On the Appropriateness of the City-Wide Shutdown While Chasing the Marathon Bombers

[electron100]

I have seen some reactions in Internet places (Slashdot and others) I frequent that the way the manhunt for the marathon bombing suspects was handled by the authorities was an invasion of civil liberties and should have been handled very differently. Specifically, they assert that the "lockdown" of Watertown, Cambridge, Boston, and others was

Comments

[staystrong62805]

A friend of mine who lives in Watertown spent Thursday Night liveblogging SWAT officers with Assault Rifles digging through his closet and home before leaving. Afterwards, he asserted very similar things. The Police were nothing but polite, respectful, and as accommodating as they could be, which considering they were digging through his closet at 3 in the morning after they'd heard shots fired for quite some time is a pretty solid compliment to the way the situation was handled. He normally holds social justice and values very very dear, but did not personally feel like his rights were in peril at any point. These men really did have his best interest at heart, and there was a raving lunatic with lots of ammunition and deathdealing machines on hand

[cos]

I highly doubt they actually prevented someone from leaving, unless the person was inside the search perimeter in Watertown and wouldn't let them search the car. Then it might be plausible. As far as I recall, "stay home" was a very strong (and reasonable) request, not an enforced rule.

[trilobites]

Thank you. I'm nowhere near articulate enough to describe why the furore over the 'zOMGlockdown!!1~' has been pissing me off so much - you've pretty much nailed it here.