No knock warrant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the US, a no knock warrant is a warrant issued by a judge that allows law enforcement officers to enter a property without knocking and without identifying themselves as police. It is issued under the belief that any evidence they hope to find can be destroyed during the time that police identify themselves and the time they secure the area.

The Department of Justice writes:

Federal judges and magistrates may lawfully and constitutionally issue "no-knock" warrants where circumstances justify a no-knock entry, and federal law enforcement officers may lawfully apply for such warrants under such circumstances. Although officers need not take affirmative steps to make an independent re-verification of the circumstances already recognized by a magistrate in issuing a no-knock warrant, such a warrant does not entitle officers to disregard reliable information clearly negating the existence of exigent circumstances when they actually receive such information before execution of the warrant.

The number of no-knock raids has increased from 3,000 in 1981 to more than 50,000 last year, according to Peter Kraska, a criminologist at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. Raids that lead to deaths of innocents are increasingly common; since the early 1980s, 40 bystanders have been killed, according to the Cato Institute in Washington, DC.

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[edit] Examples

  • Kathryn Johnston (c1914-2006) was an elderly Atlanta, Georgia woman shot by three undercover police in her home on November 21, 2006 after she fired one shot in self defense, assuming her home was being invaded. While the officers were wounded by gunfire, none of the officers received life threatening injuries, but Johnston was killed by the officers.[1]
  • Corey Maye is currently serving life in prison without parole for the murder of Prentiss, MS Police Officer Ron Jones, after police entered his home on a search warrant in which they sought out a large amount of marijuana. In the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 26, 2001, Maye was awoken by pounding on his door. When police entered the home, Maye fired 3 rounds from a handgun, killing Officer Jones. According to Maye, it was only then that he realized the intruders were police and gave himself up. Officers testified that prior to breaching the duplex, they announced their presence and knocked repeatedly. Although he has expressed regret and sympathy for the Jones family, Maye maintains that he was only trying to protect his sleeping daughter from unknown intruders. [2]
  • Ryan Frederick of Chesapeake, VA is awaiting trial for the shooting death of Detective Jarrod Shivers. At 8:40 January 17, 2008, Chesapeake Police were executing a no-knock raid on Frederick's home. Acting on a tip from an informant, police suspected Frederick to be in possession of marijuana plants. While attempting to gain entry to the residence, Frederick shot Det. Shivers once, fatally. Frederick claims he fired in self-defense, saying that he had been the victim of a break-in three days prior. In addition to first-degree murder, he has been charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Police also seized tub containers, lights, a smoking device, and a fan. When interviewed about the incident, Fredrick claimed police made a mistake and stated, "It’s a damn shame, too, because someone had to lose their life over it." Det. Shivers was an eight year veteran and left behind a wife and three children. [3][4]
  • Fifteen former LAPD officers have plead guilty to running a robbery ring, which used fake no-knock raids as a ruse to catch victims off guard. The defendants would then steal cash and drugs to sell on the street. This tactic lead Radley Balko, editor of Reason Magazine, to complain "So not only can you not be sure the people banging down your door at night are the police, not only can you not be sure they’re the police even if they say they’re the police, you can’t even be sure it’s safe to let them in even if they are the police."[5][6]
  • Tracy Ingle was shot in his house five times during a no-knock raid in North Little Rock, Arkansas. After the police entered the house Tracy thought armed robbers had entered the house and intended to scare them away with a broken(not working) gun. The police expected to find drugs, but none were found. He was brought to the intensive care, but police pulled him out of intensive care for questioning, after which they arrested him and charged him with assault on the officers who shot him.[7][8]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "After Atlanta raid tragedy, new scrutiny of police tactics.", Christian Science Monitor, November 29, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-14. 
  2. ^ Balko, Radley. Railroaded Onto Death Row?. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Hopkins, John. Man charged in death of Chesapeake officer arraigned in court.. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ Hopkins, John. 'I'm not the murderer they make me out to be,' Frederick says. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ Robbery Ring Disguised as Drug Raids Nets Convictions for Former LA Cops. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ Balko, Radley. Scalia’s New Professionalism Roundup. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  7. ^ Balko, Radley (2008). Tracy Ingle: Another Drug War Outrage.
  8. ^ Koon, David (2008). Shot in the dark.

[edit] External links