The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are the Pullman Washington police department and its Police Commander Chris Tennant. They get the award for the following.

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - A Pullman landlord notified police about a grow lamp in a closet, and police got a search warrant for a drug raid.

Eight officers with guns drawn surprised three roommates in the apartment last weekend and discovered they were growing tomatoes.

Commander Chris Tennant says it's the department's duty to investigate all credible complaints regarding marijuana growing operations in Pullman.

Sounds to me that the report saying that it was marijuana was not very credible when you find tomatoes instead. The police goofed and badly.

Here is another report on the same news.

Robert Barry, a senior civil engineering major, stood in shock as police searched his apartment for a suspected marijuana growth.

Just three hours earlier, two people, who Barry said were there on behalf of the landlord, were reviewing the apartment when they noticed a growth lamp in a hall closet.

Pullman Police met the two citizens when they went to the police station soon after leaving the apartment to report a suspected growth.

The two people also mentioned to the officer that the roommates appeared nervous while they were in the apartment, and said it smelled like burnt marijuana.

Roommate Jacin Davis, a senior business administration major, said he was sitting on the couch watching television and did not understand how he could have come across as nervous nor how they would have smelled marijuana.

After an interview with the two citizens, Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said the interviewing officer believed they had enough information to apply for a search warrant.

“They were interviewed in-depth to see if they had been in the residence legally and knew what a marijuana growth looked like,” Tennant said.

Incredibly sloppy police work. Beary and the other roommate are lucky to be alive. How many innocents have been killed in wrong drug raids? We know of one highly publicized case in the last year. Police have a machismo attitude where they go in guns blazing, ask questions later. And they never admit their mistakes. Just like in the above, Tennant makes excuses instead of admitting his police department blew it. Chris Tennant and The Pullman Washington Police Department didn't find any marijuana, but they did get a prize. They are today's Knuckleheads of the Day.

Hat tip- The Agitator by the way of Professor Bainbridge who says the war on drugs is really a war on the American people.

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