Burying a child is always painful…

At New Haven Register: Family wants answers after man’s death in SWAT raid

Since his 23-year-old son, Anthony, was laid to rest Aug. 13, Andrew Diotaiuto has returned repeatedly to his grave at North Haven’s All Saints Cemetery.

He sometimes makes two or three trips a day from his home in East Haven.

Burying a child is always painful, but the last moments of his son’s life are especially troubling. […]

“Why did they do this to my boy?” is the question on Andrew Diotaiuto’s mind, according to his sister, Marie Notarino of Branford.

For those who have not followed the story of the death of Anthony Diotaiuto, see earlier posts here and here.

The family wants answers.

“They’re upset about what happened and want an explanation,” Kevin Boyd, a spokesman for Conrad Scherer, a law firm that represents Whittier.

It appears that this story is one that is not going to go away quietly (and I’m going to do what I can to make sure we continue to talk about it).

Television and print media in Florida have closely followed the story. It also has taken on a life in Internet blogs, where some see it as another call to change the nation’s drug laws.

Good. They noticed.
I wonder if that paragraph got people searching the internet for this story, and if so, whether that’s what brought commenter joe carrol. He’s apparently not completely up on navigating blogs, so he left this comment on an unrelated post.

Like they knew it ws a bb gun! Bottom line is he was knowingly breaking the law and armed himself. The police were doing there job! I know he was a nice boy . They all are after things like this happen He wasn’t an angel. He was an armed drug dealer! If he wasn’t, none of this would have happened. Parents, point to this as a reason why your children shouldn’t get invovved in drugs. I doubt that you would have done anything differently if you were in there situation.I don’t want to see anyone killed, but don’t act like he did nothing wrong!

Joe seems to think that merely breaking the law entitles police to break into your home and shoot you. Joe, have you ever gone over the speed limit? You know, I don’t know many angels (I know some that claim to be, but they’re usually the worst). But calling him an armed drug dealer? How does that fit with a young man who is working two jobs and is living with his mother?
The issue here is not whether Anthony broke a law. The issue is really how law enforcement enforces (with a side issue that the law itself is wrong). You say “I doubt that you would have done anything differently if you were in there situation.” Well, that’s just not true. Because what I would have done differently is never participate in that kind of home invasion (even if it meant getting fired). It’s wrong.
No, the police weren’t doing their job. Their job is to serve and protect. At sunrise, in Sunrise, on August 5, they forgot.