Wisconsin Town Sends In The BearCat Tank To Collect Civil Fine From Seventy-Year-Old

[Mike]

So, hey, let's say you're an old guy in a tiny town in central Wisconsin. Old, like, seventy-five, let's say, and the tiny town is farm country where you have a twenty-acre plot of good old American heartland. Now, let's say that the municipality hasn't appreciated the fact that you've kept your tractors out on the land you own and even went so far as to get a judge to level thousands of dollars of fines on you for not putting your toys away, because that's apparently a thing that can happen. Now let's say you've been ignoring these civil fines for some time. Under those conditions, would you expect this to show up on your lawn?

Could you repeat that? I couldn't hear your answer over the sound of you crapping your pants...

Yes, along with a couple dozen SWAT officers, 75-year-old Roger Hoeppner had his property assaulted by a BearCat armored vehicle for the crime of not keeping things as tidy as the local government would like and refusing to pay the fines they levied.

Marathon County sheriff’s captain Greg Bean declined to answer multiple requests for comment, but told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the large police presence was called in because law enforcement officials expected they would have to seize large equipment.

See, this is our fault. I don't think any of us realized that SWAT teams moonlight as large-format moving companies. I always thought they were for things involving tactics more complicated than the tactics of getting a tractor onto the hitch of a Mack truck. But, hey, what do I know? I'm sure Mr. Bean isn't prone to saying super ridiculous stuff or anything. So how about that BearCat?

“I’ve been involved in about five standoff situations where, as soon as the MARV showed up, the person gives up,” Bean told the Journal Sentinel.

I don't think the fact that the BearCat makes your job super easy to do is the proper justification for its deployment. If it was, why bother with the BearCat? Why not just bring the perp's mother to the scene and threaten to put a bullet through her head if perp doesn't give up immediately. Sure, it would be wholly unethical and inappropriate, but I bet Bean could still use the quote above, so all's good, yes?

This is yet another obvious and gross misuse of tactical and/or military-grade equipment in a haphazard way. Hoeppner owes Stettin, his city of 2500 residents, $80,000 in fines for not keeping his property as clean as the city would like. In other words, he left his tractors out. As a result, he faced down a BearCat and a SWAT team, which then escorted him to the bank where he paid his fines and was escorted back out by SWAT. All of this because the authorities couldn't be bothered to come up with a creative way to get Hoeppner out of his house.

“I just don’t understand why a dollar and a half of postage on an envelope that I would have had to pick up at the Wausau post office wouldn’t have done the same thing as 24 officers and an armored vehicle,” Hoeppner told the Guardian. “The United States is not supposed to terrorize its hardworking people."

Good one, sir.

Originally Published: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 11:17:46 GMT
source

[stormium]

since when does a completely civil act of civil disobedience result in a surprise visit from the swat team and an armored fucking truck?

AND since fucking when does a town of 2,500 people even need a fucking tank?

[NIK]

They need the huge fucking tank because it's a small fucking town with few fucking resources, which means they have to levy huge fucking fines for trivial fucking offences to get enough money to pay for the fuel for the huge fucking tank, which they need to intimidate the tight fucking yokels who otherwise wouldn't pay the ridiculous fucking fines. Capiche?

[ShadyJay]

This whole state is quite retarded. All the alcohol has caused state wide brain damage.

Why does the swat truck say Nashville on it? This was there first chance to tryout a new toy. Its all about priority's.

[stormium]

i stand corrected once again. the mrap is owned by the county as is the swat team that accompanied it due to fears that the land owner who was previously arrested for disorderly conduct warranted such a reaction.

They need the huge fucking tank because it's a small fucking town with few fucking resources, which means they have to levy huge fucking fines for trivial fucking offences to get enough money to pay for the fuel for the huge fucking tank, which they need to intimidate the tight fucking yokels who otherwise wouldn't pay the ridiculous fucking fines. Capiche?

but surely the grant money that accompanied the vehicle as part of the dod's 1033 program - finding homes for orphaned machines displaced by war (if it is indeed part of the 1033 program) - comes with additional grant funding that ensures the continued operability and welfare of the equipment for future generations.

Why does the swat truck say Nashville on it? This was there first chance to tryout a new toy. Its all about priority's.

they just used that as an example... probably because all of the actual photos of the marathon county's tank are copyrighted. it's almost the same thing except theirs is olive drab... and appears to have a gun-less turret on top.

[ShadyJay]

Interesting .

---

Interesting .


This has been sitting on hold for 3 years. Its a use it or loose it scenario .

[stormium]

the nazi styled helmet on the center console seemed most appropriate.

[NIK]

but surely the grant money that accompanied the vehicle as part of the dod's 1033 program - finding homes for orphaned machines displaced by war (if it is indeed part of the 1033 program) - comes with additional grant funding that ensures the continued operability and welfare of the equipment for future generations.

[You didn't think I was being serious did you?]

Besides, if you think a little tank is overkill you obviously haven't heard NYC has stuck it's hand up for the USS Nimitz which is coming up for replacement

[stormium]

[You didn't think I was being serious did you?]

no, but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring up the 1033 program.

Besides, if you think a little tank is overkill you obviously haven't heard NYC has stuck it's hand up for the USS Nimitz which is coming up for replacement

that does not surprise me at all. the best way to make the public submit to stop-and-frisk searches is to point an aircraft carrier at them.