Apparently, Jim Neal, former Senate candidate, misses what every sane person understands. At a meeting of the Chapel Hill Town Council, he submitted a petition which read:
Many questions remain unanswered in regard to the Chapel Hill Police Department’s deployment on Sunday November 13th 2011 of a heavily-armed Special Emergency Response Team to clear a private building in Chapel Hill that had been occupied by a group of protesters. Seven people were arrested and charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering.
I have submitted a petition to to the Chapel Hill Town Council calling for the appointment of an independent commission to review the events leading up to yesterday’s deployment of the SERT unit. Residents of Chapel Hill are divided, one camp outraged by what they deem to be an unmeasured response by a SWAT team and the other yielding to the professional judgment of the CHPD. Neither side has the facts to which the public is entitled in order understand the events that led to yesterday’s display of lethal force by the Chapel Hill Police Department.
What is there not to understand? First, there was a vacant building. Then, a bunch of college kids “occupied” the building. They proceeded to barricade themselves in, post banners and posters explaining what they were doing, and then posted sentries. That is a hostile act.
Perhaps the Chapel Hill Police Department was aware of videos like this. Or this.
So they went in with a SWAT Team, taking every precaution to protect themselves of the potential threat within. Did anyone get hurt? No. Were shots fired? No.
What is the problem here?