Comments on We Aren't the Only Ones Fed Up with No-Knock Raids

...as the cops say, "so much for the good 'ol days."

I would say innocent civilians dying senseless deaths is worse than cops dying senseless deaths. After all, they signed up for it. The unwitting victim of an incorrect-address no-knock raid did not.

Seems you have the order messed up... The court PRECEDED ya'll in this.

I hate to point out the obvious here, but most people shot by police are shot before proven guilty.

We don't shoot guilty people in this country. We hang them, inject them or electrocute them.

I was tackled by undercover cops while walking at night through a park (they thought they smelled marijuana, and decided to run and tackle me from behind just in case). I fought like hell, as I thought I was being raped/mugged. They didn't like that very much and threw me in jail for the night. Why the hell to cops expect to be treated with the respect and deference cops "deserve" when they are not identifiable as cops? WHAT IDIOTS.

In some states we have nifty castle laws that make it ok to shoot first and ask questions later. What happens if the cops bust down your door and you blast 'em? Assuming you don't get killed, aren't you within the law killing a cop for busting into your house?

so obvious here, drugs or no drugs barge into someone's house in the middle of the night and you are liable to get shot.

It seems unlikely if these men were "nonviolent" they wouldn't have a gun readily available to use as soon as someone came pouring through the door.

The Death Penalty is extreme, for sure, but those raids happen so fast, the gun was probably right on the table. Unfortunately, violence is often associated with the drug trade because it is unregulated.

@6 well, then you have the problem of whether or not they identified themselves as police. often there is dispute over this issue. but in a no-knock, how could that even happen?

@8 there was recently a case where a guy was robbed, bought a gun, and then a neighbor reported his japanese maple as a pot plant. the police came bursting in, and he shot and killed one of them. he's on trial for murder now.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2008/feb/04/a_cop_is_dead_because_an_informa

http://www.globalvillageidiots.com/2008/03/20/japanese-maple-or-marijuana-youre-dead-if-you-cant-tell-the-difference/

Call it an unfair generalization, @8, but I don't get the impression that folks in South who have guns on hand are a slim minority of the population. Just having a gun doesn't constitute a violent offense.

It seems so simple. Which is the less desirable outcome: a shootout resulting in serious injury or death or a suspected drug user or dealer flushing some evidence down the toilet? What is it about cops that they can't figure out the right answer to that one?

"There may be a time and place for no-knock raids, but suspected nonviolent drug-law violations shouldn’t make the cut."

The fact that anyone, anywhere has any doubt about this statement is appalling.