Cops allowed to break stuff during raids

Still think America isn't a command state?

The state of Washington's Supreme Court has ruled 5 to 4 that police don't have to pay for damage incurred during raids. The case resulted from a bogus drug raid.

The drug warriors must be slapping themselves on the back right about now.

A few weeks ago, someone regaled me with their thoughts about the failed War on Drugs. Because drugs are inanimate objects, drugs don't know they're the target of a war. How can you have a war against something that doesn't know there's a war? And how do you lose a war against inanimate objects (as the drug warriors have done)?

This shows how destined to failure the drug war has been all along.

If the laws in Washington state and elsewhere are so weak that the courts have to let cops trash homes without having to pay for the wreckage, maybe the laws need to be changed.

However, the court did rule that police must pay for damage that results entirely from police negligence or misconduct. For instance, if the cops get the wrong address (which happens frequently in the drug war), they must pay up. But having to pay for damage shouldn't just apply during these limited circumstances.

(Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/381576_search03.html)