Those who trade liberty for security

Veteran police investigators have traditionally rejected the dragnet because they see it as a waste of police resources, but in the post-bombing panic, politicians demanded that police on the beat appear to be doing everything they could to solve the crisis. In this case, that appearance included a curfew that amounted to searching and hassling people who were clearly not in cahoots with the bombing suspects. Police detained and searched anyone on the streets of Boston and Watertown, even searching  local news reporters multiple times during the course of the manhunt.

in the few hours right after the blasts… National Guard (reported at the time as US Army) were already on site and on site before the bombing and performing crowd control and security, closing off the streets… cell phone communication was “supposedly” stopped for the entire city to prevent remote detonations of more devices but none of the carriers claim their service was stopped and people were still able to text,  which uses the same 3G and 4G towers... the city was ordered shut down and many neighborhoods remained that way for 4 days..citizens ordered to remain indoors 24/7 until told to come out.. that is Martial Law, not just a security curfew...

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

4th amendment, U.S. Constitution

The result of the draconian tactics spurred by politicians urging the police authorities to "do something";

• House to house searches in a dragnet-style;

• Use of military helicopters across the state;

• Use of tanks and armored vehicles, (MRAPS) in the streets of Boston, Cambridge, Watertown, and New Bedford;

• Shutting down the city, except for limited coffee shops;

• Stopping all public transportation;

• Banning taxi service across the city of Boston; and

• Abandoning the federal Posse Comitatus law banning the use of soldiers in law enforcement.

Moreover, the use of curfews in a number of towns actually likely delayed apprehension of the suspect, as the curfew essentially took more than a million pairs of eyes off possible getaway scenes. The scare even led to a humorous over-reaction in Bridgewater, a college town where a “suspicious” backpack forced the evacuation of part of Bridgewater University. The Navy bomb disposal team arrived to find the backpack full of beer.

In the end, if the goal of the terrorists was to terrorize, the terrorists won in Boston. Rather than returning to its ordinary business, one of the world's greatest cities was terrorized, and even shut down, for days by the two suspects. To make matters worse, (if that is possible), the surviving suspect in custody was not "Mirandized". He had become a U.S. citizen last September 11th. and, as a US citizen is afforded all of the rights under the Constitution. To do less put us on the same level as any totalitarian dictatorship.

In the end, this was a test… and the United States legal system and law enforcement failed... spectacularly. Instead of having a well crafted plan of action the "powers-that-be" became reactionary and heavy handed... the result was innocent citizenry at the mercy of a heavily armed and frightened law enforcement machine.

imagine if this happened in the 10 largest US cities at the same time..MELTDOWN in the USA.