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I Show You State's Exhibit 4, Which Is A Photo Of A Sign Reading "Warning: This House Is Protected By CHUCK NORRIS!"

Mar 23, 2011
By .
Law

I suppose that explains why Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio chose to raid the home of Jesus Llovara, an unarmed animal cruelty suspect, using a tank.

And Steven Seagal.

Neighbor Debra Ross was so worried she called 911 and went outside where a nearby home had its windows blown out, was crawling with dozens of SWAT members in full gear, armored vehicles and a bomb robot.

“When the tank came in and pushed the wall over and you see what's in there, and all it is, is a bunch of chickens,” Ross said.

In other words, the taxpayers of Maricopa County paid thousands of dollars, Jesus Llovara and his neighbors were threatened with lethal force, and all Joe Arpaio got in return was chicken feed.

That and publicity:

[Llovara's defense attorney Robert] Campus said he believes the entire scene was basically a stage, to help actor Steven Seagal’s TV show, “Lawman.”

Seagal was riding in the tank.

No doubt because, although Llovara had only a misdemeanor record and owned no weapons, chickens are dangerous birds.

Of course, those who are concerned about animal cruelty can rest easy: All of Llovara's chickens were euthanized on the spot, thanks to Joe Arpaio and Steven Seagal.

Last 5 posts by Patrick Non-White

16 Comments
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16 Comments

  1. mdb  •  Mar 23, 2011 @11:34 am

    They were fighting chickens. Those can be vicious.

  2. Patrick  •  Mar 23, 2011 @11:40 am

    I see.

    It's a good thing Llovara didn't own a dog, or he might have been facing a B-52 and Mr. T.

  3. Al  •  Mar 23, 2011 @11:44 am

    State's Exhibit 5: What kind of name is Llovara?

  4. TJIC  •  Mar 23, 2011 @12:43 pm

    > They were fighting chickens. Those can be vicious.

    They were ALLEGED to be fighting chickens.

    I find it somewhat terrifying that the government can just kill animals first and hold the trial later (if they decide to charge him).

    But, heck, we've set that standard for citizens (what with targeted killing of Americans alleged to be supporting Al Quaida), so why would I expect poultry to have more rights than the State accords humans?

  5. Nancy  •  Mar 23, 2011 @1:40 pm

    If they were mammals they wouldn't have been killed on the spot. Mammals (such as rabbits, dogs, cats and so on) appeal to the general population, so they have to be treated carefully. Otherwise the fur would fly.

  6. Grandy  •  Mar 23, 2011 @2:13 pm

    I don't know, police forces seem increasingly quick to kill dogs these days.

  7. Xearo  •  Mar 23, 2011 @6:48 pm

    God, I won't be getting that 10 minutes back for reading this tripe !
    Geesh

  8. Patrick  •  Mar 23, 2011 @6:56 pm

    10 minutes?

    You must be a careful reader.

  9. Ken  •  Mar 23, 2011 @8:06 pm

    I'm not sure, but I think you may have just sassed a spambot.

  10. Paul  •  Mar 23, 2011 @9:20 pm

    "I see.

    It’s a good thing Llovara didn’t own a dog, or he might have been facing a B-52 and Mr. T."

    For some reason, this comment had me laughing myself breathless. Just hit me at the right time, I suppose.

    Gawd, but Phoenix has itself some strange happenings these days. I can't believe Arpaio is still around. Wasnt' he being investigated by the FBI or something?

  11. G Thompson  •  Mar 23, 2011 @11:43 pm

    Techdirt's own Marcus Carab just totally owned this Sheriff, who I can honestly say I had never heard of before (being in Australia) and having read about him, wish I never had heard of the IMHO complete nutjob.

    http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110318/12091713547/some-free-letter-writing-advice-americas-toughest-sheriff.shtml#c974

    Is there something about Arizona, this Sheriff's, and animals that I don't know about ? And Seagal? I knew he was some sort of LEO, but WTF! The mind boggles

  12. randy  •  Mar 24, 2011 @6:02 am

    They were worried about the safety of chickens so they killed them all? I don't get it. Is the TV show about killing birds or something.

  13. Jag  •  Mar 24, 2011 @1:53 pm

    Radley Badko at Reason wrote a good piece on this in 2009.

    http://reason.com/archives/2009/08/31/dont-tase-me-sis

    The show, Police Woman of Broward County (where I live) is starting a new season and is again being hit with allegations of misconduct for paying victims and having the cops showboat for the cameras.

    http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-police-women-broward-county-20110321,0,2583653.story

  14. Shylock Holmes  •  Mar 24, 2011 @7:50 pm

    All of Llovara’s chickens were euthanized on the spot.

    Well of course – they had to do something with the tank once they'd driven it all the way over there. Take that, chickens! That will teach you to get in a cock-fight with an M1-A2 Abrams battle tank.

  15. MKH  •  Mar 25, 2011 @7:04 am

    I wonder how much Jesus will be billed for the poultry-enriched lawn-fertilizing service his benevolent county officers have provided him…

  16. Segal Sucks  •  Jun 20, 2011 @2:46 pm

    What the hell does Maricopa County, AZ, have to do with Jefferson Parish, LA? Is it not unlawful for Segal to be in that tank as part of a raid (be it chicken or otherwise)? That's no different than if I were driving the tank into the guy's house. I'm not a peace officer in that state and have no authority to enter that property, even if I am escorted by officers conducting a raid.