No-Knock Warrants Should Be a Thing of the Past

No-knock search warrants are complicated issues. The entire concept behind them involves an argument made by the police that if they have to knock at a door and notify the people at home who they are, the people behind the door will simply destroy evidence and make the job of the police that much harder. Therefore, according to the police, it is better to break down the door and arrest anybody and everybody there. While this may sound logical, imagine if they get the wrong house? What should anybody do under those circumstances door if strangers broke down their door without announcing who they are? How far should those people be able to go to defend themselves? Can they shoot? Attack? Why not?

Let’s take it a step further. What happens if the police get the right house? So, they don’t announce and they break down the front door. If the people on the inside don’t know who it is, don’t they still have the right to defend themselves? Again, the problems this creates is enormous.

Minneapolis has finally decided to reconsider their approach to no-knock search warrants. It is a huge deal because it is finally an acknowledgment that it is regularly an overstep by the police department and as importantly it is extraordinarily dangerous. The potential for somebody innocent getting shot is obvious. It has certainly happened. I should add, this also highlights possible defenses that may take place based upon the behavior of the police in certain cases.

Minneapolis has used no-knock warrants on average 139 times every year. The potential for violence caused is simply unnecessary. Hopefully, other departments around the State will follow suit and simply ban their use. We will see.