Jose Guerena’s family gets settlement, but his killers still wear badges

[rambone]

TUCSON, AZ — A multi-million dollar settlement concludes the disturbing case of Jose Guerena, the Iraq veteran who was riddled with bullets in his own home during a faulty SWAT raid. Not only did these paramilitary police perform a haphazard assault on an innocent family’s home, they prevented their victim’s wounds from being treated after they shot him dozens of times. The hefty disbursement of tax dollars to the Guerena family may be warranted, but does nothing to reign in the aggressive department which is responsible for this murder, nor does it ensure the public that these inept Drug Warriors will not kill their family next.

​

On the morning of May 5, 2011, after working the graveyard shift at a copper mine, Jose Guerena and his wife were awoken at 9:30 AM to loud noises and voices outside their house. Guerena, a 26-year-old former U.S. marine who served 2 tours in Iraq, sprang from his bed began to secure his family. He and his wife thought that their home was being invaded. He hid his wife, Vanessa, and his 4-year-old son in a closet and grabbed his rifle.

He was correct that his home was being invaded. What he did not realize was that the invaders would be wearing uniforms labeled “police.” The noises that jarred Guerena awake would later be revealed to be the detonation of concussion grenades in their back yard. Unbeknownst to him — only seconds earlier — an armored truck had parked in their front yard and a SWAT team was rapidly preparing to break down his door.

Guerena approached the front door toward the source of the noises. Wearing only his boxer shorts, he defensively waited in the hallway for the unidentified bad guys to make their move. Within seconds the door was battered in. After a brief silence, Guerena peered around the corner. Four police officers unleashed a barrage of bullets down the hallway. A fifth one scurried up to the doorway and stuck his gun down the hallway, not wanting to miss his opportunity to participate in a kill. For 10 seconds the shots continued, a total of 71 in all.

READ MORE:: Jose Guerena’s family gets settlement, but his killers still wear badges | Police State USA

[video=youtube;cSWSjRWIVFM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSWSjRWIVFM[/video]

 

[SandyConner]

It is not necessary to be selling marijuana in order to be gunned down in a militarized attack. Suspicion of selling marijuana is all it takes.

 

[Magneto]

I first heard about this on an expose on one of the big networks. I was outraged, and am even more outraged now that the truth is out, and NO ONE has been held accountable at all.

 

[steveh_131]

I first heard about this on an expose on one of the big networks. I was outraged, and am even more outraged now that the truth is out, and NO ONE has been held accountable at all.

Now this is just not true.

The taxpayers have been held accountable.

 

[88GT]

Now this is just not true.

The taxpayers have been held accountable.

How I wish that was just pure hyperbole.

Thank you Ram for posting this. I tried to do a search several months ago to see if/how things had been resolved. All I got were the blog posts and news stories of the incident itself. Which just incensed me all over again. I can't watch that video without going apoplectic.

 

[jbombelli]

The only people I can think of who don't get fired after costing their employer millions of dollars are public servants.

 

[drillsgt]

The only people I can think of who don't get fired after costing their employer millions of dollars are public servants.

Now they can brag that they have been in a shooting and "...been there, done that...", even the guy that ran up and stuck his gun in the doorway to get in on the action.

 

[vitamink]

That's all? Shoot every member of his entire extended family has been receiving 1,500 a month in taxpayer funded welfare for years. It's hard to get a job when your entire family has done time for trafficking narcotics.

 

[TaunTaun]

Yes, because you are ultimately responsible and should be punished for a relative that is a criminal.

I had a great-uncle that was convicted of being a rapist. I also have a cousin who is getting ready to go on trial for having pictures of underage children on his computer. Guess what? I am neither a rapist or a pedophile.

However, I was able to have a security clearance for the military. I was also able to get a good job on my own merits. I would have the same reaction as this guy if my home was suddenly invaded. The only difference is, the wife would be shooting back at my side.

 

[vitamink]

So you feel that he had absolutely nothing to do with trafficking narcotics and the fact that he was once employed by the Marines makes it impossible to do anything wrong?

by your example it would seem that you concede that the rest of the family are engaged in trafficking. It didn't raise your suspicions that he supports his family on 40,000 yet owns his house and well over 100,000 in vehicles? The shrine to the narco saint? Perhaps the truck that left the house that he was at with over 1000 lbs of wrapped marijuana? Maybe when he was stopped later with the same stuff that they use to wrap marijuana.

Raping and pedophilia aren't a family business.

 

[88GT]

So you feel that he had absolutely nothing to do with trafficking narcotics and the fact that he was once employed by the Marines makes it impossible to do anything wrong?

by your example it would seem that you concede that the rest of the family are engaged in trafficking. It didn't raise your suspicions that he supports his family on 40,000 yet owns his house and well over 100,000 in vehicles? The shrine to the narco saint? Perhaps the truck that left the house that he was at with over 1000 lbs of wrapped marijuana? Maybe when he was stopped later with the same stuff that they use to wrap marijuana.

Raping and pedophilia aren't a family business.

I read the affidavit. It was bull****. It would have been weak evidence for his brother (or was it a cousin, I don't remember), but there was not enough--no, scratch that--there was no evidence Jose was involved in the trafficking. I don't know whether he was or not. But I do know this: the state didn't have any evidence that he was, beyond being the brother/cousin of someone, and I don't really favor the government having such low standards for the execution of warrants. It's not supposed to be just a process that has to be followed to make the warrant service legit; the contents of the affidavit that support taking action should be factual and valid. A cop's claim that Jose was involved isn't enough. We should require more than a LEO's word.

That said, even if the affidavit had real evidence, this is a perfect example of why no-knock entries have no business being standard protocol in the execution of warrants. And this was a no-knock. There was 6 seconds of sirens before LE even exited their vehicle, which hardly seems adequate to inform for the target that LE is there for him. And there was something like 5-10 seconds after the knock before they breached. What's the point of knocking if you're not going to give the individual time to respond? I can only respond to a knock in that time frame from 2 rooms in my house. Moreover, I make it a point to identify the knocker before approaching the door, adding about 5 seconds to the process. If I'm in the basement, I can't hear a knock at all. If I hear a knock and then my door being breached with violence, I'm getting my firearm too. Who wouldn't?

then there's the actual execution of the entry. Did you see that cluster ****? Did you see the douche who just had to send rounds into the house despite not have a clear, definable target?

And finally, THEY LEFT HIM TO DIE ON HIS HALLWAY FLOOR.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, was kosher about this. Every single douche who fired a shot that day should be living his own personal hell for participating in the state-sanctioned murder of a fellow citizen that way. Let's just do away with the courts. Unnecessary, time-consuming, and a waste of tax-payer monies.

 

[TaunTaun]

So you feel that he had absolutely nothing to do with trafficking narcotics and the fact that he was once employed by the Marines makes it impossible to do anything wrong?

by your example it would seem that you concede that the rest of the family are engaged in trafficking. It didn't raise your suspicions that he supports his family on 40,000 yet owns his house and well over 100,000 in vehicles? The shrine to the narco saint? Perhaps the truck that left the house that he was at with over 1000 lbs of wrapped marijuana? Maybe when he was stopped later with the same stuff that they use to wrap marijuana.

Raping and pedophilia aren't a family business.

Concede? No....

No illegal weapons were at the house.

No illegal drugs were at the house.

No illegal activities were noted at the house.

It really isn't a matter of him being a Marine. Other than the fact that he had enough situational awareness to recognize police and not engage them. When his weapon was inspected, it had not been fired. It still had the safety on. This is in direct contradiction to officers swearing that he had fired at them. They indiscriminately fired down a hallway endanger him and his family. Then the officers exited and took almost an hour and a half while they were playing with their RC cars, preventing EMT's from even attempting to treat him.

As for his house being paid off. Care to cite a source for this? And so what if it was? Police admitted that they had never seen or heard of the man being even in the proximity of marijuana.

 

[hornadylnl]

Concede? No....

No illegal weapons were at the house.

No illegal drugs were at the house.

No illegal activities were noted at the house.

It really isn't a matter of him being a Marine. Other than the fact that he had enough situational awareness to recognize police and not engage them. When his weapon was inspected, it had not been fired. It still had the safety on. This is in direct contradiction to officers swearing that he had fired at them. They indiscriminately fired down a hallway endanger him and his family. Then the officers exited and took almost an hour and a half while they were playing with their RC cars, preventing EMT's from even attempting to treat him.

As for his house being paid off. Care to cite a source for this? And so what if it was? Police admitted that they had never seen or heard of the man being even in the proximity of marijuana.

My house is paid off. Must make me a drug dealer.

 

[Rookie]

Can I kick your door down?

 

[rambone]

That's all? Shoot every member of his entire extended family has been receiving 1,500 a month in taxpayer funded welfare for years. It's hard to get a job when your entire family has done time for trafficking narcotics.

Every drug arrest screws the taxpayers for years to come. The costs add up: planning the raids, investigation time, training, court time, jail time, paramilitary toys, civil rights lawsuits....

And then to top it off, the government does everything it can to make sure the citizen has a difficult time making a sustainable living without subsidies.

Every aspect of the Drug War is a blight on the taxpayers and the country.

The shrine to the narco saint?

.....

 

[lucky4034]

So you feel that he had absolutely nothing to do with trafficking narcotics and the fact that he was once employed by the Marines makes it impossible to do anything wrong?

by your example it would seem that you concede that the rest of the family are engaged in trafficking. It didn't raise your suspicions that he supports his family on 40,000 yet owns his house and well over 100,000 in vehicles? The shrine to the narco saint? Perhaps the truck that left the house that he was at with over 1000 lbs of wrapped marijuana? Maybe when he was stopped later with the same stuff that they use to wrap marijuana.

Raping and pedophilia aren't a family business.

Summary executions for all "suspected" narcotics dealers.... Its the American Way!!!

 

[GunnerDan]

Removed so I am not banned....

Gunner

 

[TaunTaun]

But I want to face the peril!!!!

 

[bingley]

I guess not everyone here is a fan of due process. King John would be pleased.

I don't know how some people here thought the victim was a drug lord. Is it because he was Hispanic?

Mr. Guerena had the courage to identify the intruders in a situation of great stress and danger, and he had the discipline not to shoot the innocent. He could have easily pulled the trigger and taken out a life or two, but he didn't. I really wish the people who invaded his house were more like him.

 

[Bunnykid68]

I guess not everyone here is a fan of due process. King John would be pleased.

I don't know how some people here thought the victim was a drug lord. Is it because he was Hispanic?

Mr. Guerena had the courage to identify the intruders in a situation of great stress and danger, and he had the discipline not to shoot the innocent. He could have easily pulled the trigger and taken out a life or two, but he didn't. I really wish the people who invaded his house were more like him.

The warrant the officers were serving said he was, good enough for most I guess.