Judge: DEA not liable for botched sting that killed truck driver

[iscooterliberally]

Source: The Washington Post

The drug war means never having to say you’re sorry.

A Houston-based federal judge ruled that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration does not owe the owner of a small Texas trucking company anything, not even the cost of repairing the bullet holes to a tractor-trailer truck that the agency used without his permission for a wild 2011 drug cartel sting that resulted in the execution-style murder of the truck’s driver, who was secretly working as a government informant.

The Houston Chronicle story also points out that the ruling will spare the DEA a “potentially embarrassing trial.” Another way to phrase that might be that the ruling prevents the public from knowing the details of just how ruthless and indifferent to collateral damage drug warriors can sometimes be. In fact, the owner of the trucking company, Craig Patty, said that this was his reason for bringing the lawsuit — to shed light on what happened. This ruling will prevent that.

Not that the action didn’t hurt his business. Patty had only two trucks at the time, and the truck the DEA decided to drive to the border and load up with drugs was out of commission for two months. His insurance company also refused to reimburse him, because the vehicle was used to commit a crime. The DEA also introduced this trucking business to the world of Mexican drug cartels, potentially putting its owner and other employees at risk as well.


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/04/29/judge-dea-not-liable-for-botched-sting-that-killed-truck-driver/

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Drug prohibition needs to end. The DEA needs to be shut down entirely.

[Ed Suspicious]

1. Absolutely.

[Demeter]

2. Well, we certainly wouldn't want a court to publicly embarrass the DEA

They are doing a more than adequate job embarrassing themselves without any help from another branch of government.

[Malraiders]

3. I'm just glad Congress uses oversight committees to control these

federal agencies. The oversight makes me feel so much better.

[d_legendary1]

4. Another example of how the cops and the courts are in bed together

I don't blame you and you don't come after me, capeche?

[christx30]

5. Yep. And it's why I get frustrated when people say

"why don't you trust the court system to do what's right?"
Because they frequently don't.

[Jerry442]

6. Hey neocons!

There's this country where the government can take your property at will, use it without your approval, destroy it, and then tell you to fuck off when you seek some form of compensation. All of this driven by pointless Puritanism and fanaticism.

Sounds like a place where we need to invade, liberate, and establish a democracy.

[Dawson Leery]

7. F**K the DEA and every one of it's worthless agents.

No DEA agent has ever done any good for us. They are willing whores taking away our freedoms.

[Tom Ripley]

16. +1000

[Ed Suspicious]

18. I think that's probably right.

[rurallib]

8. it is getting so that reality is hard to differentiate from TV shows & movies

I begin to wonder sometimes if training anymore consists of watching a thousand hours of over the top cops and drug dealers/ bad guys who can be dispatched doing whatever you want with total impunity.

[clg311]

9. Abolish the DEA

End the War on Drugs now.

[TeamPooka]

10. Prohibition is a failed public policy. nt

[7962]

11. This is such BS. At the very least the guy's family should get SOMETHING. nt

[blackspade]

12. Another shitty Texas judge.....

Probably another Shrub appointee.

[freebrew]

13. 9 people executed yesterday in Indonesia...

because of this 'war on drugs' that was started right here in the US.

It's a war on people.

[iscooterliberally]

14. I saw that yesterday as well.

Let's kill people who deal in drugs because someone might get high, and it could go wrong and kill them. Yeah that makes sense.
Drug prohibition is morally reprehensible.

[Ilsa]

15. I suspect that somehow, Craig Patty will find a way to

Blame this on Obama and Democrats. I don't hold out much hope for him figuring this out.

[jomin41]

17. Well, after 6+ years,

It is HIS drug war now and HIS DEA. Who should Craig blame? ( and I like Obama, voted for him twice, would do it again,lol, but if he doesn't do something substantive about the drug war before he leaves office, it'll be a real negative on his record, imo.)

[Ikonoklast]

20. DEA is under Justice, which is under the Executive.

Damn right Obama gets the blame, he gave Holder the job, and Holder was useless.

[truedelphi]

19. K & R. And very much agree with the last sentence in

The OP.