Samuel Francis’s article entitled “Something Like Waco: The New Federal Police State” (February 1997) brought to mind an incident that occurred in my neighborhood in November 1994.

A house across the street was raided by the INS and DEA in the early morning hours. They broke in with such force that they knocked in the heavy front door. The attack caused the husband to have a heart attack, and the wife, also ailing, was denied access for some hours to her essential medication. The son, a boy who is not well, developed a severe trauma as a result of the attack. The DEA apparently tried to cover for itself by implying to my next-door neighbor that its agents had found illegal narcotics. The upshot? They had the wrong address. No apologies followed. I understand that the family sued the government (more money from the taxpayers), although I do not know the final disposition of the case.

This assault by government goons on innocent people as well as the numerous eases that Mr. Francis cites cry out for some kind of clearinghouse for collecting a database on government transgressions. With the “information highway” now available, such a database should be easy to establish and maintain and could be invaluable in publicizing, as well as defending against, these federal assaults.

        —Robert C. Whitten
Cupertino, CA