No Time for “Constitutional Bulls**t”: Depressed Veteran Targeted by SWAT Raid
Washington, D.C. resident Matthew Corrigan, a depressed veteran seeking help for a sleeping disorder, was arrested by a SWAT team after he mistakenly called the National Suicide Hotline. Despite the fact that he was not a criminal suspect nor a suicide risk, Corrigan was hauled away in handcuffs and spent days in jail – only to return to a house that had been thoroughly trashed by the SWAT team and a bomb squad.
When Corrigan, an Army Reservist employed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, placed the phone call on February 2, 2010, he hadn’t slept for several days. He dialed what he thought was the number to the Military Emotional Support Hotline. While speaking with a counselor, Corrigan mentioned that he was a veteran, and answered “yes” when asked if he owned a firearm. He then turned off the phone, took a sleeping pill, and retired for the night.
At about 4:00 a.m. the following day, Corrigan was startled awake by the sound of his name being called through a police bullhorn. Ordered to come out of the house, Corrigan did so, locking the door behind him. He was surrounded by police, handcuffed, and put in the back of a van. When the officer commanding the Emergency Response Team (ERT, the local equivalent of SWAT) demanded access to his home, Corrigan replied: “There is no way I am giving you consent to enter my place.”
Do swat teams show up for free? That is, are they donating their time to violate our privacies and otherwise encroach on our personal lives as such? I think people ought to start taking a closer look at, or closer listen to Ron Paul. He speaks the language of true constitutionalism and American freedoms.. I’ve been following the debates by watching the follow-up youtube clips and subsequent discussions of them.. People…Ron Paul is not a nutjob. His surgeon-like understanding of constitution and our economic problems are usually just beyond most peoples’ comprehension..including the so-called experts. Please watch and listen to some of his youtube clips from the debates..