The Feb. 11 police raid at Jonathon Whitworth's southwest Columbia home has garnered tremendous attention since the video of the SWAT action was first posted to the Tribune website on May 3.
Reporter Brennan David requested the video after he wrote a story about the raid on Feb. 23. Because the investigation was ongoing at the time, his request was denied. David received the video at the end last month when Whitworth pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia, ending the case.
After the video was published on the Tribune website, a reader posted it to YouTube and it was picked up by bloggers. The response has been building ever since. Below is a timeline of events:
* Late January: Informants notify Columbia police narcotics investigators that Jonathan E. Whitworth is in possession of a large amount of high-grade marijuana.
* Feb. 3: Boone County Associate Circuit Court Judge Leslie Schneider approves a search warrant of Whitworth's residence, 1501 Kinloch Court. Warrant requested by Detective Ronald Hall Jr.
* Feb. 11: Search warrant is served at Whitworth's residence. His wife and son are present. Officers shot both of the family dogs; a pit bull dies.
* Feb. 13: Tribune begins receiving e-mails and phone calls from neighbors concerned with SWAT's entry and the killing of Whitworth's dog.
* Feb. 23: Tribune publishes its first story about the incident.
* Feb. 26: Tribune learns the request for the SWAT video has been denied.
* April 20: Whitworth pleads guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia after charges of second-degree child endangerment and possession of marijuana are dropped. He was issued a $300 fine in addition to court cost.
* April 30: Tribune receives SWAT video in response to a public information request issued to the department on April 27.
* May 3: Tribune publishes second story concerning the incident and with SWAT video. This is the first time the video is available to the public. The same day a reader posts the video to YouTube.
* May 6: Police Chief Ken Burton and Mayor Bob McDavid address reporters to answer questions about the raid.
* May 10: Police Chief Ken Burton announces changes to SWAT policy, including a change in who determines how search warrants will be served and mandating that drug-related warrants be served "within a reasonable time," generally eight hours.
* May 11: The video of the raid posted to YouTube surpasses 1 million views.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Columbia Daily Tribune
Copyright: 2010 The Columbia Daily Tribune
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Reporter Brennan David requested the video after he wrote a story about the raid on Feb. 23. Because the investigation was ongoing at the time, his request was denied. David received the video at the end last month when Whitworth pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia, ending the case.
After the video was published on the Tribune website, a reader posted it to YouTube and it was picked up by bloggers. The response has been building ever since. Below is a timeline of events:
* Late January: Informants notify Columbia police narcotics investigators that Jonathan E. Whitworth is in possession of a large amount of high-grade marijuana.
* Feb. 3: Boone County Associate Circuit Court Judge Leslie Schneider approves a search warrant of Whitworth's residence, 1501 Kinloch Court. Warrant requested by Detective Ronald Hall Jr.
* Feb. 11: Search warrant is served at Whitworth's residence. His wife and son are present. Officers shot both of the family dogs; a pit bull dies.
* Feb. 13: Tribune begins receiving e-mails and phone calls from neighbors concerned with SWAT's entry and the killing of Whitworth's dog.
* Feb. 23: Tribune publishes its first story about the incident.
* Feb. 26: Tribune learns the request for the SWAT video has been denied.
* April 20: Whitworth pleads guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia after charges of second-degree child endangerment and possession of marijuana are dropped. He was issued a $300 fine in addition to court cost.
* April 30: Tribune receives SWAT video in response to a public information request issued to the department on April 27.
* May 3: Tribune publishes second story concerning the incident and with SWAT video. This is the first time the video is available to the public. The same day a reader posts the video to YouTube.
* May 6: Police Chief Ken Burton and Mayor Bob McDavid address reporters to answer questions about the raid.
* May 10: Police Chief Ken Burton announces changes to SWAT policy, including a change in who determines how search warrants will be served and mandating that drug-related warrants be served "within a reasonable time," generally eight hours.
* May 11: The video of the raid posted to YouTube surpasses 1 million views.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Columbia Daily Tribune
Copyright: 2010 The Columbia Daily Tribune
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
