When are no knock raids justified?

[KingsGambit]

I tend to think that no knock raids are justified when somebody is imminently in danger, or if you're taking down a heavily secured mafia kingpin or something.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/t...raid-fatality/

We have a case in Georgia where a drug addict robbed a man's truck, and was found with meth on him. He blamed the truck owner on the drugs, and once the police found that somebody had accused him of having drugs five years ago, they rammed down his door, and killed him once he picked up a gun (he didn't even fire it). The police spent 44 hours searching his house for drugs and found nothing.

There have been so many of these cases that I'm also starting to even doubt whether SWAT teams should be going in looking for drugs unless it's actually somebody manufacturing them or a high-level kingpin. (I also saw an article tonight about a guy who recently got raided because the police thought the okra in his garden was marijuana.)

(Also, the police around here openly admit that they follow people home if they are seen shopping at a hydroponics store. Considering my dad grows tomato plants in his basement, this gives me cause for concern.)

[KingsGambit]

Update: Apparently either I was mistaken or a source I read was. They did knock. http://www.macon.com/welcome_page/?s...ns-deputy.html

[Teallaura]

[Darth Executor]

and killed him once he picked up a gun (he didn't even fire it).

You think they should wait for him to fire it before they shoot?

Are you one of those people who think cops should shoot guns out of people's hands?

[rogue06]

I tend to think that no knock raids are justified when somebody is imminently in danger, or if you're taking down a heavily secured mafia kingpin or something.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/t...raid-fatality/

We have a case in Georgia where a drug addict robbed a man's truck, and was found with meth on him. He blamed the truck owner on the drugs, and once the police found that somebody had accused him of having drugs five years ago, they rammed down his door, and killed him once he picked up a gun (he didn't even fire it). The police spent 44 hours searching his house for drugs and found nothing.

There have been so many of these cases that I'm also starting to even doubt whether SWAT teams should be going in looking for drugs unless it's actually somebody manufacturing them or a high-level kingpin. (I also saw an article tonight about a guy who recently got raided because the police thought the okra in his garden was marijuana.)

(Also, the police around here openly admit that they follow people home if they are seen shopping at a hydroponics store. Considering my dad grows tomato plants in his basement, this gives me cause for concern.)

Not the only incident like that around here in recent years: Kathryn Johnston shooting

[Jedidiah]

Rarely.

[OU812]

You think they should wait for him to fire it before they shoot?

Are you one of those people who think cops should shoot guns out of people's hands?

As if that were the only troubling aspect with that case/scenario. KingsGambit might be "one of those people" who think that police raids shouldn't be conducted on the basis of 5 year old hearsay.