say unkind things about BATFE, Dave Codrea points to this article on their rigorous testing procedures:
"Len told me," Whitesides reveals, "that the access locking plate had as much to do with firing automatic as the sight on the end of the barrel. Cooney's not a technician, he's an enforcement officer."
Cooney admitted that he had never even disassembled and inspected the rifle, but had written his report based on test-firing the weapon. Savage then disassembled it on camera, displaying the broken parts, as the BATFE agent fell silent, looking increasingly embarrassed.
As he should. He almost destroyed a man's life, and he didn't even know what he was doing.
Just bloody marvelous, isn't it? I'll try to find it later, about a year ago there was an article noting that a man in a similar situation finally forced at BATFE official to admit- in court, under oath- that they had no standard tests or testing procedure for such matters; they just went by what the 'experienced agent' decided was a proper test. Supposedly they started writing the manual shortly after this, but that may just have been window dressing. And considering this kind of crap has been going on for a long time, and that Sullivan, who Ted Kennedy(Miserable Human, MA) desperately wants as permanent head of the agency seems to think this kind of crap is just fine, we should be very happy for those senators who've been unwilling to roll over and pass his appointment.
2 comments:
Saw something about the case recently on THR http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=330293. Unfortunately, in the case last year the defendant lost because the BATF and the prosecution was able to prevent copies of their "tests" being presented to the jury, (and the judge). Legal bovine excrement, which the judge discovered after the verdict - too late to help the defendant.
JCD
And here's another reason so many of us say unkind things about the ATF...
http://redstradingpost.blogspot.com/2007/12/adding-insult-to-injury.html
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