Walter In Denver

More Palmer Lake Poker

I'm not the only one critical of the bust. Local residents are, as well. From the Colorado Springs Gazette:

Town board member Trish Flake, who was served a misdemeanor summons for suspicion of professional gambling, said none of the 24 people arrested during the police raid thought they were engaged in illegal activity. They were among 81 members of a poker club playing at the restaurant that night.

“It was broad daylight right by the front door,” she said. “I think what hasn’t been reported is the aggressiveness of it. They came in with guns drawn, lasers trained on people’s heads. They swarmed in screaming, ‘Put your hands over your face and don’t move.’ I don’t think I’ve ever been that frightened in my life.”

You can't be too careful with these hardened criminals playing in a $15 poker game. Jim Leitzel at Vice Squad asks, "But sometimes drawn guns go off. Would it still be such a good idea if one of the alleged gamblers had been shot, or perhaps died of a heart attack?"

More from the Gazette:

Board member Chuck Cornell said the situation didn’t have to go that far.

“Why in the world didn’t our police chief go down there months ago and say, ‘Jeff, this doesn’t look like the right thing here. Why don’t you knock it off?’ ” he said. “We’re a small town. Everybody knows everybody.”

Hopefully the citizens of Palmer Lake aren't so close to their police chief that they won't demand his resignation. He has displayed an appalling lack of judgement in this case.

Posted by Walter at April 30, 2005 12:40 PM