My Thoughts On The Marine Killed By Pima County SWAT

Jonn and many of our readers have already discussed this but I am going to add my two cents.

I am admittedly very upset and disturbed by this story for a number of reasons. I understand that all the facts in the case have not been forthcoming but that is mostly because the Pima County Sheriff’s Office, which as Strike FO pointed out is run by the illustrious Sheriff Dupnik, is trying to cover their ass. Additionally, they are repeatedly changing their story, which should tell everyone following this  hat Pima County SWAT knows they have screwed up.

With the facts that are available, I want to make the following the points:

First and foremost this RAID SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. PERIOD. Less than an hour of basic police intelligence work would have shown that Jose Guerena works at a mine that is in an area that is not as densely populated as a residential area.  Additionally, that would have shown that Guerena had no prior criminal record, was an honorably discharged Marine, and had a family that lived with him.  By choosing to raid the house, not only did Pima SWAT put civilians in danger by hitting Guerena’s house in the manner that they did, but they also put themselves in danger by choosing to conduct the raid at Guerena’s home. Lets assume for a second that Guerena was a bad guy who was involved in the drug trade. Despite the fact that he was an air winger, he probably had at least some combat-related training, especially if he deployed to Iraq twice. I know that he was stationed in Yuma and they have Marines there that train air wingers before they deploy in basic combat tactics, including basic CQB and MOUT tactics. He would have had at least a very basic understanding about how to setup a defensive position inside a building. So, with that possibility in mind, Pima SWAT still chose to hit the house (in daylight too), even though there were clearly other options available to them, mainly the option to detain him at work or when he was driving to and from work. This was extremely poor mission planning on the part of the Pima County SWAT team.

Secondly, based on the information that has been released by Pima County, this is without a doubt a seriously dicked up SWAT Team. I’ve already laid out how I think they did a piss poor job of planning this mission, so now lets look at how the raid actually played out. First off, Pima County SWAT says they banged on the door for fifteen seconds and had the sirens and lights on their vehicles on. The wife of Jose Guerena claims they didn’t. I am inclined to believe the wife right now since she seems to be the only one who has kept her story straight, but this point is debatable so I am not going to focus too much on this. According to the SWAT team, as soon as they entered the house they see Guerena crouched with an AR-15 pointed at them. At that moment the SWAT team opens fire, with five shooters firing 71 shots in seven seconds. Thats two rounds every second per shooter. I don’t know what kind of weapons they were using but a standard M4 or MP5 can spit out rounds faster on full auto so I think they were just slapping the trigger on semi or maybe one shooter had a weapon on burst. Either way, that is a complete lack of fire discipline. Lets assume again that Guerena was a bad guy and his wife was involved with the drug trade with him (again there is NO EVIDENCE OF THIS THUS FAR, but I am just using  hypotheticals here). With all five shooters focused on Guerena, nobody else was covering the other sectors of the room or moving to clear the rest of the house (which they probably shouldn’t have done if they only went in with five shooters anyways). That would have left an opportunity for someone to come out and start shooting at the SWAT team, potentially wounding or killing some or all of the SWAT team during the raid. Then there is this little tidbit from an AZ Daily Star Article:

A deputy’s bullet struck the side of the doorway, causing chips of wood to fall on his shield. That prompted some members of the team to think the deputy had been shot, O’Connor said.

One of two things happened there. Either the deputies went in the door spraying and praying and a round struck the door or one of the deputies had a negligent discharge upon entry through the doorway and the round hit the door frame. Either way, it didn’t justify the SWAT team losing their cool and forgetting all tactical sense. Whatever happened it leads to the question of what the fuck kind of training these keystone cops went through before they went on this raid. They clearly were not prepared or properly trained to execute this mission.

Uncle Jimbo did a series last year on how SWAT raids like this shouldn’t be happening. I encourage you to read it.

Also one finally thing. Cpl. Guerena was a Latino killed by the police under questionable circumstances in the “mecca of hate”, Arizona. Riots have erupted over less than this. But what has been the reaction from all the lefty blogs in Arizona, and particularly Tucson? Crickets, Crickets, Crickets, and Crickets. This prominent left-wing blog’s top post actually celebrates the fact that the Dupnik recall failed. Does it surprise anyone? A gun-owning, combat veteran with no criminal record killed by members of a left-wing Sheriff’s office? Oh, but it doesn’t fit the narrative! Fuck them. Fuck them all. I wish it was one of them in the house instead of Cpl Guerena. Semper Fi Brother.

Jonn added; An hour and twelve minutes the ambulance sat outside the home waiting for clearance from the police. An hour and 12 minutes until word came that Cpl Guerena was dead.

You’d think the neighbor would have mentioned the sirens;

Category: The Guerena Killing, Veterans Issues