Far better and far less expensive than sending in the SWAT team, helicopter and all, would have been to have a single officer (armed with a two-way radio and without body armor!) come to the party, politely explain to the guests why he was there, and have him watch to see that things didn't get out of hand. He would most likely have been treated as a guest with the added benefit of favorable PR for the local constabulary.
I couldn't agree more, it's what I thought when I first read about it in the paper, maybe my phrase "A bit heavy handed" was a bit mild! Many were the parties in my younger days, where a policeman came and was "just taking a look", which involved a chat and a drink.
It all depends on details that we do not have.
Was it a small group of 30-somethings in a vacant field for an afternoon grill-party with a small tent for escape from possible rain? Was the 'sound equipment' just a boombox for some tunes?
Or was it actually the set-up crew for a rave... which had happened a few months previously in the same field and had upset many neighbors? (A rave being explicitly outlawed in England)
My point is that the stories do not give us enough detail to make a fair judgement- they only evoke emotions.
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