A Heavy-Handed Raid By NASA

For every criminal problem, a SWAT Team is not the best answer.

The Detroit News: NASA sting terrifies woman, 74

about half a dozen sheriff's deputies and NASA investigators rushed into the eatery.

When officers in flack vests took a hold of her, the 4-foot-11 woman said she was so scared she lost control of her bladder and was taken outside to a parking lot, where she was questioned and detained for about two hours.

"They grabbed me and pulled me out of the booth," Davis claimed. "I had very, very deep bruises on my left side."

And what was this terrible crime this modern-day Ma Barker has allegedly committed?

She tried to sell a moon rock the size of a grain of rice and a nickel-sized piece of heatshield from the Apollo 11 craft.

I have a philosophical problem with the governments pronouncement that all lunar rocks can never be sold and belong to the "People" i.e. only the government may give them away or distribute them.

With over 840 pounds of moon rock being retrieved its a little over the top to send Swat teams after 74 year-old grannies looking to make a bit of cash for their descendants off their memorabilia that was given to them before they die.

Even more of a problem is using a flock of deputies to grab a 74 year old and haul her out of a building.

I daresay her threat level is darn low and overwhelming force was quite unnecessary. One detective with a simple statement of "You're under arrest" probably would have more than sufficed, maybe two if she was fiesty and tried to shuffle off for it.