The Briefing Room
General Category => National/Breaking News => Topic started by: rangerrebew on March 17, 2014, 09:49:20 am
-
SWAT Team Raids Organic Farm, Confiscates Blueberries
organic-farm-police-raid
A small organic farm in Arlington, Texas, was the target of a massive police action last week that included aerial surveillance, a SWAT raid and a 10-hour search. Members of the local police raiding party had a search warrant for marijuana plants, which they failed to find at the Garden of Eden farm.
But farm owners and residents who live on the property told a Dallas-Ft. Worth NBC station that the real reason for the law enforcement exercise appears to have been code enforcement. The police seized “17 blackberry bushes, 15 okra plants, 14 tomatillo plants … native grasses and sunflowers,” after holding residents inside at GUNpoint for at least a half-hour, property owner Shellie Smith said in a statement. The raid lasted about 10 hours, she said.
Local authorities had cited the Garden of Eden in recent weeks for code violations, including “grass that was too tall, bushes growing too close to the street, a couch and piano in the yard, chopped wood that was not properly stacked, a piece of siding that was missing from the side of the house, and generally unclean premises,” Smith’s statement said. She said the police didn’t produce a warrant until two hours after the raid began, and officers shielded their name tags so they couldn’t be identified.According to ABC affiliate WFAA, resident Quinn Eaker was the only person arrested — for outstanding traffic violations. The city of Arlington said in a statement that the code citations were issued to the farm following complaints by neighbors, who were “concerned that the conditions” at the farm “interfere with the useful enjoyment of their properties and are detrimental to property values and community appearance.”
The police SWAT raid came after “the Arlington Police Department received a number of complaints that the same property owner was cultivating marijuana plants on the premises,” the city’s statement said. “No cultivated marijuana plants were located on the premises,” the statement acknowledged. The raid on the Garden of Eden farm appears to be the latest example of police departments using SWAT teams and paramilitary tactics to enforce less serious crimes. A Fox television affiliate reported this week, for example, that police in St. Louis County, Mo., brought out the SWAT team to serve an administrative warrant. The report went on to explain that all felony warrants are served with a SWAT team, regardless whether the crime being alleged involves violence. In recent years, SWAT teams have been called out to perform regulatory alcohol inspections at a bar in Manassas Park, Va.; to raid bars for suspected underage drinking in New Haven, Conn.; to perform license inspections at barbershops in Orlando, Fla.; and to raid a gay bar in Atlanta where police suspected customers and employees were having public sex. A federal investigation later found that Atlanta police had made up the allegations of public sex. Other raids have been conducted on food co-ops and Amish farms suspected of selling unpasteurized milk products. The federal government has for years been conducting raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in states that have legalized them, even though the businesses operate openly and are unlikely to pose any threat to the safety of federal enforcers.
Thanks to –> http://www.antigmofoods.com/2013/08/texas-police-hit-organic-farm-with.html
Continue Reading: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/texas-swat-team-conducts-_n_3764951.html
-
It's your country, folks. Bureaucrats chipping away at our freedoms. Code violations, growing pot? Uh-oh, send in the Marines.
-
Now you know why your local Sheriff needs a Mine Resistant Vehicle.....
:smokin:
-
Got a neighbor with a messy yard? A junky car? Doesn't cut their grass often enough to suit you? A dog that barks at you? Just call the police and say you have seen marijuana plants growing on their property. Problem solved.
I can't believe we are letting this happen.
-
Are you ready to see how bad this place was for code violations? Here you go:
http://www.intothegardenofeden.com/
Oh wait, it isn't that bad after all. They are open to the public, have classes, and even have a coffee shop on premises. Yea, they are a bunch of dirty hippies but they don't seem to be doing a thing illegal. They just want to be left alone.
-
**nononono*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q56bGHL5gWA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q56bGHL5gWA)
-
I really don't buy the 'Monsanto Inspired' line. They wouldn't care about a little farm like that and a dirty little secret, they also make lines of organic lines too so these hippies are their customers.
It is more like some over zealous code enforcement officer who didn't like that these folks were challenging (rightly so) the legality of some of the requests.
-
This is the part I get to enjoy. I get to watch inattentive, stupid Americans get exactly what they want. It's awesome.
(http://battlefieldusa.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/wants-more-government.jpg)
-
I really don't buy the 'Monsanto Inspired' line. They wouldn't care about a little farm like that and a dirty little secret, they also make lines of organic lines too so these hippies are their customers.
It is more like some over zealous code enforcement officer who didn't like that these folks were challenging (rightly so) the legality of some of the requests.
The 64,000 dollar question remains... did they take their outdoor piano? :pondering: :shrug:
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Qb8njNqWo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Qb8njNqWo)
-
Yea, they are a bunch of dirty hippies but they don't seem to be doing a thing illegal. They just want to be left alone.
Intolerable to our lords and masters.
-
Cut your damned lawn....and take the piano and other junk to the dump.
It doesn't belong in your front yard....property 'rights' be damned.
Anything or any action that you take that adversely affects the value of your neighbors should bring consequences.
If they'd stop living like dirty hippies in a commune, nobody would have bothered them.
....this from somebody who sold real estate for over 35 years.
-
I wonder if they were also cited for not wearing shirts or nightgowns to bed? Will the authorities return their food they took?
-
Got a neighbor with a messy yard? A junky car? Doesn't cut their grass often enough to suit you? A dog that barks at you? Just call the police and say you have seen marijuana plants growing on their property. Problem solved.
I can't believe we are letting this happen.
Some friends have a fairly large farm nearby and the husband has told me that trespassers have planted mj on his property. He just plows it up when he finds it, he said, but it sure would be easy for anyone to call the cops and say it was his. **nononono*
-
Cut your damned lawn....and take the piano and other junk to the dump.
It doesn't belong in your front yard....property 'rights' be damned.
Anything or any action that you take that adversely affects the value of your neighbors should bring consequences.
If they'd stop living like dirty hippies in a commune, nobody would have bothered them.
....this from somebody who sold real estate for over 35 years.
Oh Lord, I am only on my second cup of coffee. ^-^ Their property seems very rural, down a long dirt road. I don't think they are members of a HOA or near the yacht club. Even Sanford and Son Hippies have rights and you know it. :nono: **nononono*
-
Cut your damned lawn....and take the piano and other junk to the dump.
It doesn't belong in your front yard....property 'rights' be damned.
Anything or any action that you take that adversely affects the value of your neighbors should bring consequences.
If they'd stop living like dirty hippies in a commune, nobody would have bothered them.
....this from somebody who sold real estate for over 35 years.
Wouldn't a citation with a fine be more "American"?
-
Never knew Eastwood was a real estate agent. :silly:
(http://i.imgur.com/Owxi9.gif)
-
One of the advantages of a terrible economy. You want to get rid of something here, put it out front of the house. The scrap guys will take it within 30 minutes.
-
Cut your damned lawn....and take the piano and other junk to the dump.
It doesn't belong in your front yard....property 'rights' be damned.
Anything or any action that you take that adversely affects the value of your neighbors should bring consequences.
If they'd stop living like dirty hippies in a commune, nobody would have bothered them.
....this from somebody who sold real estate for over 35 years.
Your 'property rights be damned' comment is pretty disturbing coming from a Conservative community, but to put this in perspective.
1. This isn't a farm in a private, HOA community where they would have signed an agreement for specific property maintenance. This is a farm, on many acres in what was, until recently*, the middle of nowhere.
2. Based on how long they've been around, they may have even owned the farm prior to Kennedale incorporating that area.
3. I doubt the neighbors complained. They are across the street from an auto-junkyard and scrap metal yard and most of the neighbors have run-down trailers. http://goo.gl/maps/aI0dG
4. *According to a comment on a news article, this may actually have something to do with the Terra Verde golf course & country club wanting to expand into that area for housing developments. They are about a mile east of all of this. They are trying to buy up/push out a lot of small farms and businesses in that area. http://constructiondatacompany.com/construction-projects/28199/tierra-verde-golf-club-house-expansion-pavilions-arlington-tx/
-
One of the advantages of a terrible economy. You want to get rid of something here, put it out front of the house. The scrap guys will take it within 30 minutes.
It's called a curb alert on CraigsList (or Greg's list if you ask Uncle Si) Tube TV's on Craigslist are FREE or $20.
-
It's called a curb alert on CraigsList (or Greg's list if you ask Uncle Si) Tube TV's on Craigslist are FREE or $20.
Don't even need to advertize here. There is an entire industry built around picking up scrap. Last time I needed them, I had to shout at them about grabbing the old boiler too fast - half of it was still in the house!
-
Oh Lord, I am only on my second cup of coffee. ^-^ Their property seems very rural, down a long dirt road. I don't think they are members of a HOA or near the yacht club. Even Sanford and Son Hippies have rights and you know it. :nono: **nononono*
It is very rural and across the street from a auto junkyard and scrapyard.
http://goo.gl/maps/aI0dG
However, see previous post. A golf course east of them have filed permits to expand. I think there is some cronyism going on in this case.
-
A little unknown secret about the economy EC, A large dept. store like Sear's throws away enough scrap from AC's, fridge parts... that the dumpster man could make a literal nice living off of the scrap. They just changed the rules at the scrap yard though. You have to show a HVAC license and give your thumb print to curb people gutting neighborhoods of AC's ,copper...
-
Oh Lord, I am only on my second cup of coffee. ^-^ Their property seems very rural, down a long dirt road. I don't think they are members of a HOA or near the yacht club. Even Sanford and Son Hippies have rights and you know it. :nono: **nononono*
I'll also add, very few rural Texas farms are manicured and landscaped. The Google Street View looked like any rural farm you would see around here. There was obviously some construction going on when the image was taken, but what it showed was simply big piles of dirt, mulch, and farming going on.
-
Your 'property rights be damned' comment is pretty disturbing coming from a Conservative community, but to put this in perspective.
1. This isn't a farm in a private, HOA community where they would have signed an agreement for specific property maintenance. This is a farm, on many acres in what was, until recently*, the middle of nowhere.
2. Based on how long they've been around, they may have even owned the farm prior to Kennedale incorporating that area.
3. I doubt the neighbors complained. They are across the street from an auto-junkyard and scrap metal yard and most of the neighbors have run-down trailers. http://goo.gl/maps/aI0dG
4. *According to a comment on a news article, this may actually have something to do with the Terra Verde golf course & country club wanting to expand into that area for housing developments. They are about a mile east of all of this. They are trying to buy up/push out a lot of small farms and businesses in that area. http://constructiondatacompany.com/construction-projects/28199/tierra-verde-golf-club-house-expansion-pavilions-arlington-tx/
Ah yes, that would explain it all right. ALWAYS follow the money trail!
-
Abaraxis - nice bit of digging, thanks!
You show me a farm that doesn't have some rusted, ancient bit of machinery in the yard and I'll show you a hobby farm, not a working farm.
-
Abaraxis - nice bit of digging, thanks!
You show me a farm that doesn't have some rusted, ancient bit of machinery in the yard and I'll show you a hobby farm, not a working farm.
Okay....so let's 'dig' a little more.
And thanks to Ab for the research....
The junkyard being across the street, would probably partially explain the tendency to throw things like a piano in the FRONT YARD. Yeah....not even having the cognitive ability to think perhaps the BACK YARD would be better.
What we have here are people that are evidently covering up their dirty habits and laziness....and the public is supposed to 'trust' that their product is just as sterile and safe to eat as the corner Organic market.
So....it's like what comes first, the chicken or the egg?
The junkyard breeds apathy toward tidiness and cleanliness and order.
Some of the loudest people claiming encroachment of property rights would also be the loudest if these trailer park trash were renting next door to 'you'.
-
Okay....so let's 'dig' a little more.
And thanks to Ab for the research....
The junkyard being across the street, would probably partially explain the tendency to throw things like a piano in the FRONT YARD. Yeah....not even having the cognitive ability to think perhaps the BACK YARD would be better.
What we have here are people that are evidently covering up their dirty habits and laziness....and the public is supposed to 'trust' that their product is just as sterile and safe to eat as the corner Organic market.
So....it's like what comes first, the chicken or the egg?
The junkyard breeds apathy toward tidiness and cleanliness and order.
Some of the loudest people claiming encroachment of property rights would also be the loudest if these trailer park trash were renting next door to 'you'.
Although I agree it is tacky and wouldn't do it to my piano, we may consider that it may have not been 'junk' thrown out in the yard. Based on their website, they host a lot of events. Maybe they rolled it outside along with extra seats for hosting a party- have some music outside. We assume it was out there like junk. We may be wrong.
-
Your 'property rights be damned' comment is pretty disturbing coming from a Conservative community, but to put this in perspective.
1. This isn't a farm in a private, HOA community where they would have signed an agreement for specific property maintenance. This is a farm, on many acres in what was, until recently*, the middle of nowhere.
2. Based on how long they've been around, they may have even owned the farm prior to Kennedale incorporating that area.
3. I doubt the neighbors complained. They are across the street from an auto-junkyard and scrap metal yard and most of the neighbors have run-down trailers. http://goo.gl/maps/aI0dG
4. *According to a comment on a news article, this may actually have something to do with the Terra Verde golf course & country club wanting to expand into that area for housing developments. They are about a mile east of all of this. They are trying to buy up/push out a lot of small farms and businesses in that area. http://constructiondatacompany.com/construction-projects/28199/tierra-verde-golf-club-house-expansion-pavilions-arlington-tx/
And we have a winner.
-
Yeah.....heaven forbid a free market capitalist that invest perhaps MILLIONS of $$$ for a golf course or country club has to put up with having the members and guests have to drive by....see....this level of 'civilization', before they fork over money for tee times.
The point here is that if they had ketp the exterior of the place tidy, nobody would have gotten into their business.
Was the SWAT team extreme? Of course.
'We're not in Kansas anymore......'
-
I just did a BING image search of the garden of eden in TX and I don't see any pianos
(http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/texasswatlawn.jpg)
http://patdollard.com/2013/08/texas-swat-storms-house-for-poorly-mowed-lawn-bushes-too-close-to-sidewalk/ (http://patdollard.com/2013/08/texas-swat-storms-house-for-poorly-mowed-lawn-bushes-too-close-to-sidewalk/)
-
Yeah.....heaven forbid a free market capitalist that invest perhaps MILLIONS of $$$ for a golf course or country club has to put up with having the members and guests have to drive by....see....this level of 'civilization', before they fork over money for tee times.
The point here is that if they had ketp the exterior of the place tidy, nobody would have gotten into their business.
Was the SWAT team extreme? Of course.
'We're not in Kansas anymore......'
So you live near DC and you don't like hippies, duly noted. Take a chill pill sheesh.
-
He looks exactly like the co-star in the movie "SAVAGES".
An excellent movie about two guys and a girl they share. One was a SEAL...the other a botanist from Berkley.
They created the most powerful strain of marijuana in the world, and the movie deals with how a Mexican cartel headed by Salma Hayek tries to take them over.
Great cast throughout....and something to watch on a snowday.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615065/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615065/)
-
Yeah.....heaven forbid a free market capitalist that invest perhaps MILLIONS of $$$ for a golf course or country club has to put up with having the members and guests have to drive by....see....this level of 'civilization', before they fork over money for tee times.
The point here is that if they had ketp the exterior of the place tidy, nobody would have gotten into their business.
Was the SWAT team extreme? Of course.
'We're not in Kansas anymore......'
They are completely free to expand and invest legally. We are talking about potential corrupt cronyism here using the weight of law enforcement to push out property owners or even collapse the value of property due to 'police raids'.
I disagree with the 'if they have just kept their place neat and tidy'. We don't know how 'neat and tidy' it is in relation to the neighborhood and farms. Considering it is across from a junk yard, it may be zoned commercial or mixed use in anticipation of industrial or farming and they were completely fine for that role.
Another thing that puts a wrinkle in this, one of the owners Quinn Eaker is running for Texas House of Representatives District 96 on the Libertarian ticket. Not saying there is any possible relation to his running against establishment candidates but you never know who may be putting pressure on a challenger.
-
Funny. But don't forget the TX guy is better looking no dreds and looks more like Jesus and he was not growing pot. ^-^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC2zbOwbeEs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC2zbOwbeEs)
-
Although I agree it is tacky and wouldn't do it to my piano, we may consider that it may have not been 'junk' thrown out in the yard. Based on their website, they host a lot of events. Maybe they rolled it outside along with extra seats for hosting a party- have some music outside. We assume it was out there like junk. We may be wrong.
I'll put something else out there, especially since it is a garden farm. Does anyone see these magazines and books all over about "flea market decorating and gardening"? As an ex-antique shop owner, I always had people coming in looking for "junker" items that they could use in their gardens and yards to landscape with. Lots of people I know buy old wood chairs with the seat busted out and fill the cavity with planted flowers. I've even seen people do this with old toilets as a joke. It is known to all antique dealers that old pianos are impossible to sell, but everyone hates to just throw them away. A lot of people cannibalize them, for their ivory keys and pretty wood - but I could see where an old piano could be utilized as a quirky planter for flowers or vegetables.
Even if their neighbor junk car and scrap yarders, and trailer inhabitants DID complain (which I doubt) - the SWAT team response is way over the top! No, I believe the more logical explanation is cronyism. A municipality would prefer a higher tax based entity to use the property - such as a country club.
-
I'll put something else out there, especially since it is a garden farm. Does anyone see these magazines and books all over about "flea market decorating and gardening"? As an ex-antique shop owner, I always had people coming in looking for "junker" items that they could use in their gardens and yards to landscape with. Lots of people I know buy old wood chairs with the seat busted out and fill the cavity with planted flowers. I've even seen people do this with old toilets as a joke. It is known to all antique dealers that old pianos are impossible to sell, but everyone hates to just throw them away. A lot of people cannibalize them, for their ivory keys and pretty wood - but I could see where an old piano could be utilized as a quirky planter for flowers or vegetables.
Even if their neighbor junk car and scrap yarders, and trailer inhabitants DID complain (which I doubt) - the SWAT team response is way over the top! No, I believe the more logical explanation is cronyism. A municipality would prefer a higher tax based entity to use the property - such as a country club.
The SWAT Team raid for a non-presented Warrant (presented 2 hours after the raid instead of on initiation of the raid) and the seizure of $4k worth of non controlled plants (last time I checked, blueberries weren't on a controlled substance list) screams of some sort of FUBAR or corruption. The trial Friday, the judge didn't take any of this into account and apparently didn't listen to their defense, just said guilty and upheld the fine (doubt they had a lawyer based on Quinn's facebook page).
The funny thing I find is, in a commune of Libertarian Hippies, they didn't even find a single joint on someone and the only 'crime' they discovered (code violations are not crimes) was someone with an outstanding traffic ticket.
They may be damn, dirty hippies but they aren't the type who seem to want the government to give them everything. They are Libertarian Hippies who just want to be left alone. They should have that right in this country and we should support that.
-
Government is the ultimate anal-retentive. Liberty is messy. But I'll take messy any day.
-
What we have here are people that are evidently covering up their dirty habits and laziness....and the public is supposed to 'trust' that their product is just as sterile and safe to eat as the corner Organic market.
Nobody's asking you to eat their food products, just respect their Constitutional rights.