‘Warrantless’ SWAT Team ‘persuades’ man to submit to a 5:50am mental health evaluation

Oregon Pre-Crime Unit Successfully Prevents Future Crime

Oregon has taken a step into a bright new future after a man was detained at gunpoint by two SWAT teams on suspicion that he might commit a crime at some point in the future.
David Pyles woke up at 5.50 am in the morning to a call from SWAT telling him that they had his house surrounded. When he looked out the window, the men with guns pointed at his house verified this fact. The officer on the phone told him to turn himself in, and David complied after agreeing with the officer that he would not be handcuffed, taken off his property or turned into mental health services.
When David stepped outside, he was jumped by several officers, promptly handcuffed, removed from his property and forced to have a mental health evaluation. He was released that afternoon, after being declared mentally stable.
What had David done to deserve such treatment? Nothing. David has no prior criminal record and there is no evidence that he was planning anything untoward. David had however been recently put on administrative leave from his job, was subsequently observed being 'disgruntled' and recently legally purchased a few firearms.
That alone was enough for the police to bypass search and arrest warrants arrest warrants or consulting with a judge or mental health professional. “We took a proactive approach,” the police explained.
What's frightening about this is that the police are in fact, legally allowed to detain any member of the citizenry at gun point and 'persuade' them to 'voluntarily' submit to a mental evaluation. There need be no evidence against a person, apparently exercising the right to bear arms the right to bear arms and being a bit on the tetchy side is grounds enough to have a SWAT team deployed to your home in the wee hours of the morning.
Because David was never officially arrested, and because he 'voluntarily' agreed to leave his home, the matter was deemed civil and therefore, not a criminal matter which would have required a warrant. (How voluntary is anything when men in bullet-proof armor are pointing guns at you is a matter still open to debate.)
How glorious. Not only does Oregon boast a shiny new pre-crime unit, this unit apparently also operates entirely independently of the judicial system. Guys with guns can show up at anyone's door, anytime and 'persuade' them to submit to mental evaluation.
Now that's what I call freedom.

Read more: http://reason.com/archives/2010/03/16/pre-crime-po...