breaking the law isn’t exactly unprecedented in the US. Except in this case, the only ones breaking the law were the police. This is fantastic:
KopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing marijuana. When faced with a suspected marijuana grow, the police usually use illegal FLIR cameras and/or lie on the search warrant affidavit claiming they have probable cause to raid the house. Instead of conducting a proper investigation which usually leads to no probable cause, the [cops] lie on the affidavit claiming a confidential informant saw the plants and/or the police could smell marijuana coming from the suspected house.
The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster’s attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster’s secret mobile office nearby.
Read more here (note that I endorse Balko’s take on the perpetrator, unfortunately).
Mark Brooks
We have deputies/police here sitting on private property to catch speeders or other traffic scofflaws.
I thought breaking the law to enforce it was unconstitutional?
For reference, see Colorado Highway Patrol case in the 70’s, where they were told that they could not stop on the side of a road w/o lights in order to catch someone on the road breaking the law.
Amit
did they have “bad boys bad boys, whatchu gonna do?” playing in the background?