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We’re Seeing Too Many Unfortunate Circumstances with No-Knock Warrants: ALEC on Wake Up Springfield with Tim Jones (KWTO)

We would encourage states to really look at the practice in a non-partisan lens to ensure they are balancing the needs of everyone involved.

ALEC Criminal Justice Task Force Director Nino Marchese was recently featured on KWTO Radio in Springfield, MO sharing with host Tim Jones details of the new ALEC report on the risks associated with no-knock raids.

Interview begins at 42:30.


Tim Jones:
No-knock warrants may need to be reformed or maybe even banned. I was fascinated to learn they are banned currently in five states. The five states are not known for having extremely high crime rates: Connecticut, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee, and Virginia. What you’ve learned through all the examination across the country where we have over 20,000 no-knock warrants executed every year is they don’t necessarily result in better outcomes for law enforcement, do they?

Nino Marchese: It depends on how they’re being used. What we’ve seen in the states that have banned them is the cost benefit analysis is just not working in favor for anybody involved, neither for law enforcement nor civilians. This as a nonpartisan issue. It is not  Left or Right. If you had a knock on your door at 3 a.m., and the police announced themselves and asked you to open the door, I’m sure you’d be more than willing to respectfully comply with a search warrant. But if it’s 3 a.m. and all you hear is your door getting busted down, many people are going to defend themselves, rightfully so. But on the other hand, police are executing a legitimate search warrant, these aren’t rogue officers that are operating beyond their means. They have a search warrant they are executing.

Tim Jones: One of the gravest concerns about no-knock warrants is the collateral damage that’s involved. The most infamous case was one that was in the headlines for months, the case of Breonna Taylor, who was killed during a no-knock raid in Louisville, Kentucky. That really brought this subject to the forefront all across the political spectrum, causing many to consider the need for possible reforms.

Nino Marchese: Absolutely. I think it’s worth pointing out that Taylor’s boyfriend shot an officer through their bedroom door. And then later, all charges were dismissed against him because of the conflict that situation created. Maybe an outright ban is not the best solution for every state, perhaps no-knock warrants are a took law enforcement want to hold on to. But we would encourage states to really look at the practice in a non-partisan lens to ensure they are balancing the needs of everyone involved.