The Ruby Ridge Incident: Abuse of Force or Standard Operating Procedure - Research Paper Example

? The Ruby Ridge Incident: Abuse of Force or Standard Operating Procedure? Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 2 Analysis 3 Alternative Action 6 Impact 7 Evaluation 8 Summary 8 References 9 Abstract The Ruby Ridge incident presents a challenge to law enforcement officers in the United States and the world relating to the proper response and show of force in regard to the apprehension of terrorist subjects. The use of special operations and military force in police operations can lead to “stand-off’s” and “sieges” like the Ruby Ridge incident in which innocent civilians died, wrongly targeted by law enforcement. The example of Ruby Ridge thus calls for restraint and a revision of tactics in Critical Response in terrorist apprehension and hostage situations, achieved through training, regulation, and limitation of the use of force in officers. Introduction The Ruby Ridge Incident occurred in a remote region of Northern Idaho in 1992 when a “siege” of Randy Weaver’s family cabin and prolonged stand-off with law enforcement officials led to the death of Weaver’s wife and son. The Ruby Ridge incident was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms, the Department of Justice, the FBI, the U.S. Marshalls, and Congress to determine if the government had made mistakes or acted improperly during the raid. Numerous mistakes in tactics were identified, including the de facto issuance of “shoot-to-kill” orders to commandos on the Weaver property. (DOJ, 1992) The strongest historical assessments of the validity of the ATF officers in the raid is the actual legal proceedings which failed to convict Weaver of any of the alleged charges that were the cause for the incident, and a further civil suit which resulted in the Weaver family receiving over $3.1 million dollars in a wrongful death settlement with the U.S. government. (Booraem, 1995) The Ruby Ridge raid is complex and filled with civil rights and liberties questions, but these only highlight the importance of historical accuracy in the assessment. If Randy Weaver was an Aryan Nation member and planning armed terrorism in Idaho, the police response will be viewed in a different light potentially than if he and his family were peaceful, patriotic, religious people attempting to live an ideological life based on the American pioneer spirit. In reviewing the combined decision of the U.S. Marshalls, FBI, Idaho CRI, and BATF in the raid, as directed by the U.S. Attorney’s office and field officers, the decisions and tactics can be seen to be determinant on the actual identity and nature of Weaver’s alleged criminal or terrorist activity vs. the inherent right to presumption of innocence until proven guilty by the State in a court of law. Analysis The initial situation had the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms investigating Randy Weaver in Northern Idaho in order to infiltrate the White Supremacist group ‘the Aryan Nation’. (FBI, 1992) This investigation had been ongoing since 1989 when Weaver allegedly sold illegal weapons (“sawed-off shotguns”) to an undercover officer working for the BATF. (Linder, 2010) In 1992, U.S. Marshalls undertook what can be described as a tactical raid on the “Ruby Ridge” property in Northern Idaho where Weaver had his family farm. According to the Department of Justice Ruby Ridge Report (1992), “In August 1992, six marshals travelled to an area in northern Idaho known as Ruby Ridge to conduct surveillance of the Weaver residence in preparation for the undercover operation. During the surveillance mission, the Weaver dog discovered the marshals and began to bark. The marshals retreated with the dog, Harris, Randy Weaver and his son, Sammy Weaver, and other family members in pursuit. At an area known as the ‘Y,’ a gun battle occurred in which Deputy Marshal Degan and Sammy Weaver were killed.” (DOJ, 1992) After the initial gunfight on August 21st, 1992, where Sammy Weaver and a U.S. Marshall were killed, over 450 armed police officers surrounded the Weaver cabin at Ruby Ridge, beginning a siege that would last for 10 days until Weaver surrendered in his cabin on the 31st of August, 1992. After the U.S. Marshall Degan was killed in the raid, a number of different local and national law enforcement groups mobilized in response to the cabin at Ruby Ridge where Randy Weaver was resisting arrest with his family. The family was thought to have significant amounts of firearms stockpiled on the site by law enforcement, and the subject Weaver was taken as extremely hostile following the long investigation, police operation, and death of the Marshall. Consequently, numerous police agencies ranging from Idaho local police, BATF, FBI, SWAT, and U.S. Marshalls all assumed positions outside of the cabin during the siege. As the official timeline in the FBI Report states: “At 10:30 a.m., a gun battle occurs at the ‘Y’, in which Deputy Marshal Degan and Sammy Weaver are killed. Upon hearing the shots the OP team runs through the woods to assist the Recon team and are fired upon when running from the fern field to the ‘Y.’ None of the marshals are aware that Sammy Weaver has been shot and killed. At 10:45 a.m., Hunt and Thomas leave the ‘Y’ to go to the Rau house to call for assistance. Roderick, Cooper and Norris stay with Degan's body. At 11:40 a.m., the Marshals Service Crisis Center is activated under the director of Duke Smith, Associate Director for Operations. The Marshals Service Special Operations Group ("SOG") is alerted to deploy. Hunt reports to the Crisis Center that the surveillance team came under fire from occupants of the Weaver compound and are still pinned down in defensive positions. At 1:30 p.m., in Washington, D.C., Marshals Service Director Hudson and other Marshals Service officials meet with FBI Associate Deputy Director Douglas Gow and FBI Assistant Director Larry Potts to discuss the response to the shooting and the marshals predicament on Ruby Ridge. In the late afternoon, Assistant Director Potts orders the FBI Hostage Rescue Team ("HRT") deployed. At 6:30 p.m., HRT Commander Richard Rogers and the advance team of HRT personnel depart for Idaho accompanied by Marshals Service Director of Operations Duke Smith. While en route, Rogers has a series of conversations with Assistant Director Potts and Deputy Assistant Director Coulson about proposed Rules of Engagement. At 1:00 p.m., the Idaho State Police Critical Response Team ("CRI") is informed of the incident and proceed to form a command post near the Rau house At 8:30 p.m., Idaho State Police CRT leaves the command post to rescue Deputy Marshals Roderick, Cooper, and Norris and the body of Marshal Degan. At 9:30 p.m., FBI Special Agent in Charge Gene Glenn arrives at the command post at Ruby Ridge. Glenn assumes overall responsibility for the FBI operations at Ruby Ridge. In the afternoon, U.S. Marshal Michael Johnson notifies U.S. Attorney Ellsworth of the shooting at Ruby Ridge. Ellsworth sends Ron Howen to Ruby Ridge to act as the U.S. Attorney's representative. Howen arrives at Ruby Ridge late in the evening.” (FBI, 1992) Thus, on the day of the ‘Y’ incident, which left two people dead, government law enforcement agencies across the full range of Federal, State, & Local commands were dispatched to the Ruby Ridge site. It is not clear that the command was coordinated from a single central commander or planned to escalate beyond the apprehension of Weaver. The Marshalls moved in by stealth, in camouflage, with silencers on automatic weapons. They may have attempted to kill the Weaver’s dog to silence it, beginning the firefight exchange that killed Weaver’s son and a U.S. Marshall. Nevertheless, this tactical stealth mission may have failed vs. a standard direct raid, sue to the fact that weaver and his family had no way of distinguishing the U.S. Marshall’s dressed as commandos from a non-governmental trespasser on their property, wielding guns and attacking. This is one reason the courts ultimately acquitted Weaver of the death of the U.S. Marshall. On the day after the ‘Y’ incident, professional snipers arrived as part of the response group at Ruby Ridge. As the FBI report states, “From 5:07 p.m. to 5:22 p.m., the HRT sniper/observer teams arrive at their positions on the ridge overlooking the Weaver cabin. At approximately 5:58 p.m., HRT sniper/observer Lon Horiuchi fires round which wounds Randy Weaver. Seconds later, Horiuchi fires a round which kills Vicki Weaver and wounds Kevin Harris.” (FBI, 1992) In this report, “HRT” refers to the ‘FBI Hostage Rescue Team’. (FBI, 1992) Weaver’s wife was killed by snipers, and the other two ranch members were wounded that same day. Nevertheless, Weaver and Harris held out for over one more week while the FBI attempted negotiations and surrender. At this point, it is critical to note the importance of fact about the Weaver’s ideology. If they were part of the “Aryan Brotherhood” stockpiling weapons, ammunition, and possibly planning acts of terrorism, the FBI will be portrayed in a favorable public opinion in a fight of good against evil. If, however, the Weaver’s are peaceful, free-loving people living under the inspiration of the American Founding Father’s and seeking to build a religious or ideological community in the wilderness, as their ancestors did, then they are being destroyed by the State unjustly, and robbed of the rights to life, liberty, and property unjustly. Nearly all government accounts agree that Vicki weaver was unarmed and holding an infant baby in her arms when she was hit by a professional sniper’s bullet that “traveled through her mouth, tongue, and jawbone, then severed her carotid artery”. (Conger, 2002) Alternative Action While all law enforcement is reputedly trained in the fundamental principle of “innocent until proven guilty,” innocent people died in the Ruby Ridge raid due to aggressive tactics deployed by the U.S. Marshalls and FBI teams. In the first instance, the U.S. Marshalls approached the remote ranch as a camouflaged commando squad, and should have instead attempted to serve the arrest warrant and detention by publicly announcing it directly to the front door of the house with full uniformed police and sirens. For example, if there was significant risk that the force would be fired upon by the Weaver compound, they could then deploy a forced entry of the premises for apprehension of the suspects. By concealing their identity and firing first on the compound in attempting to kill the dog, they prompted defense fire from the household that was legal under law. That points to the direct consequences of the procedure violation by U.S. Marshalls. The FBI HRT shot and killed an innocent woman it turns out they may have had the facts or intelligence wrong on. In any instance, she was holding a newborn infant and of no threat to the 450 police that surrounded the cabin at that time. This represents an abuse of force and authority by the FBI, and also a betrayal of public trust. It is akin to assassination before trial, for a crime unproved, and of an unarmed woman surrounded by a huge mass or police armed with the most advanced tactical weapons available. In this instance, there should not have been a de facto “shoot-to-kill” order on all individuals in the household by the FBI. Impact The impact of an instance such as Ruby Ridge can have critical importance in a democracy, representing the expansion of police powers and arbitrary exercise of authority that is directly contrary to the founding principles of the country. Whether it is life, liberty, and property, or the pursuit of happiness, as in the Declaration of Independence, American’s believe their government was created to preserve these natural rights. A group like the Weaver enclave may have been members of the Aryan Nation, but they denied it, citing other beliefs. Some reports suggest Weaver sough the remoteness of Northern Idaho because he rejected “multiculturalism,” potentially implying a racist motivation that could be consistent with Aryan Nation politics. It seems certain he had a “friend” in the Aryan Brotherhood that led to his initial investigation by the BATF. Whether the law should be fair and impartial to hate oriented groups such as racists, Nazis, and violent terrorists would seem to be undeniable, as a basic principle of equal justice under law, but it is a long stretch by implication to suggest Weaver and his family had these connections but not prove them. Indeed, none of the evidence provided by any of the law enforcement agencies was able to convict Weaver on any charges stemming from the Ruby Ridge incident. Rather, it became a rallying point for militias, right-wing activists, gun ownership societies, and civil liberty groups using it as an example of “Big Government” and the evils of the “police State”. Because of this, it is critical to reach a historically accurate depiction of the events at Ruby Ridge. Evaluation If Randy Weaver was really an innocent man, targeted unjustly by the Federal Government, and then losing his family in an escalating firefight with the U.S. Marshalls and FBI, it is tragic and represents an example of why checks on police power have been required historically. The tactical squad should not have used combat techniques or professional snipers against the compound. There should have been no “shoot to kill orders” and no targeting of women or children by FBI agents when they are unarmed. Rather, a “show of force” technique of a large enough group of uniformed officers in official cars should have been directly and openly serving the warrant and arresting Weaver. These same officers could also have responded directly if attacked in the direct operation, and entered the cabin directly to avoid a siege. Summary The Ruby Ridge incident shows an abuse of power in the U.S. Marshalls, FBI, and U.S. Justice Department in the deaths of Vicki Weaver and Sammy Weaver. The tactical errors of the U.S. Marshall team led to the death of Marshall Degan being unable to be prosecuted, and Weaver was not convicted of the other charges he was accused of and for which the government sought the death penalty. In abusing power, losing the trial, and being forced to pay civil damages, the Ruby Ridge incident remains one of the worst public incidents to tarnish the FBI and Justice Department in the 1990’s. The review of this incident has led to significant change in tactics, training, and response in all agencies who were involved in the siege. References Booraem, Hendrik V. (1995). Randy Weaver Trial: 1993 - Prosecution Witnesses Help The Defense. Jlaw, 2011. Retrieved from http://law.jrank.org/pages/3562/Randy-Weaver-Trial-1993-Prosecution-Witnesses-Help-Defense.html Conger, Wally (2002). Remembering Randy Weaver. LewRockwell.com, August 10, 2002. Retrieved from http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/conger3.html Department of Justice (1992). Ruby Ridge Task Force Report. Mega, June 10, 1994. http://www.mega.nu/batf/croaker/ruby0.htm FBI (1992). FBI's report on Ruby Ridge, pt5(64k). Jim Jeffries' Articles, 1992. Retrieved from http://www.titleii.com/bardwell/ruby_ridge5.txt FBI (1992). IV. SPECIFIC ISSUES INVESTIGATED, F. FBI's Rules of Engagement and Operations on August 21 and August 22, 1992. LEXIS COUNSEL CONNECT, American Lawyer Media, L.P., 1992. Retrieved from http://www.byington.org/carl/ruby/ruby4.6.htm Linder, Douglas O. (2010). The Ruby Ridge (Randy Weaver) Trial: An Account. Randy Weaver Trial Homepage, 2010. Retrieved from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/weaver/weaveraccount.html Read More