This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I'm sorry to have heard about your 15-year-old daughter having a gun pointed at her chest while being rousted from the bathroom. It's wrong to treat people that way. Isn't there something in the Constitution about people being secure in their homes and possessions?
Just be glad you are who you are, Mr. Shurtleff, a wealthy and well known attorney. It could have gone down much worse. Ask the elderly couple who were the victims of a no-knock (sorry, wrong address) warrant who were shoved to the floor with guns put to their heads. Then, the DEA agent in charge said just, "It's not a perfect world." Not even a "We're sorry."
How about that, Mr. Shurtleff? And be glad you didn't have a dog that dared to bark at those large, heavily armed men. They just might have shot it dead. The fact is, likely you helped create the monster that came to your home. Now the question is, are you going to do anything about it for everyone, or just complain about your situation?
Welcome to the world your constituents live in and be glad you're not poor and unknown, or worse, a minority. It would likely have been much worse for you and yours.
Mike Crookston
Salt Lake City