The Blame Game Essay Example for Free

The Blame Game Essay When I think about law enforcement, the thoughts that come to mind are to protect and serve its citizens, its people, and the innocent. The Waco Siege is an example of what happens when Law Enforcement Agencies fail to do their most basic job, protect the innocent. The Waco tragedy could have been avoided if the Law Enforcement Agencies involved had done their job of protecting the innocent and did not make such catastrophic tactical errors. The Waco Siege began on February 28, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19, 1993. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel. After the ATFs failed to execute the search warrant, a siege was begun by the Federal Bureau of Investigation which lasted 50 days, and ended when a second assault on the compound was made, and then fire engulfed the compound. Seventy-six people died in the fire, including more than 20 children and two pregnant women. As Peter Meyer points out, the mistakes began with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian compound followed the killing of four ATF agents who were attempting to serve warrants on the occupants. According to Kate O’Beirne in her article â€Å"Waco II the Awful†, the committees found that the ATF could have avoided the killings: The agents in charge recklessly proceeded with the raid even though they knew they would encounter armed resistance. She further concluded that the ATFs entire investigation of Koresh and his followers for possible violations of federal gun laws was grossly incompetent. It is clear that the ATF wanted to mount a large- scale military raid (dubbed Showtime), with Koresh as the target (O’Beirne). The ATF sought special training in close-combat fighting from Army Special Forces two months before the bureau had probable cause for a warrant and before its undercover investigation had even begun. The agency rejected an offer by Koresh to permit an inspection of his compound (O’Beirne). The arrest warrant could have been served on Koresh when he left the compound, but ATF agents mistakenly believed that he rarely ventured out: The agents maintaining 24-hour surveillance from a house across the street didnt know what he looked like. The affidavits filed in support of the arrest and search warrants were riddled with false statements, outdated facts, and inflammatory, unsubstantiated charges of child abuse, which were outside the jurisdiction of the ATF anyway. When over 70 ATF agents, in commando gear complete with ski masks, arrived at the compound to execute their dynamic entry, the Davidians fired on them. The ATF had been expected. The agency had notified the media that something was to happen that weekend, and a TV cameraman in need of directions sought the assistance of a local who happened to be a Koresh in-law. He headed straight to the compound. The agents in charge dismissed an ATF undercover agents warning that Koresh knew of the raid (Abrams). Nobody at the ATF has been held accountable for these gross errors in judgment and subsequent lies during a criminal investigation. Two senior raid commanders were fired following an internal investigation, but they were rehired two months later, with back pay and attorneys fees, after complaining through the civil-service system. Suspicions linger that they were rehired, in nonsupervisory roles, to prevent them from making embarrassing disclosures about the agency. In his article The Waco Disaster, David Kopel states that Congress investigated the FBIs actions, too. The committees found that the FBI had failed to appreciate that the pressure on the Davidians bonded them all the more closely and reinforced Koreshs apocalyptic vision of their fate. While FBI negotiators held out hope that a peaceful resolution was possible, the agents became increasingly frustrated with the delays. One FBI behavioral-science expert counseled patience in a series of memos to headquarters, until he learned that his superiors werent pleased with the tone of his advice: They felt it was tying their hands. According to the article â€Å"Waco Revisited,† the author notes, that the FBI agent in charge at Waco testified that the reason the feds eventually turned off the electricity in the compound was that â€Å"cold and wet FBI personnel† resented the presumed comforts of the Davidians. The agents testimony indicated that the decision to mount the tear-gas assault was the result of their weariness and frustration; they were â€Å"tired and ticked off. † Every reason the FBI gave as necessitating the siege dissolved on close inspection. There was no evidence that Koresh was planning a violent breakout; the hostage-rescue team didnt have to stand down for training for another two weeks; other law-enforcement personnel could have relieved them and guarded the perimeter; and there was no evidence that children in the compound were in immediate jeopardy. The initial assault (Plan A), involving the slow and incremental injection of tear gas by tanks into the compound, was undertaken at 6:02 in the morning. When this non-assault was met with gunfire, Plan B went into effect at 6:07. Over the next six hours, tear gas was inserted into every portion of the compound, while the buildings were dismantled. There was no Plan C (Meyer). Elliott Abrams argues, that the FBI failed to acknowledge the fact that CS gas was banned for battlefield use by 100 nations or that it could make victims incapable of evacuating the area, according to an army field manual. Clearly, FBI officials had miscalculated the Davidians reactions to the gas-and-tank assault, and failed to provide fire protection at the scene. The Waco Tragedy has become the most controversial law enforcement operation in modern American history. Although the official investigation of the incident now places all of the blame for the carnage on the Branch Davidian leader, David Koresh, numerous crimes by government agents were never seriously investigated or prosecuted. If those crimes go unpunished, the Waco incident will leave an odious precedent that Law Enforcement Agents can use the color of their office to commit crimes against citizens.