Secret Illegal Flir Program Used Against Marijuana Growers

[thanks2]

http://hawaiinewsdaily.com/2010/12/08/secret-illegal-flir-program-used-against-marijuana-growers-in-hawaii/

 

Secret illegal FLIR program used against marijuana growers in Hawaii

December 8, 2010

By Thomas

 

Hawaii county police used a secret and illegal FLIR program that raised indoor marijuana bust by over 575% over two years.

 

A covert and illegal FLIR program was operated by Hawaii’s counter cannabis program DCE/SP during 2006 and 2007. That means county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies (LEA’s) conspired to knowingly violate not only the law but the constitutional rights of all those targeted using the FLIR technology. Further when ask about it in court they denied it and covered it up withholding evidence that would have resulted in the cases being dismissed.

 

Counter cannabis operations in Hawaii and they rest of the country demand federal, state, and local LEA’s work together including meetings and briefings before and after operations. This includes the national guard counter drug units also.

 

The Hawaii Supreme Court is very clear FLIR searches of homes in Hawaii is illegal without a search warrant.

 

http://www.state.hi.us/jud/22570.pdf

 

The police and prosecutors in Hawaii county have been skirting even breaking the laws for so long that they do not even see it as misconduct and criminal behavior. The arrest of medical patients and the refusal to obey the voter passed “lowest law enforcement for cannabis ordnance” are the latest examples of this embedded culture of lawlessness.

 

DEA records show and in fact boast that: “With the availability of this new heat-seeking technology (FLIR), seizure records for indoor grows jumped from 951 in 1985 to 3,849 in 1992″.

 

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/history/index.html

 

(Click on 1990-1994 and scroll down to marijuana to find the DEA statement)

 

That is over a 400% increase for the 7 years sited by the DEA on a national level. In Hawaii for comparison the task force of federal, state , and local LEA’s (law enforcement agencies) using a Hawaii county police officer as a front man achieved a staggering 575% increase in just 2 years. Indoor marijuana bust in Hawaii jumped from an average 9 bust a year over the five years prior to 2006-2007 to 104 bust for the 2 years the FLIR program operated. Followed by a drop to only 3 in 2008, after the program was exposed in court. That drop means once the FLIR program, ended in late 2007 Hawaii made only one indoor marijuana bust for every 18 bust made the prior 2 years. Indoor bust have remained relatively low since, clearly exposing the statistical anomaly for 2006 and 2007. Almost all of these bust happened in Hawaii county. The population in Hawaii county was 175,784 in July 2008 (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division) Those bust were all different properties and many had multiple residents arrested.

 

These raids as well as outdoor raids during this time generated countless complaints of abuses besides FLIR including theft of money, personal property, and marijuana buds, manufacturing evidence, vandalism, sexual assault of a minor by an officer during one raid, joy riding ATV’s and vehicles by officers and perjury among others. The raids resulted in the citizens group Friends for Justice forming to offer trial support to marijuana defendants, to document police abuses during marijuana raids and police or judicial misconduct during court appearances in Hawaii county.

 

If there is any other other reasonable explanation for the FLIR statistics, such as man power or funding variables to date I have not been able to find it. That leaves Hawaii county to explain this. Friends for Justice has teamed with Americans for Safe Access, and Peaceful Sky Alliance trying to have these raids investigated since the end of 2007. Being that county, state, and federal agencies were all involved so far we have not been able to find anyone willing to even consider looking at this, including the State Attorney general. This program exemplifies how the war on marijuana corrupts law enforcement particularly those responsible for its execution. There are civil actions pending against Hawaii county already and more being explored even now. FFJ want the FLIR program publicly exposed.

 

FLIR programs nationally have evolved over decades to both improve the results and skirt the laws. DEA, DOJ, DOD, national guard, and white house documents detail how these programs work. Those involved would have had to plan every one of these missions. In other words they conspired to break the law, did break the law and then hid the evidence from the defendants in these cases.

 

The following information comes from United States Department of Justice cannabis suppression statistics.

 

Here are the governments own statistics for indoor marijuana bust in Hawaii.

 

2001…………7……………………..372………

2002…………3……………………..314…………

2003…………9……………………3,519………..

2004………..13…………………..2,312…….

2005………..13…………………..3,950…….

2006………..49………………….12,358………..(illegal FLIR used)

2007………..55…………………..7,734…………(illegal FLIR used)

2008…………3……………………..373……..

 

At the end of 2007 the FLIR program ended abruptly. Many residents in Hawaii county have reported seeing these (night) helicopters flying around the Puna community most commonly between 9:00pm and 12:00am during 2006 and 2007. After which they ceased

 

Before every cannabis mission there are meetings and briefings to plan these missions and after each mission there are what are called after action reports generated. This link to national guard documents explains why and how an after action report is produced. Including for all FLIR missions.

 

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/call/call_93-5_ch1.htm

 

The High Inten­sity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program’s marijuana eradication efforts are funded through the National Marijuana Initiative (NMI). NMI supports efforts on public lands throughout the United States, but funds are predominately aimed at the top seven States where outdoor marijuana has been traditionally grown. These States, collectively known as the “M7,” are California, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ha­waii. Each State’s National Guard Counterdrug Program annually supports the eradication effort with manpower and equipment.

 

The military and department of defense play a much bigger role in marijuana eradication than most people realize. In 2008, National Guard helicopters flew nearly 6,600 flight hours in support of M7 reconnaissance and marijuana extraction missions. Success in outdoor eradication efforts by Federal, State, and local agencies has increasingly driven marijuana cultivation indoors. Both the DCE/SP program and the HIDTA program have mobilized resources to follow this trend, and are working with Federal, State, local, and tribal partners to identify and target major indoor grow operations in the United States.

 

http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/policy/ndcs09/chapter3.pdf

 

Documents from various government sources outline how the FLIR programs are run, at least the legal ones. They provide the names of the agencies involved, the request procedures and the chain of custody for records. The DEA is the lead agency for these programs.

 

The documents detail how the program has evolved over decades to both improve the results and skirt the laws. DEA provided drug enforcement training to 40,000 state and local police officers in 2005. In 2007, the DEA State and Local Task Force Program had expanded to 218 state and local task forces. Including various FLIR programs. Hawaii county police officers participated in these training programs.

 

Hilo police officer honored for pot busts.

This is a national award program discussed in other documents that include FLIR operations.

 

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/01/30/news/briefs.html

 

Hilo vice and DOJ documents show (1) 2001-2005 there were 45 indoor marijuana raids, an average 9 raids per year. (2) 2006-2007 while a notorious Hawaii county officer lead the marijuana raids, there were 104 indoor marijuana raids, an average of 52 raids per year. That is approximately a 575% increase. (3) In 2008 the officer that lead those raids was demoted and transferred to patrol, before being allowed to resign, and there were just 3 indoor marijuana raids that year. Only 1 for every 18 in the two prior years.

 

In conclusion the documents, eyewitness reports, defendants testimony, and statistics show Hawaii county with help from federal and state LEA’s operated an illegal FLIR program in Hawaii county during 2006 and 2007. DEA records show and in fact brag that: With the availability of this new heat-seeking technology, seizure records for indoor grows jumped from 951 in 1985 to 3,849 in 1992. That is a 400% increase over 7 years on a national level. In Hawaii the task force of federal, state , and local LEA’s achieved a staggering 575% increase. This was followed by an unexplained drop to 3 in 2008, after the program was exposed by one of the defendants attorneys in court. There has been no other reasonable explanation for these statistics offered. Information from many different sources reinforces this. Those other sources outline how FLIR programs are run around the country.

 

Keep in mind as you review the following information Hawaii county police have testified in court that they have never used FLIR to conduct a search of homes during this time. Note how the they openly talk about equipping multiple helicopters with FLIR pods even talking about modifying these marijuana helicopters to specifically allow for the FLIR pods. They also use mobile FLIR equipment including night vision goggles. Amazingly the courts have not allowed any of this to be introduced in any of the trials.

 

Here are a few of many documents available that outline how these programs work and help explain what happened in Hawaii in 2006-2007 with the illegal FLIR searches.

 

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA415946&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

 

THE USE OF NATIONAL GUARD ASSETS FOR COUNTERDRUG OPERATIONS IN THE WAR ON DRUGs

page 44

The use of National Guard assets in this mission was extremely

successful. The domestic cannabis suppression and eradication operation continues to

be one of the most requested missions in the National Guard counterdrug program.

The OH-58 helicopters in the RAID are equipped with an infrared thermal

imaging system, a daylight television camera, a law enforcement compatible Wolfsburg

radio, and a global positioning system. They can be flown in blackout conditions using

night vision goggles during covert operations or illuminate an area using the thirty

million-candlepower Nitesun spotlight for nighttime operations. They are used primarily

for aerial reconnaissance and marijuana eradication operations,

 

http://www.military.com/forums/0,15240,94857,00.html

 

April 20, 2006

Hawaii Army National Guard’s Reconnaissance and Interdiction Detachment, RAID, has 2 OH- 58 that are available to Hawaii county police

 

LTC Arthur J. Logan, was the Hawaii Guard’s counterdrug coordinator during the time the FLIR program operated in Hawaii county. The RAID OH- 58s is a mainstay in Hawaii’s marijuana eradication program.

 

The National Guard started domestic missions in both Hawaii and California in 1977 by providing personnel and helicopters to assist in marijuana eradication.

 

The national guard is very active in Hawaii at any given time providing support for counterdrug operations on one or more of the islands simultaneously, assisting local and state police and representatives of the DEA.

They specially equipped these Hawaii helicopters with landing skids that are taller than those on a regular OH-58 to allow these agencies to fit them with a forward looking infrared pod beneath the forward fuselage.

 

The FLIR pod allows them to see in the dark, permitting them a close-up, detailed view of action on the ground and to see heat signatures in buildings without revealing the helicopter’s presence.

 

“Being able to make use of the FLIR is certainly a huge benefit to all of us in law enforcement, said Randy Wagner, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s domestic cannabis eradication and suppression program coordinator for Hawaii”.

 

Detective Derrik Diego of the Hawaii County Police Department, says RAID Kiowas are vital to Hawaii county police. The indoor marijuana statistics prove he is right. What he fails to mention is conducting FLIR searches of homes in Hawaii with out a search warrant is illegal, so officer are left to manufacture evidence and or lie to get the search warrants because they deny using FLIR at all. That resulted in police committing many criminal acts in order to get search warrants to execute those raids.

 

This article that ran in Vertical Magazine June 23, 2009.

 

http://www.verticalmag.com/control/news/templates/?a=11130

 

The article talks with DEA Pilot Alan Dean, who flies out of Honolulu. They admit how DEA works with Hawaii LEA’s.

 

This article notes frequent nighttime operation in Hawaii, and use of night vision goggles. They talk about using helicopters for surveillance and report that “Hawaii’s marijuana eradication programs are generally well funded”.

This article says marijuana is moving indoors in Hawaii and is easier to prosecute because of it.

 

Here Hawaii county police talk about DCE/SP 5/6/09 Copters Fly

 

http://www.mpp.org/states/hawaii/news/copters-fly-despite-peaceful.html

 

Police Lt. Richard Sherlock of the Hilo Vice Section explains how DEA and National guard “make helicopters available to police investigating commercial marijuana growers”. These helicopters are the same ones equipped with FLIR pods.

 

It cost police nothing to use these helicopters and has been going on for years according to Assistant Police Chief Marshall Kanehailua. Kanehailua is one of the officers who appeared in court when defendants ask for FLIR documents.

 

The assistant chief says aerial recon and surveillance is not as intrusive as eradication. Other documents explain that they fly about 500 feet away and circle the targeted homes. Exactly what residents reported in Puna. They also make a video during the missions. Finally he says when they do these missions they intend to prosecute those targeted.

 

Police fly Sunday, August 2, 2009.

 

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2009/08/02/local//local01.txt

 

2 DEA helicopters, 1 of the RAID Kiowas (FLIR capable) and 1 civilian helicopter worked this mission according to

Lt. Miles Chong of Hawii county police department.

 

Before every mission there are meetings and briefings to plan these missions and after each mission there are what are called after action reports generated. This is what happens after every mission that involves Hawaii national guard….an after action report is produced. Including all FLIR missions.

 

NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU (NGB)

AFTER-ACTION REPORTS (AARs)

LESSONS LEARNED.

 

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/call/call_93-5_ch1.htm .

 

Here is an exert from what the White Houses National Drug Control Strategy.

 

http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/policy/ndcs09/chapter3.pdf .

 

In 2007, DCE/SP was responsible for the eradication of 6,599,599 cultivated outdoor cannabis plants and 434,728 indoor plants. In 2008, National Guard helicopters flew nearly 6,600 flight hours Federal, State, and local agencies has increasingly driven marijuana cultivation indoors. Both the DCE/SP program and the HIDTA program have mobilized resources to follow this trend, and are working with Federal, State, local, and tribal partners to identify and target major indoor grow operations in the United States.

 

Here are more documents for anyone who is interested. I have many more than this and am convinced FLIR is the only explanation that explains the 2006-2007 indoor marijuana bust in Hawaii. That was a criminally conspiracy and deprived defendants of their rights, freedom, property and lead to abuse on a scale that is unprecedented in Hawaii county.

 

Domestic Cannabis Eradication / Suppression Program.

 

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/marijuana.htm .

 

This is an important document. There was way to much to list here. See the entire document for the procedures and records processes. be sure to check Page 53-54.

 

http://www.ngbpdc.ngb.army.mil/pubs/10/500_2_10-801.pdf

 

Recent information on counter drug operations including FLIR

 

NATIONAL GUARD COUNTERDRUG SUPPORT 29 August 2008

 

http://www.ngbpdc.ngb.army.mil/pubs/10/500_2_10-801.pdf

 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

 

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/doj-accomplishments.pdf

[The Digital Nomad]

Very good article, it mentions all the agencies we have to worry about in Michigan as well. The DEA's happy, grand statements of approval of tactics deemed illegal by our own justice system - is typical of its behavior all over the USA. We should continue to be public about all the crimes the DEA is committing, maybe one day - someone will hear us and shut them down as the corrupt forfeiture money scame it is.

 

If we stay informed on this, we can use the same legal tactics to make it illegal here for FLIR use too.

 

-DN

[thanks2]

 

 

If we stay informed on this, we can use the same legal tactics to make it illegal here for FLIR use too.

 

 

It is illegal here too, with out a warrant.

 

I am pretty sure it is a violation of the 4th amendment and illegal all over the U.S.. But I was watching that DEA tv show and a group of cops were watching a flir fly over a neighbor hood. The were like "look at this!" and they got all excited. They were definitely not just looking at one house like the law allows. So if they are gutsy enough to put that on nation wide tv, they are definitely use to braking the law.

[+itssortalegal10]

I was wondering about that here in Michigan. Some areas have the helicopter and the flir to check for illegal grows but by doing that they could find us legal people and wouldnt that then be an invasion of privacy? I mean it is in any case in my opinion but now I am legal and by becoming a pt. and or cg. it is suppose to stay relatively private and if they are looking at our grows from the air they are stepping on our rights?

 

anyways perhaps have too much time on my hands to think lol

 

joe

[Kingdiamond]

A month an a half ago i was in my back room of my home when i heard a loud beating sound above my house and it wasn't a helicopter passing over this sound was a steady hovering sound over my back yard fast forward a month or so lo and behold they are doing the same to my clone guy in Howell how pathetic is it that Leo feels the need to harass sick and ill patients looking for a natural way to treat our pain?

[bobandtorey]

I was wondering about that here in Michigan. Some areas have the helicopter and the flir to check for illegal grows but by doing that they could find us legal people and wouldnt that then be an invasion of privacy? I mean it is in any case in my opinion but now I am legal and by becoming a pt. and or cg. it is suppose to stay relatively private and if they are looking at our grows from the air they are stepping on our rights?

 

anyways perhaps have too much time on my hands to think lol

 

joe

 

here are some pictures from a Helicooter

 

http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/topic/24477-people-v-john-doe-charlevoix-county/

[miko]

they have done the same thing to several cardholders that i know.

[+itssortalegal10]

A month an a half ago i was in my back room of my home when i heard a loud beating sound above my house and it wasn't a helicopter passing over this sound was a steady hovering sound over my back yard fast forward a month or so lo and behold they are doing the same to my clone guy in Howell how pathetic is it that Leo feels the need to harass sick and ill patients looking for a natural way to treat our pain?

That is pretty stupid..I thought you were gonna say aliens stole your weed at first lol..."i heard a loud beating sound above my house and it wasn't a helicopter passing over this sound was a steady hovering " I was waiting for an anal probe story rofl..Cos will do all kinds of things to mess with patients, its kinda sad..You dont see them steaking out the 50 year with the Vicodin prescription.