The police may not have been entirely truthful about what happened.
<Gibbs - NCIS> Ya think, DiNozzo? </Gibbs> (Sorry, just had to get that out.)
Leave it to the Detroit Police Special Response Team.
A source at A&E, who asked not to be identified citing company policy, confirmed that a crew was on the scene and that the footage was confiscated by police. He would not comment on what the crew had captured on video.
Hopefully they kept a backup of it. A lot of things conveniently disappear from Detroit Police evidence.
I have a feeling that this was a giant fuckup by that Special Response Team. Things have been on edge after the shooting death of Officer Brian Huff, and a few other DPD shooting injuries earlier this month. Plus, keeping in mind, the DPD does not get the pick of the brightest officers, to begin with. It's a horrible area to be an officer in. The pay is crap, the dangers are immense, and the neighborhood doesn't trust anyone with a gold shield. There are really only three types of officers in Detroit. The ones who use it as a stepping stone to get experience and take a job with a more stable community as soon as they can; so they're good, but green. The ones who are crooked and use the job for other profits; that's bad. And the ones who are dangerous and like to shoot things; fortunately they aren't as common, but they're the worst, and in the mix, too.
But you can't blame officers for wanting to go home in one piece after their shift. I'm just not sure SWAT tactics are the best way to accomplish that, though. I'd really like to see the honest numbers, because it seems like they cause as many dangerous situations as they diffuse.
(By the way, the dog shooting thing isn't new or limited to SWAT in any way - back in my teenage years, police got called to an underage party I was in attendance at. We got the warning to scatter when they shot the neighbor's dog while approaching the house.)
