind of info written in such an incite full way? I have a presentation that I am just now working on, and I have been looking for such information.
While this subject can be very touchy for most people, my opinion is that there has to be a middle or common ground that we all can find. I do appreciate that youve added relevant and intelligent commentary here though. Thank you!
Thank you for another informative blog. Where else could one get that kind of information written in such a perfect way? I have a presentation that I am just now working on, and I have been on the look out for such info.
Recently, I did not give whole lot thought to commenting on weblog articles and have left feedback even less. Viewing your useful piece of writing, might inspire me to do this again.
This post was very nicely written, and it also contains a lot of useful facts. I appreciated your professional way of writing this post. Thanks, you have made it very easy for me to understand.
Though I would’ve loved it much more if you added a relevant video or at least pictures to back up the explanation, I still thought that your write-up quite helpful. It’s usually hard to make a complicated matter seem very easy. I enjoy your weblog and will sign up to your feed so I will not miss anything. Fantastic content
Hrmm that was weird, my comment got eaten. Anyway I wanted to say that it’s nice to know that someone else also mentioned this as I had trouble finding the same info elsewhere. This was the first place that told me the answer. Thanks.
<a href= htt
<a href= htt
Recently, I did not give whole lot thought to commenting on weblog articles and have left feedback even less. Viewing your useful piece of writing, might inspire me to do this again.
This is my second visit to this blog. We are starting a new initiative in the same niche as this blog. Your blog provided us with valuable information to work on. You have done a fantastic job.
Aw, this was a really quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this too - taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and never seem to get something done.
I think you have a great page here… today was my first time coming here.. I just happened to find it doing a google search. anyway, good post.. I’ll be bookmarking this page for sure.
Thanks for the sharing really usefull. I would like to bookmark this site.
There are certainly a lot of details like that to take into consideration. That is a great point to bring up. I offer the thoughts above as general inspiration but clearly there are questions like the one you bring up where the most important thing will be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if best practices have emerged around things like that, but I am sure that your job is clearly identified as a fair game.
This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! keep up the good work.
love it, it’s {sites|posts|web sites|blogs| like this that makes the internet|net so awesome|good|great
What I dont understand is how youre not even more popular than you are now. Youre just so intelligent. You know so much about this subject, made me think about it from so many different angles. Its like people arent interested unless it has something to do with Lady Gaga! Your stuffs great. Keep it up!
Laughter is the best medicine
I really like your site and i really appreciate the excellent quality content you are posting here for free for your online readers. Can you tell us which blog platform you are using?
BKR problemen? Nu Geld lenen zonder BKR toetsing? Op zoek naar betrouwbare aanbieders? Wij vergelijken banken die u toch kunnen helpen aan een betrouwbare
Cool post! How much stuff did you have to look up in order to write this one? I can tell you put some work in.
Hello, this is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting in your blog especially on how to determine the topic. keep up the good work.
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.
Its very informative and interesting article.all the points are very useful. Simple but very effective writing. Thanks for sharing such a nice post.
I love the blog. Great post. It is very true, people must learn how to learn before they can learn. lol i know it sounds funny but its very true. . .
Hey - great blog, just looking around some blogs, seems a really nice platform you are using. I’m currently using Wordpress for a few of my blogs but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run. Anything in particular you would recommend about it?