I've heard a lot of criticism from libertarians here and on Facebook about the way in which the police in Boston and the Governor and Mayor handled this situation. Most of the criticism is focused on searching house to house which raises 4th amendment concerns, the order for people to stay in their homes and not go to work, the order to close the Subway, the airport, etc. I'm not saying that these aren't legitimate concerns and questions, but what exactly was the alternative in this situation? What should've been done to catch this suspect?
What was the alternative to what the police did in Boston?
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MelissaWV
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You realize that the suspect was caught AFTER the lockdown was lifted and this man was allowed to go into his own backyard on his own property without fear of the cops mistaking him for a lanky 19-year-old, right?
kcchiefs6465
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Very bad example.
Yeah. The lockdown was the only thing they did that probably wasn't necessary, in my opinion. But, I think that closing down the Airport, public transportation, and going door to door to look for the suspect was necessary.
Origanalist
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They could have simply broadcast their pictures, and told people to be on the lookout for them but not to approach as they usually do. I cannot in my lifetime remember a whole city being shut down before.
Bonnie and Clyde were terrorizing the country. With machine guns.
kcchiefs6465
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They were summarily executed after being set up.
Origanalist
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No, entering people homes without a warrant is never justified.
They would probably do that if this had just been an ordinary crime, but obviously it wasn't. This was an extraordinary situation.
I read that the police asked permission to enter these homes before they came in.
MelissaWV
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They didn't find him by going door to door, though, and actually that was a very dangerous thing to do. It could have easily become a hostage situation if he snuck into a home and was as armed as they said. Telling everyone to shelter in place made it easier for people not to be missed, as opposed to "Oh God, Helen didn't come in to work today and she lives right near where this happened! Maybe something went wrong!"
The airport already has security, right? I would think that this guy would stand out, and keeping the airports open BUT BEING ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THIS GUY would have been pretty smart. I am guessing that's why it was allowed for a bit (you can be certain the Feds were checking passengers against the video/stills).
Bus routes are also pretty easy to follow, and since this was a deviation in their plans, it would be narrowed down to people purchasing tickets after the gunfight.
None of these are superb, and certainly privacy is still invaded, but yeah they are viable alternatives to shutting down a city and jailing all the law-abiders to see who the criminals are (anyone going outside, obviously, because criminals don't know how to blend or hide).
Origanalist
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It will always be a extraordinary time now. If you can't see the precedent set here, I don't know what to tell you. I must assume you're old enough to know this is a new phenomenon.
green73
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Origanalist
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It was an extraoridinary situation because it was only the 2nd terrorist attack on our soil in our country's history. It's not something that happens every day.
Do you have any evidence that they went into people's homes without their permission?
What alternatives? You didn't mention anything about what the police should've done to catch the suspect.
MelissaWV
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MelissaWV
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Erm, the same thing they always try to do? Look out for the suspect at escape routes (instead of closing them), enlisting the public's help (rather than shutting them indoors), treating the public as law-abiders instead of criminals (you know, letting them out to get food, go to doctors' appointments, etc.).
I mentioned ways to attempt to track the guy without shutting things down. Looks pretty clear even when I reread my post.
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