Waco Siege and its effects on today's law enforcement

In 2000, the federal government comically exonerated itself of wrong-doing in the Waco Siege with a sham investigation (the only federal agent charged was the whistleblower that revealed the FBI used pyrotechnic devices in the final siege, he was convicted). Lucky for us, the Cato Institute investigated the incident, to the best of its ability with all the "lost" and withheld evidence, and released this report in 2001: LINK

The final paragraph of the report strikes hard at our current environment. The focus there is on the federal police agencies, but applies to all police agencies:

quote:

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Because numerous crimes at Waco have gone unpunished, the people serving in our federal police agencies may well come to the conclusion that it is permissible to recklessly endanger the lives of innocent people, lie to newspapers, obstruct congressional subpoenas, and give misleading testimony in our courtrooms. If such activity becomes more common than it is today, those agencies will surely become lawless and unaccountable. The only way to counter that danger is for the American people to distrust government officials, limit their powers, and demand accountability.

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You should read the entire report. It is just 18 pages, but it is well worth your time.