Smith claims the raid was really about code violations and her being self-sufficient. Authorities had cited infractions such as: tall grass, bushes too close to the street, chopped wood not properly stacked, a piece of siding missing from the side of the house.
Many of these so-called infractions, according to Smith, are actually necessary to maintaining a small 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.
If the Swat has nothing more important to do, then maybe we should get rid of them. How about they use their resources to round up the terrorists camps that they just sit and watch? Are they afraid? Or has the president told them not to, since he is the one imposing radical Islam on the U.S. citizens.
How about we use swat to round up the terrorists camps instead of wasting our money for stupid stuff like this? If they have nothing better to do then get rid of them
De facto military rule lies not too far in America’s future.
can you say apeal…. what a crock of c**p. Police should investigate reports then arrest if founded not raid and see what rolls out…
Justice is not serverd
This is what’s known as a police state.