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1. Understand the structure of the system. SWAT teams and local police are a local problem, not a national one. Cases like this will happen all around the country, but there really isn't anything you can do about it. It is up to the local population to elect their police chiefs (or... elect mayors / governors who choose good police chiefs).

2. The "Executive Branch" of Obama honestly has nothing to do with this. Understanding where you place your efforts is important. You can try and make this a national issue, but it isn't one.

3. Recognize that state departments and local police are going to do things you don't like, especially when you're far away and hold no control over them.

The US has a federal system. Its the power we've given to local officials to run localities the way they like. Now, if we are to make this a national issue, we'll have to pass something in Congress as a nation... something that seems very unlikely given the gridlock on the national law system at the moment.




I am, in fact, aware of the difference between local, state, and federal government. Much like the US federal government, state governments are also divided into multiple branches, with law enforcement part of the executive branch. Municipal governments tend to be a little less well-defined, but still nominally respect a separation of powers.

The author did not specify, but the news article linked below suggests that the "SWAT team" was composed of a mixture of town and county officers. I'm not sure what the jurisdictional situation is, but if it were me I would try to contact the mayor of Cornelia first and, if that did not address my concerns, the governor of Georgia.

But maybe there's a better way. For instance (as has been discussed elsewhere in these comments) if no-knock warrants were declared unconstitutional, or if there was a well-defined process for redress of unjustified force complaints, perhaps the situation would improve for everyone.


It is important to remember the separation. What is true at the national scale is rarely the case in a municipality. The legislative branch of my State for instance is clearly the powerhouse, and I feel like my fellow citizens didn't realize the obvious Gerrymandering that just destroyed the only Republican district of the state. (It came up for referendum but... no one seemed to notice the importance of the vote).

For the case of Georga / Cornelia... I really don't know. And unfortunately, its simply "their State, their problem".

On the national scale, I'd assume that the FBI can be pulled in to prosecute Georgia / Cornelia.

http://www.fbi.gov/minneapolis/press-releases/2014/former-po...

Remember: the FBI is the "watchers who watch the watchers". They can sue, prosecute, and arrest local police officers, and their national judicial system is entirely independent of a local municipality's judicial system. (Its unlikely that a local cop can play buddy-buddy with a national judge)

I would bet that there's a good case for "excessive force" here.




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