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'I didn't bring this on FLDS,' sheriff says

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Shocked | 5:40 a.m. June 4, 2008
Amazing. They kept searching (including the FLDS Temple) and bussed the children away because the FLDS were "uncooperative." How were they uncooperative? They would not produce "Sarah" whom CPS "knew" existed.

When will the civil law suits against Texas start? I'm no fan of the FLDS or what they were *accused* of, but I do have a respect for people's rights and demand government be held accountable when those rights are violated.

The CPS thugs and many of those involved should do time for this crime.
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Gail | 5:41 a.m. June 4, 2008
This whole case would have been vastly different if the Fundamentalists had been open and forthcomeing with information. When you have a group of people who are being justly investigated and they refuse to give out correct names and family relationships, the whole setup would be suspicious. What if CPS did NOT investicate--then there would be an outcry of them not doing their job. They could not just ignore the allegations. They had to do what they did. The parents should have been honest with the police and CPS. They chose not to be and then they did not like the results. Why would the law in Texas exclude them from telling the truth.
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Snipers and Armored | 5:43 a.m. June 4, 2008
Vehicles against the American People by the Texas Government.
We have a MAJOR PROBLEM here with Civil RIGHTS !

This very well could have been another Waco.
No Thanks to Law Enforcement.

We have to many people in place violating the CIVIL RIGHTS of the People

Problem with the Court is the need never to let go
with conditions
They have no good evidence

Time for America to stand up and shout
The Courts are out of control

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Christo | 5:45 a.m. June 4, 2008
�I didn�t bring this on FLDS,� sheriff says

Yes sheriff, we believe you, we heard that before,
�It was EVE who made you do it.�
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Now it becomes clear | 5:49 a.m. June 4, 2008
He is right - Sheriff Doran was an pawn and wasn't in control. The entire thing was planned at the Governor's level.

If you're the Governor how do you stop Polygamy in your state while also putting a halter on an out of control social agency, CPS? You ask your agencies, particularly the AG, how can these objective be accomplished?

Advice:

1. Get the Legislature to change the laws on marriage consent, polygamy, and bigamy. Raise the age of consent to 16 and make it illegal to consent to an illegal(polygamy or bigamy) marriage until age of majority(18).

2. Put spies in place to report on the FLDS community until there are some apparent underage pregnancies.

3. Organize a plan of attack for the FLDS ranch.

4. Feed CPS the information necessary to get them to act or hopefully, constitutionally overact. Let CPS and Walther pull the trigger and force access to monitoring the FLDS.

5. The taxpayers vent their anger about the cost at CPS and Walther.

The state stops new polygamous marriages until the age of 18 and also gets a reform of CPS's bloated 9,000+ personnel and $1.5 Billion budget.

Whoever planned this is brilliant.
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how many more days.. | 5:51 a.m. June 4, 2008
are we going to see endless articles on the FLDS?? Who cares and why do you keep writing this stuff?? I don't see this much attention in any other media outlet, including Texas. I say drop it and cover some real news.

There are people digging out and starving in China, Iran is making nukes, there's a war in Iraq. The only other story getting more disproportionate coverage is the US election. If you want more drivel to divert your attention, did you know the Osmonds sold out Wembley last weekend??
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roger | 6:00 a.m. June 4, 2008
Phone traffic between Texas and Colorado law enforcement proves that Texas officials knew that Rozita Swinton was the source of the hoax calls, and that she had a multi-year history of making phony 911 calls BEFORE the initial affidavit for search warrant was submitted to the judge (March 30 timeframe).

That is prima facie evidence of lying, on sworn affidavit before the court (April 3 timeframe).

Sheriff now tries to weasel out of the lie by pigeonholing the roles of CPS and law enforcement. "CPS acted in good faith; LE just responded." Oh, they didn't talk to each other?

Anyone with common sense can see through this ridiculous charade.

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oh Really? | 5:59 a.m. June 4, 2008
7 million dollars and one fake phone call,that could easily have been discovered by my caller I.D., later he calls he "didn't bring this on the FLDS. Is this man trying to sell me a bridge in the desert?
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well said | 6:01 a.m. June 4, 2008
An eye opening interview.
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Leander Pearson | 6:28 a.m. June 4, 2008
His excuses are not good enough.

Law enforcement officers take an oath that include the clause "to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." At some point did the officer wonder if the constitutional rights of these citizen were being violated? Perhaps during their mass deportation out of their community to the "camp"?

Following "orders" in the form of search warrants is not good enough. This was the defense of many former German soldiers in the post World War II Nuremberg war crime trials. As with soldiers, law enforcement officers should always have the constitutional rights of the citizens that they are bound to serve and protect in the forefront of their minds. After all, any powers they have are derived from those people and their rights.

Perhaps this circus would have turned out different if just a few of those involved in this action asked a few questions instead of "just following orders".
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Aware | 6:32 a.m. June 4, 2008
I know David Doran to be a good and honest man. But... he IS a politician too. You can see it in the way he skirts questions. He has an election coming up, as do the county commissioners, and you can bet they will all be "friends" to the YFZ folks. They outnumber the "citizens" (as they like to be called) by a great number, and they are concerned. Maybe the state of TX will come up with a way to disavow their votes. Kind of like Clinton and Gore when they tried to keep all active military from voting. Yep, this was a cluster from the get-go, and they all know it.
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so sad | 6:39 a.m. June 4, 2008
This guy doesn't live in reality. Doran said there are "a lot of underage pregnant girls." CPS or the sheriffs department has yet to produce them. All the law enforcement, armored tanks, etc. were there for backup. I don't think he believes this garbage himself. This is another guy, along with Walthers, who should be removed from office immediately. They caused enough harm to the children, the very people they are trying to have us believe they were "only" protecting.
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zxcvbnm | 6:50 a.m. June 4, 2008

"Acted on good faith". Watch this phrase become the catch all phrase for all state of Texas agencies as the mess continues.
Well, we kinda sorta thought that there might maybe be......based on rumors from a credible.....whoops..crazy caller.
Those pregnant teens.....ya know the 37, 26, 24, year old and all the other girls..uh women.
They had an arsenal....ya know 5 hunting rifles....and a bed with a hair......and a crematorium where they.......awe shucks forget that.
Yep......good faith, don't forget about the good faith, we have a lot of that good faith stuff just flowing thru our veins.
That pesky ole constitution just got in the way of ......ya know.......good faith.
We will watch as the bumbling bozos stumble over each other trying to extricate themselves from their self engineered travesty and put little faith in their claims of "good faith"
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Dah | 6:52 a.m. June 4, 2008
Very interesting Doran relied on such informants as Caroline and Flora. Two very anti FLDS activists. The FLDS are not even the same church as it originated from before WArren Jeffs. No body knows what is happening in that compound except the people who are there. Caroline had a rocky marriage with Merrill, maybe alot of the nonsence she wrote about in that family actually took place but the whole people cannot be measured by that ruler. Take a good look at the growth of that place in Texas. The men and women must work 24/7 to accomplish what they have in such a short period of time. Don't leave allot of time and energy for people to be having s e x. C'mon really do we have to call them a sex cult?
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COSMO | 6:57 a.m. June 4, 2008
Sounds like standard political damage control.

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jr | 6:58 a.m. June 4, 2008
The FLDS brought it on themselves, one of their own elders said he thought that the law was 14 for marriage, they hadn't paid attention to the change in law. At the same time that said it all and he wasn't no 20 year old. Utah has allowed polygamy to flourish for years and will continue to do so because the AG has a relationship with the groups.
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Gray Wolf | 7:21 a.m. June 4, 2008
Thanks Ben W. for the attempt to get some feedback from Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran.

The law and law enforcement being what they are, I believe Sheriff Doran has a lot more to say but it won't come out in such a news format.

It is somewhat like asking federal security services how they planned to protect President Bush when he was recently in Salt Lake City. The only thing a news reporter would get is "pablum".

Sheriff Doran is the "point man" in Schleicher County that began the whole thing. Did he help to save lives and minimize property damage, probably so! Should he ever be trusted again by the FLDS, certainly not!




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"at least we know underage | 7:32 a.m. June 4, 2008
children will be protected" what about all the other underage Texans who are pregnant and mothers?
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Teacher and Dad | 7:51 a.m. June 4, 2008
What else can the Sheriff say? He's got to cover his behind because he'll be coming up for reelection. I think that he tried though, in his own way, to be objective about the raid, but his obvious subtle biases against the FLDS show through. He bought in to some of the misrepresentations (some people call them lies) made up by the CPS. But I suppose that at the time, their stories seemed credible, at least to him.

I think that its interesting that the FLDS actually put Dale Barlow on the phone to him to prove that Barlow wasn't actually in Texas molesting a young lady. It sounds as if the FLDS trusted the sheriff and his judgement to a large extent, and counted on him for some support while they were being unjustly accused. The sheriff, unfortunately, though, had to act like a middle man, and in order to preserve his job and friendships with townspeople, had to follow the course of least resistance and side with the CPS action..
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Freedom Mann | 7:51 a.m. June 4, 2008
Gee, how nice it is to hear "I was only following orders!" in a nice, Texas drawl.

But seriously, I think Sheriff Doran is basically a reasonable man doing the best he can in one very tough situation, much of it being way beyond his control and authority.

Additionally, like any good local politician (as opposed to his role as an agent of the LAW) Doran is also doing a fine job of wetting his finger and holding it up in the breeze.

Good work Sheriff Doran! You've got my vote! At least you're honest about it!
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