So, there's an overblown police operation, using two helicopters, 5 paddy wagons, AR-15s, dogs, and a forceable takedown of a suspect deemed to be "low-risk", to serve an illegal warrant by a unit that NZ Police themselves describe [1] as "[providing] Police with the means of effectively and more safely responding to and resolving situations in which there is an actual or threatened use of firearms or other weapons against members of the public or Police." All of this was done so that K.C "couldn't destroy evidence" that he didn't have access to, in the first place.
Forgive me, but who the hell planned this? It sounds so incredibly American, but I don't see why the NZPD would allow the FBI to dictate tactics like that.
As we know the entire thing was a staged PR-move, to show them filthy pirates what they're getting themselves into ("We will track you down and get you anywhere!").
The overblown Raid was likely part of the script - or it happened out of anticipatory obedience.
Try to see the positive in it; old money in the media mafia is literally kicking and screaming by now. They're in their death struggle.
After this public humiliation it seems unlikely they will be able to pull similar nonsense at such a scale again. It must have cost them a fortune to pull those strings, and not only are they running out of fortunes, but the involved puppets will probably also ask double next time, due to the now obvious risk that something might fling up and stick to their name.
This is what the default posture for a domestic raid looks like because the men who trained these troopers were most likely veterans who specialized in urban operations over the last decade of conflict.
The line between military and police is blurred beyond distinction at this point. It is more jurisdictional than much else. As I watched the raid footage it was clear that I was watching a familiar routine. Probably rehearsed several times but not exclusively for this particular raid.
Some argue that conflict is universal and the tactics of SWAT, for example, naturally resemble those of the military. Close quarters battle (CQB) is made up of a dynamic that has few enough variations that a universal approach might make sense. Rather than asking how a Ranger unit should clear a mansion versus how SWAT should do it, the idea seems to have been that there ought not be a difference. This wasn't always the case. To prepare for urban operations in Iraq, many units trained according to police tactics (CQB in particular). There were fatal flaws in the method and it cost lives. Better methods were developed and later became SOPs shared with the police.
There are a handful of contracting outfits that employ recently retired operators from Special Operations to train international elements in tactics. Special Operations operators have experience working in small teams and training other elements. This model is not only effective at lowering costs for Defense, it also resembles the size element a police unit might have at its disposal. Operators with experience working under austere conditions could provide a lot of value to an organization with a comparatively limited budget. The training given to Special Operations is without rival. Being trained by the retired SOF is the next best thing to being trained for SOF.
The NZPD definitely planned the execution around the SOPs. The contingencies their plan prepared for did not seem to be the most likely course of action they expected from Dotcom's two man security element. I felt like they started with a more excessive template and stripped out what they could according to the risk assessment. This is radically different from building the concept of operation from the risk assessment.
For example, consider the M4's used. It was said these were standard issue. These had optics for engaging at a distance between 150 - 300 meters. Each trooper had a 9mm side arm. An MP5 or UMP9 as their primary would make more sense given that it also uses the 9mm. Sure, those are limited in engaging distance targets but what were they expecting? A shootout at the perimeter? Not with a helo infil.
This tactic is called a show of force. It is very consistent with American tactics but not uniquely so. It is exactly what it sounds like- an exhibition. The justification is typically "force protection". A trooper is more valuable than equipment so spare no expense to protect the trooper. That's the line, anyway.
I think the most interesting aspect here is the decision to execute with downgraded armor. The mentality of the operators was that they could make compromises in their defensive load but not their offensive load. But their plan was to breach a huge mansion. They have some idea what's inside but who knows what Dotcom might be doing on the other side of the front door at the moment of breach (or any other door thereafter). These men certainly weren't expecting that he was sitting on the other side with a weapon or they never would have conducted a breach with light armor. The first guy in is guaranteed dead if he isn't wearing a chest plate that can stop 7.62. The chances for the second guy are slim. Their infil was by helo meaning the weight of heavier armor would not matter much. They had to sprint about 100 meters from touchdown to the front door. The light armor is the most damning aspect of the testimony, in my opinion. It is the clearest indication to me that these guys were very confident that they would catch Dotcom sleeping or reading the paper in his underwear. These guys began the mission confident that they could walk right through the front door and scare the piss out of Dotcom. So why not do just that? Why was this level of force the default posture? It only increases the likelihood of unnecessary casualties.
I would take a bet that the FBI just handed New Zealand some warrants, told them what they wanted and paid them a bunch of money for expenditures.
The local PD probably got giddy over the idea that the US was footing the bill to use all their fancy hardware and tactical training so they went all out.
Police love having an excuse to put on the swat team gear and bang on doors, regardless of what country they live.
Ignoring all of the other nonsense comments below which have no relevance besides 'America is bad mmmkay', it was known Dotcom had gun(s) at his house. Also he has been convicted of crimes previously. Not that his hacking crimes make him a hardcore armed felon, but he did have weapons in his house at the time of the raid.
Also the overblown raid? Yeah probably a scare tactic to show him who he is messing with...
INTERIOR, SOULLESS CORPORATE OFFICE. DUSK.
A dark, sleek office room, filled with cigar smoke, expensive
gadgets and designer furniture. The cigar smoke rises above
Hollywood executive GOLDBERG like a whirlwind, framing his
grinning face...
He dials his Blackberry phone to the hum of his $9000 Dell PC,
while leaning back into his chair a little.
GOLDBERG
(on the phone)
Is this The Agency?
UNKNOWN OPERATOR (v.o)
(in a clearly american accent)
How can I help you, Mister Goldberg?
GOLDBERG
I would like to order a raid.
UNKNOWN OPERATOR (v.o)
Yes sir, what do you want with it?
GOLDBERG
I want a heavily armed para-military squad,
carrying the latest gear. I want two helicopters,
half a dozen paddy wagons, the whole works.
UNKNOWN OPERATOR (v.o)
Would you like dogs with that?
GOLDBERG
Yes.
UNKNOWN OPERATOR (v.o)
Is the recipient an organization or an individual.
GOLDBERG
(smiles)
Both.
UNKNOWN OPERATOR (v.o)
Alright, sir. Must be quite a party you're planning.
GOLDBERG
(ecstatically)
Party? I'm about to destroy democracy as we know it!
Nobody, henceforth, will ever be able to make
millions off of stolen media without repercussions!
GOLDBERG
(looking at the viewer ominously)
Nobody.
From the outside it kinda looks like New Zealand is just trying to make 'murrica happy on this one, so I'm not sure they would be so lucky elsewhere (ie not the UK/CAN/NZ)
No, they can't do that everywhere. For example, in Sweden, China, Iran, France they would not be allowed to do that. It can be only done in anglo-american countries.
Two helicopters, AR-15s, police vehicles, dogs, ninja-clad police, FLIR, and beating him up all over...... copyright infringement. Does anyone else see a problem here?
I think it shows an interesting trend in our society, maybe something that will become more and more common.
We now value money immensely, and have a lot of laws in place to protect not only the money we have, but the money we're trying to earn (see Apple v Samsung).
Sooner or later, it could plausibly be a more serious offense to steal money, or the means of making money, than murder or child abuse.
What if the guards started shooting at the police for tresspassing if they couldn't identify them in the first second of seeing them? Why did they have to use the helicopter?
That's a real danger with SWAT raids. IF you've got an already violent subject then making them as confused as possible will tend to make things safer for the SWAT team. But if you're sending a SWAT team in against people who aren't already violent there's a chance the subject will think they're being invaded by criminals and try to fight back. Several SWAT officers die every year because of that. And many more people on the receiving ends of SWAT raids.
So, there's a good reason that the way the police traditionally do things, surround a house and ask the people to come out. The US military actually generally does the same thing with insurgents in Iraq. But no police department wants to be the one that "doesn't even have a SWAT team". And once you have one, you have to use it or else how do you justify it to taxpayers?
Unless you're a South American drug lord, I don't think that's how security guards work. You don't get to just shoot wildly at anyone approaching, unless you're being shot at.
If Kim had trigger happy guards like that, that alone would seem a little suspicious. Who was he afraid of?
For that matter, this is a pretty paranoid panic button setup:
“I was on my bed, once the banging started, I pressed an alarm button that is situated right at my bed which was installed in case of an emergency. When I press that it automatically sends a signal to all security guards including Mr [Wayne] Tempero’s room including SMSs to everybody informing them there is an alert.
Perhaps that's just standard operating procedure for a multi-millionaire.
Expat kiwi here. Unless something has changed in the last 5 years - security personal in New Zealand generally don't carry firearms and I don't believe there is a legal justification for lethal force. We don't have anything like the "Castle Law" found in some US States and gun owners rarely use firearms defensively. Also, if people dressed in black and armed with M4's are knocking on your door you can safely assume it's the Police in NZ.
It's hard to understand why they would raid his house like this.
Without commenting on whether Kim is in the right or the wrong ... this whole thing was pretty disgusting. For a case where there are no drugs, no murders, nobody hurt, to storm in with weapons and detain women and children is pretty despicable. Completely unwarranted.
Was the C-130 Gunship on standby circling overhead or something? Why were so many 'assets' thrown into a raid? Who sanctioned this? I would be looking for resignations and full hearing/inquiries into total miss allocation of resources.
I for one think this whole raid was made so that the media, and people around the world are distracted and ask the wrong questions while the real issue at hand is silently taken care of.
There was probably a file, or a bunch of damaging data to the US government that has found it's way to megaupload.com and had to be eliminated without a trace so that it doesn't resurface at an inconvenient moment.
The raid, the illegal warrants, the choppers and swat teams are all just a big show that will have people talking for years now while the FBI/CIA secretly got what they needed behind the scenes.
Speaking of.... why is the FBI the one giving directions to NZPD... isn't this supposed to be a CIA operation if it's outside US borders?
He was, "low risk" but the police carried AR-15s and handguns, brought along with 2 helicopter units and apparently copyright infringement sniffing dogs. What a gross waste of police, as well as taxpayer money.
The real question is, why release the footage now?
One likely reason is that they are loosing this case in the court of public opinion and this video may have been thought to make him out to look like "the bad guy".
It doesn't sound like they were in the same room as him at the time (it seemed like they were on the other side of the house or something), and given the intruders, I'm not sure what else he could have done.
This is a disgrace for New Zealand and as a European this whole ordeal has warned me plenty to not do any business there ever.
The US who were obviously the ones in charge of NZ police and general "law" enforcement are another story. The world police has done their will again. Without thinking, without logic, without sense, but Hollywood money behind them.
Well. To play the devil's advocate - when you listen to what Kim Dotcom says, it sounds like he has hell of a security on his place. In that light, the operation was not that overblown - especially when the officers couldn't know the exact details of his security.
The night drop was not as smooth as planned. The 101st missed the drop zone and found themselves scattered over most of the back yard. Small units formed and conducted raids, where possible, taking the shed and guest house, but the primary objective remained unaccomplished.
The transports dropped the first wave within sight of the massive compound but the gate loomed shut. The airdrop obviously failed to open a safe passage.
Multiple twisted ankles resulted in 50% casualties but a squad of men reached the gate. A brave private, barely old enough to shave, rang the buzzer and asked "Hey mate, would you mind opening the gate? We have a warrant."
He wasn't a drug dealer, he wasn't engaged in human trafficking. No mater what security he had, he didn't have anything that would be worth shooting at a cop over. This operation was beyond idiotic. Hollywood was trying to "make an example" here and it backfired massively.
They could have tried knocking on the door. That's usually what happens in warrants for non-violent crime with a suspect who has no history of violence. This was a copyright case with all the evidence across a huge ocean, no need for a paramilitary operation.
[+] [-] redthrowaway|13 years ago|reply
Forgive me, but who the hell planned this? It sounds so incredibly American, but I don't see why the NZPD would allow the FBI to dictate tactics like that.
[1] http://www.police.govt.nz/service/aos/
[+] [-] moe|13 years ago|reply
The overblown Raid was likely part of the script - or it happened out of anticipatory obedience.
Try to see the positive in it; old money in the media mafia is literally kicking and screaming by now. They're in their death struggle.
After this public humiliation it seems unlikely they will be able to pull similar nonsense at such a scale again. It must have cost them a fortune to pull those strings, and not only are they running out of fortunes, but the involved puppets will probably also ask double next time, due to the now obvious risk that something might fling up and stick to their name.
[+] [-] unknsldr|13 years ago|reply
The line between military and police is blurred beyond distinction at this point. It is more jurisdictional than much else. As I watched the raid footage it was clear that I was watching a familiar routine. Probably rehearsed several times but not exclusively for this particular raid.
Some argue that conflict is universal and the tactics of SWAT, for example, naturally resemble those of the military. Close quarters battle (CQB) is made up of a dynamic that has few enough variations that a universal approach might make sense. Rather than asking how a Ranger unit should clear a mansion versus how SWAT should do it, the idea seems to have been that there ought not be a difference. This wasn't always the case. To prepare for urban operations in Iraq, many units trained according to police tactics (CQB in particular). There were fatal flaws in the method and it cost lives. Better methods were developed and later became SOPs shared with the police.
There are a handful of contracting outfits that employ recently retired operators from Special Operations to train international elements in tactics. Special Operations operators have experience working in small teams and training other elements. This model is not only effective at lowering costs for Defense, it also resembles the size element a police unit might have at its disposal. Operators with experience working under austere conditions could provide a lot of value to an organization with a comparatively limited budget. The training given to Special Operations is without rival. Being trained by the retired SOF is the next best thing to being trained for SOF.
The NZPD definitely planned the execution around the SOPs. The contingencies their plan prepared for did not seem to be the most likely course of action they expected from Dotcom's two man security element. I felt like they started with a more excessive template and stripped out what they could according to the risk assessment. This is radically different from building the concept of operation from the risk assessment.
For example, consider the M4's used. It was said these were standard issue. These had optics for engaging at a distance between 150 - 300 meters. Each trooper had a 9mm side arm. An MP5 or UMP9 as their primary would make more sense given that it also uses the 9mm. Sure, those are limited in engaging distance targets but what were they expecting? A shootout at the perimeter? Not with a helo infil.
This tactic is called a show of force. It is very consistent with American tactics but not uniquely so. It is exactly what it sounds like- an exhibition. The justification is typically "force protection". A trooper is more valuable than equipment so spare no expense to protect the trooper. That's the line, anyway.
I think the most interesting aspect here is the decision to execute with downgraded armor. The mentality of the operators was that they could make compromises in their defensive load but not their offensive load. But their plan was to breach a huge mansion. They have some idea what's inside but who knows what Dotcom might be doing on the other side of the front door at the moment of breach (or any other door thereafter). These men certainly weren't expecting that he was sitting on the other side with a weapon or they never would have conducted a breach with light armor. The first guy in is guaranteed dead if he isn't wearing a chest plate that can stop 7.62. The chances for the second guy are slim. Their infil was by helo meaning the weight of heavier armor would not matter much. They had to sprint about 100 meters from touchdown to the front door. The light armor is the most damning aspect of the testimony, in my opinion. It is the clearest indication to me that these guys were very confident that they would catch Dotcom sleeping or reading the paper in his underwear. These guys began the mission confident that they could walk right through the front door and scare the piss out of Dotcom. So why not do just that? Why was this level of force the default posture? It only increases the likelihood of unnecessary casualties.
[+] [-] rwhitman|13 years ago|reply
The local PD probably got giddy over the idea that the US was footing the bill to use all their fancy hardware and tactical training so they went all out.
Police love having an excuse to put on the swat team gear and bang on doors, regardless of what country they live.
[+] [-] espeed|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] beedogs|13 years ago|reply
I think the FBI can do what it wants down these parts.
[+] [-] res0nat0r|13 years ago|reply
Also the overblown raid? Yeah probably a scare tactic to show him who he is messing with...
[+] [-] debacle|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|13 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] exDM69|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] synth|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] alinajaf|13 years ago|reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerando_(novel)
[+] [-] kokey|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vasco|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zeynalov|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jstalin|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] grecy|13 years ago|reply
We now value money immensely, and have a lot of laws in place to protect not only the money we have, but the money we're trying to earn (see Apple v Samsung).
Sooner or later, it could plausibly be a more serious offense to steal money, or the means of making money, than murder or child abuse.
[+] [-] TazeTSchnitzel|13 years ago|reply
Wait...
[+] [-] mtgx|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Symmetry|13 years ago|reply
So, there's a good reason that the way the police traditionally do things, surround a house and ask the people to come out. The US military actually generally does the same thing with insurgents in Iraq. But no police department wants to be the one that "doesn't even have a SWAT team". And once you have one, you have to use it or else how do you justify it to taxpayers?
[+] [-] jschuur|13 years ago|reply
If Kim had trigger happy guards like that, that alone would seem a little suspicious. Who was he afraid of?
For that matter, this is a pretty paranoid panic button setup:
“I was on my bed, once the banging started, I pressed an alarm button that is situated right at my bed which was installed in case of an emergency. When I press that it automatically sends a signal to all security guards including Mr [Wayne] Tempero’s room including SMSs to everybody informing them there is an alert.
Perhaps that's just standard operating procedure for a multi-millionaire.
Full story in text: http://www.3news.co.nz/VIDEO-What-really-happened-in-the-Dot...
[+] [-] Negitivefrags|13 years ago|reply
I'm not even sure the guards would have guns at all. I don't think they would be allowed to have pistols. They might have shotguns I guess.
[+] [-] knz|13 years ago|reply
It's hard to understand why they would raid his house like this.
[+] [-] RyanMcGreal|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] roc|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] runn1ng|13 years ago|reply
http://flash.mediaworks.co.nz/tv3/streams/_definst_/News/201...
edit: OK, it works now, but well, you can have it as mp4 :)
[+] [-] antsam|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] CodeCube|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] taude|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] metatronscube|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] danielschonfeld|13 years ago|reply
There was probably a file, or a bunch of damaging data to the US government that has found it's way to megaupload.com and had to be eliminated without a trace so that it doesn't resurface at an inconvenient moment.
The raid, the illegal warrants, the choppers and swat teams are all just a big show that will have people talking for years now while the FBI/CIA secretly got what they needed behind the scenes.
Speaking of.... why is the FBI the one giving directions to NZPD... isn't this supposed to be a CIA operation if it's outside US borders?
[+] [-] swang|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TazeTSchnitzel|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chris_wot|13 years ago|reply
There was definitely political pressure from someone on this one - and I would definitely point the finger to someone within the United States.
[+] [-] wtvanhest|13 years ago|reply
One likely reason is that they are loosing this case in the court of public opinion and this video may have been thought to make him out to look like "the bad guy".
[+] [-] clientbiller|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] adrianbye|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TazeTSchnitzel|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lurkersmirker|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gitarr|13 years ago|reply
The US who were obviously the ones in charge of NZ police and general "law" enforcement are another story. The world police has done their will again. Without thinking, without logic, without sense, but Hollywood money behind them.
[+] [-] dsolomon|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] runn1ng|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] parfe|13 years ago|reply
The transports dropped the first wave within sight of the massive compound but the gate loomed shut. The airdrop obviously failed to open a safe passage.
Multiple twisted ankles resulted in 50% casualties but a squad of men reached the gate. A brave private, barely old enough to shave, rang the buzzer and asked "Hey mate, would you mind opening the gate? We have a warrant."
Truly, New Zealand's greatest generation.
[+] [-] flyinRyan|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jonknee|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jrockway|13 years ago|reply