You Hear Somebody Busting Into Your Home In The Middle Of The Night...
Do you think, "Oh, it must just be the cops," and stay in bed and wait for them to come give you instructions?
Or, do you do the natural thing -- assume you're the victim of a home invasion and, if you have a gun, shoot at the person or persons entering?
Cop after cop has been killed in "no-knock" raids -- but the people who have shot them, defending their homes and not knowing it was a cop at the door due to the lack of any announcement of such, are in jail or dead.
Radley Balko writes about the tragic circumstances of some of these raids for both homeowners and police in a terrific February 10 piece in the WaPo:
Last December 19th, nine of the 10 members of the Burleson County Sheriff's Department staged a raid on the rural home of Henry Magee. An informant had told Deputy Adam Sowders that Magee was running a major marijuana grow. They'd find 12-14 plants, all over six fee tall, the informant said. Magee also had, according to the informant, a vicious dog and several guns, one of which had been stolen from the Burleson County Sheriff's Department.By the time the raid was over, Deputy Adam Sowder was dead. Magee shot him as Sowder and his fellow deputies attempted to force their way into Magee's home. Magee was arrested and charged with capital murder -- the knowing and intentional killing of a police officer.
A subsequent search of Magee's home by the Texas Rangers didn't turn up any six foot pot plants. According to Dick DeGuerin, the well-known criminal defense attorney who took Magee's case shortly after the raid, the police found two plants about six inches tall, less than an ounce of dried marijuana, and several seedlings. According to DeGuerin, Magee had four guns in his home, all of them legal, three of which were locked in a safe at the time of the raid. They also didn't find the gun the informant claimed Magee had stolen. DeGuerrin says Magee's allegedly vicious dog barked, but never attacked, even when the officers had Magee cuffed and on the ground.
Citizens on a grand jury just refused to indict Magee, writes law prof Jonathan Turley. He also explains the abusive use of these "no-knock" raids -- especially in drug cases:
Magistrate and judges appear to give little thought to approving such warrants despite a ruling earlier by the Supreme Court limiting their use. Police now routinely ask and receive warrants that waive the constitutional requirement to "knock and announcement." Not only is this requirement codified in the U.S. Code, but it is viewed as a factor in determining if a search or seizure is reasonable under the fourth amendment. In 1995, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Wilson v. Arkansas that the requirement was indeed part of the constitutional test and in Richards v. Wisconsin the Court later rejected categorical waivers for "knock and announcement" for cases like drug investigations. Police must show on a case-by-case basis that they have reasonable suspicion of exigent circumstances.In this case, the police were after alleged marijuana plants that an informant said he was growing. The warrant then added a claim of possible "illegal guns." The police found the marijuana but all of his guns were legal. A major complaint is that police routinely add language about the possibility of unlawful weapons to secure these "no knocks."
The prosecutors tried to secure an indictment for capital murder charges and had bail set at $1 million.
Once again, there has been little attention to the increasing no knock warrants that have grown in tandem with the militarization of our police forces. The result is not just a chilling effect for citizens but increasing mistaken shootings. In this case, an officer is dead and the prosecutors wanted to send away a father for life -- for a raid to secure a few marijuana plants.
Here's another from Balko's piece:
In December 2001, police in Prentiss, Mississippi broke into the home of Cory Maye at 12:30 am. Maye, his young daughter, and his girlfriend lived in one half of a duplex. The other side was occupied by Jamie Smith, a known drug dealer. When Maye's back door flew open, he fired three shots at the first figure to enter his apartment. One bullet struck and killed Officer Ron Jones. Maye had no prior criminal record. The police, in searching the house, found only a roach. Maye was tried and convicted of capital murder, and sentenced to death. His conviction was thrown out in 2010. In 2011, after he'd served 10 years in prison, prosecutors allowed him to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, and released him from prison. The tip in Maye's case came from a racist, admitted drug addict named Randy Gentry, and by Maye's attorneys' account, implicated only Jamie Smith.
This could be you. Just hope nobody on a drug raid gets the address wrong -- which happens with some frequency.
Balko's book: Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces
It'll end when cops, prosecutors and judges go to prison. End official immunity, all of it.
MarkD at July 14, 2014 5:46 AM
There is almost never a good reason to use a no-knock raid, and most likely little harm would be done by an outright ban on them. Think about it: these fall into one of two situations. In the first, they've go the wrong house; the resident is going to rationally assume that they are under attack by home invaders and will undertake to defend themselves. In the second scenario, they've got the right house, which means the person they are after is probably heavily armed and waiting for them. Either way, someone's going to get shot.
At the very least, it should be mandatory that all such raids be filmed, and that the judge who issued the warrant must view the video immediately afterwards. Judges need to see how these warrants are being served, and the consequences.
Cousin Dave at July 14, 2014 6:41 AM
It's good that the District Attorney and the county sheriff are on good terms, and that the sheriff realizes that a change is needed.
But the Magee guy was an illegal hydroponic grower, according to the Balko post.
The role of the informant is one of the key parts of the tragedy. There was secrecy and bad blood between the two, most likely.
I would think that this type of thing will continue, unless the "mainstream" productive members of society who use marijuana get it out in the open or show more concern when these tragedies happen.
Jason S. at July 14, 2014 9:02 AM
Isn't it possible to serve warrants on the defendant's when they are outside the home and them proceed with the search. Do these suspects never leave their home? I wonder how they conduct their (allegedly) nefarious activities without leaving the house?
Loren at July 14, 2014 9:05 AM
It boggles my mind that cops *want* to go on no-knock busts. Precisely for the reasons Cousin Dave enumerates. The risk/reward ratio seems all out of whack.
Elle at July 14, 2014 10:25 AM
"Isn't it possible to serve warrants on the defendant's when they are outside the home and them proceed with the search. Do these suspects never leave their home? I wonder how they conduct their (allegedly) nefarious activities without leaving the house?"
This was beat up in a blog post here years ago (note 681 comments).
Basically, you have to catch the bad guy with product, OR HE WALKS. That this is true even with non-flushable goods seems to bother people. Of course, there are tragic mistakes when deadly force is used. The worst no-knock in history was the Branch Davidian raid, and agents actually went target shooting with David Koresh beforehand; there sometimes is no accounting for police stupidity.
Radwaste at July 14, 2014 10:47 AM
And yet drugs are still readily available.
Yes, if we legalized drugs, there would probably be an increase in use. But that would likely be among those who had avoided it due to its illegality, therefore a more law-abiding well-behaved crowd that would be far less likely to abuse drugs in a way the illegality is meant to prevent.
clinky at July 14, 2014 6:20 PM
"Basically, you have to catch the bad guy with product, OR HE WALKS."
I am all in favor of a system where more bad guys walk, especially in the case of drug, and firearms entrapment schemes, which most of these busts are.
Remember the feds besieged the Branch Davidian compound using the justification that there was possible child abuse.
In the end, I guess, dead kids were preferable.
Isab at July 14, 2014 6:45 PM
It's time to disarm the police.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at July 15, 2014 11:49 AM
"Yes, if we legalized drugs, there would probably be an increase in use."
Probably?
Why is that drugs are the only thing advocates claim would be used responsibly - and less! - if they were freely available?
Not gasoline, Internet bandwidth, ammunition, fireworks, welfare checks...
Gee, was there support for this idea with alcohol? Tobacco? Both of those are public health tragedies, too, not role models.
Radwaste at July 15, 2014 2:49 PM
Rad, you might develop carple tunnel syndrome.
We'd best ban you from typing anything onto an online blog, its for your heath you see. I'm sure you wont mind
lujlp at July 15, 2014 4:12 PM
Radwaste,
The best argument for not seeing an increase in drug usage after legalization is their current availability. The sad truth is anyone who wants a common illegal drug like marijuana can get it. So making it legal just takes the police out of the equation.
There are a few good arguments and real life examples where legalizing or decriminalizing drugs does lead to lower usage. Back in 2000 Portugal decriminalized drug possession but left selling illegal. Some of the funds saved from reduced jail time and police work was then spent on rehabilitation. They have seen an increase in reported drug usage (supporting your argument). But much of that may have to do with more accurate reporting. It is very hard to get good data on illegal activities. They have seen a dramatic reduction in adolescent drug use. At the very least they have not seen increases in related criminal activities. I.e. theft, assault, murder, ... Of course Portugal may not be indicative. It is just one nation and results in the US may vary.
Ben at July 15, 2014 9:14 PM
"The best argument for not seeing an increase in drug usage after legalization is their current availability."
And this is immediately defeated by any look at Colorado today.
Radwaste at July 15, 2014 9:25 PM
"And this is immediately defeated by any look at Colorado today."
The number if past-year users in CO is actually lower than the national average.
Those who do use marijuana in CO are using more on average than the rest of the USA. And when you look at marijuana sales, you have to consider how many out-of-state tourists purchases.
We'll see, I guess. 25 years from now we'll be on the brink if nuclear holocaust because of a stoned Commander in Chief.
Jason S. at July 15, 2014 9:53 PM
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