Ruby Ridge Incident Free Essay Example, 1500 words

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 â€Å"stand-off’s† and â€Å"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 â€Å"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.We will write a custom essay sample on Ruby Ridge Incident or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now 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 â€Å"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.