Keystone Cops at it again

[Al Norris]

From the paper Chronline News

The site uses java script and does not appear to have a searchable DB. Earlier articles, of which there are two, have disappeared.

Smoke clears in tear gas incident

By Sharyn L. Decker

Jesse A. Dow, the second robbery suspect sought by Centralia police when they launched a type of tear gas into a residence Friday, was arrested without incident about 8:30 Tuesday night, according to police.

"One of our off-duty officers who knows him just happened to see him walking by," Interim Police Chief John Boren said today.

Dow was then arrested by on-duty officers who were called, Boren said.

Meanwhile, Centralia police concluded that one of the two suspects left the house before officers surrounded it, according to a summary of events from Centralia city officials.

Centralia police, including its special tactics team, assembled at a Brock Street house Friday. After hours of attempting to search the home, police shot four canisters of a type of tear gas through the windows, but flushed out only two women apparently unconnected with the crime.

The short cul-de-sac is in a residential area a few blocks south of downtown Centralia.

City officials assert that after police announced by loudspeaker a search warrant was being served, officers gave the occupants an opportunity to come out.

"Police waited, and no one responded," the city's news release reported.

However, Centralia Det. Sgt. Glenn Teeter acknowledged police intended to surprise the occupants with the gas after securing a search warrant.

Teeter was incident commander for the situation.

"We gave them about 30 seconds to comply with that," Teeter said, adding that in a potentially dangerous situation, it's not appropriate to warn the occupants specifically when officers would enter the house.

Officers believed one of two men who earlier attacked a Centralia man in a nearby park was hiding inside.

Jason Lee Woods, 23, was arrested Saturday and charged Monday with first-degree robbery in Lewis County Superior Court.

Teeter said there are two Centralia residents named Jason Lee Woods. The two are only a year or so apart in age, according to Teeter.

Court papers allege the victim was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground by Woods and Dow in a Centralia park early Friday morning.

After the pair took his wallet with approximately $175 and his house keys, Woods allegedly threatened the victim with what appeared to be a bicycle lock chain, according to charging documents.

Teeter said the reason police sought a search warrant was because police had information the suspect was in the house.

"(And) robbery is a felony crime," he said.

Neither of the women in the home were arrested, Teeter said.

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Sharyn L. Decker covers law enforcement and the courts for The Chronicle. She may be reached by e-mail at sdecker@chronline.com, or by telephoning 807-8235

So there were no guns involved?!! And they apparently got the names mixed up.

On the one hand, it is good to see the same response, regardless of the type of weapon used, that's a breath of fresh air in and of itself...but a swat team for this?

Seeker: I agree. The Glocktalk thread was biased/slanted.

 

[Long Path]

Seeker, you quoted him out of context. What he said was:

Article in yesterdays paper say they captured the guy the next day, he was wanted for 1st degree armed robbery, which in this state means shoving a gun in your face and demanding money.

Given this fact, and probable cause that he was in the house, and the fact that the girls previously told the cops to "go get a warrant", it would appear from the outside that the level of response was entirely justified.

Remember, they DID have probable cause to believe he was in the house-- that's how they got the warrant. I agree that the cops over-acted once they served the warrant, but they were searching for a violent criminal that they had good reason to believe was in the house. Likely they misconstrued the girls' indignance. While it's not right... it's a good deal more mitigated in that light.

L.P.