{"id":2175,"date":"2013-11-21T23:41:08","date_gmt":"2013-11-22T04:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/?p=2175"},"modified":"2013-11-21T23:45:37","modified_gmt":"2013-11-22T04:45:37","slug":"2175","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/masspirates.org\/blog\/2013\/11\/21\/2175\/","title":{"rendered":"Justice for Army Spc. Denis Reynoso!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We hope you will join us in supporting the family of\u00a0Army Spc. Denis Reynoso on \u00a0Thursday December 5th.\u00a0For more information on the necessity of this rally, the Mass Pirates are pleased today to welcome a guest post from\u00a0Alex Marthews of\u00a0Digital Fourth: http:\/\/warrantless.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

by Alex Marthews on November 13, 2013<\/p>\n

We like to think that we\u2019re safe in our homes, and that if we need the police, we can call on them to help protect us. That\u2019s what we tell our children \u2013 I have two \u2013 and I\u2019d like to think it was more consistently the truth than it is.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s story comes from Lynn, MA, which in September saw an Army reservist shot to death in his home by police in front of his five-year-old son.<\/p>\n

\"reynoso-300x239\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Army Spc. Denis Reynoso)<\/p>\n

Police were called after Spc. Reynoso yelled at a man, who then drove away. Two police officers arrived at the Reynoso home on Newcastle Street in the King\u2019s Lynne housing complex, and they appear to have entered the home without either a warrant or the permission of the residents, which would clearly violate the Fourth Amendment. The police version of events is that during the ensuing argument, Spc. Reynoso lunged for one of the police officers\u2019 weapon, and fearing for their lives, the police fatally shot him. The family point out that there is no way to confirm that Spc. Reynoso did lunge for an officer\u2019s gun, and no public information as to why he might do so; that he was unarmed, that they shot him anyway, and that they then searched the house for any drugs or contraband that would provide justification for their actions, without a warrant and without finding anything.<\/p>\n

The excuse used by the police \u2013 that he \u201clunged\u201d for the gun \u2013 is inherently unprovable. It\u2019s such a hoary old chestnut when it comes to defending the indefensible that it has been immortalized in song. Perhaps that\u2019s why they thought of it.<\/p>\n