No-knock warrants – allowing police to break down a door without any notice – can be brutal. Ostensibly, they are focused on situations where drugs (evidence) can quickly be flushed down a toilet or where a particularly violent suspect is reasonably expected to shoot it out with those coming to arrest him or her. That smash of a battering ram followed by Kevlar-vested, helmet-wearing officers with lethal automatic weapons is the stuff of television shows… and deadly confrontation in the real world. Especially where the officers who asked the judge for the right to deploy a no-knock have the wrong address.
Names of fatalities from mistaken no-knock warrants – innocents like Breonna Taylor (Louisville) and Amir Locke (Minneapolis-St Paul) – resonate particularly with the African American community. “Of the 22 people fatally shot during no-knock raids since 2015, 13 were Black or Hispanic. Experts have suggested that high-risk searches disproportionately target Black and Hispanic homes.” Washington Post, April 15th. I won’t repeat these well-known and horrific incidents, but for right-wing supporters, the no-knock warrant risk has not exempted them from death either. White Americans have died, and police officers’ breaking into a home have so startled occupants that the residents have shot these violent “intruders” with their legitimately purchased guns. As happened in Huston three years ago:
“There are continued repercussions from the no-knock raid that resulted in the death of a middle-aged couple in Houston, and the wounding of four police officers in the gunfight the raid engendered. The strike happened on January 28, 2019. Four officers have retired as of 22 March 2019… Dennis Tuttle was a Navy veteran. His wife, Rhogena Nicholas, was a supporter of President Trump. They had no criminal records. They were married for 20 years and lived in their modest home in Houston for the same 20 years.
“The police broke down their door and shot their dog. That seems to have started the gun battle. Dennis is said to have shot back, wounding the officer that shot his dog. The police claimed he was shooting a .357 magnum revolver, but no revolver was found at the scene. It seems more likely he was shooting one of the two semi-auto hunting shotguns recovered at his home.
“Police claim Rhogena attempted to take a shotgun from a wounded officer. She was shot and killed. It is not clear if she ever touched the officer’s shotgun… It has been claimed a small amount of marijuana, and a tiny amount of cocaine was recovered at the house. No heroin was found, or any evidence of drug dealing…. As the investigation has continued, it was discovered the evidence used to justify the raid, had been falsified.” Ammoland.com, March 28, 2019.
Some police departments use these warrants even for fairly small, expected drug finds, and unfortunately, judges usually just sign the requested warrant. “Judges and magistrates are expected to review requests for no-knock warrants — one of the most intrusive and dangerous tactics available to law enforcement — to ensure that citizens are protected from unreasonable searches, as provided in the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.
“But judges generally rely on the word of police officers and rarely question the merits of the requests, offering little resistance when they seek authorization for no-knocks, a Washington Post investigation has found. The searches, which were meant to be used sparingly, have become commonplace for drug squads and SWAT teams.
“Criminal justice experts estimate that police carry out tens of thousands of no-knock raids every year nationwide, mostly in drug-related searches. But few agencies monitor their use, making the exact number unknown. None of the 50 state court systems or the District of Columbia reported tracking the use of no-knock warrants. And no federal or state government agencies keep tabs on the number of people killed or wounded in the raids.” The Post.
A rare few jurisdictions have banned or limited no-knock warrants. After Locke’s killing noted above (in which the police officer was exonerated), for example, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey took that tool away from his police department except in exceptionally few situations.
All of this reflects a general and rising notion under our criminal justice system that arrestees and suspects are generally presumed to be guilty until proven innocent. Huh? The number of grand jury indictments based on prosecutor requests approaches 100%. Plea bargains dispose of most criminal cases, some out of guilt but others out of fear of a system that convicts well over 90% of those defendants who opted for a trial (close to 97% in federal cases).
While I most certainly believe that those who violate our laws should be appropriately prosecuted, I also believe a democracy demands more of its police officers, prosecutors and judges that is currently the rule. Think I am being too “woke”? Then please explain why the United States, with a mere 4%+ of the global population has 25% of its incarcerated criminals.
I’m Peter Dekom, and a constitutional democracy that mandates equal protection under the law (5th and 14th Amendments) should have a criminal justice system that actually dispenses justice!
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