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Politics : About that Cuban boy, Elian -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jhild who wrote (4554)	5/8/2000 8:40:00 PM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9127

Law Enforcement Alliance of America calls for Reno's firing: Attorney General Reno Should Resign or Be Fired! National law enforcement association takes stand against heavy-handed, dangerous actions by Reno's DOJ. For Immediate Release Monday, April 24, 2000 Falls Church, VA -- On the heels of the night-time raid by federal agents seizing a little boy hopelessly embroiled in a custody battle gone bad, the Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) takes the stand that Attorney General Reno should resign or be fired. "There are many disturbing aspects to this raid, not the least of which is that the Department of Justice took provocative and unwarranted action and then left it to local law enforcement to clean up their mess" stated Jim Fotis, Executive Director of LEAA. Equally disturbing is the amount of force used to resolve this matter. "A basic law enforcement principal -- although Janet Reno can't seem to operate this way -- is to use the minimum amount of force needed to accomplish a task and overcome resistance. Every street cop in America knows this is the standard that is applied. This has been the standard that local cops have used to defend themselves from needless prosecution by Reno's DOJ for offenses much less serious that what has occurred here," Fotis continued. By sending in over 100 federal agents, many armed with machine guns which appear to have been pointed at children and other innocent bystanders, this administration not only put these people in an inexcusably high-risk situation, they also significantly damaged the public's confidence in law enforcement, especially among minorities. "I believe that this administration has proved that if this had been local officers involved in such an action with as much force, targeting minorities, the DOJ would be preparing to file criminal charges against those officers. It is time to stop the double standard. Janet Reno and those in the Clinton/Gore Administration that supported this action should be held accountable," said Fotis. Additionally, by sending in agents with automatic weapons, the agents themselves were left with fewer options to resolve the situation if there had been some active resistance encountered. Fotis, who before his retirement as an officer from New York was almost killed by a suspect shooting at him from point-blank range, observed that, "When a submachine gun is in your hands an officer has considerably fewer options when encountering resistance that does not require deadly force." "If this administration really believed in the rule and power of law as they claim, why not first send two or three agents to knock on the front door in the daytime and ask for the child to be turned over, relying on the strength of the law rather than the force from the barrel of a gun. Had this administration tried to resolve this situation with less force, DOJ would be in a much better position to defend the escalation of force we all tragically witnessed," Fotis said. "It bears repeating that the parties in Florida were represented by counsel, had been taking their case to the courts, had been talking with the media and others about this situation and there had been no hint or suggestion of violence. The tactics we saw deployed by this administration were the types of tactics usually reserved for rescuing someone who has been kidnapped or is in immediate danger -- and this was clearly not the case here," Fotis concluded. With more than 65,000 members and supporters, the Law Enforcement Alliance of America is the nation's largest coalition of law enforcement professionals, crime victims, and concerned citizens dedicated to making America safer. leaa.org