Pubdate: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 Source: Oklahoman, The (OK) Copyright: 2002 The Oklahoma Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.oklahoman.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318 Author: Tim Talley, Associated Press NO-KNOCK WARRANTS USED DESPITE DANGER FOR POLICE Warrants that permit police to knock down a door or break a window to make an arrest or search a home are still used in Oklahoma in spite of the 1999 shooting death of a state trooper who was issuing one of the warrants. Trooper David "Rocky" Eales, 49, was killed when his unmarked sport utility vehicle led a five-vehicle tactical team that was attempting to serve a so-called no-knock warrant to search for methamphetamine at Kenneth Eugene Barrett's cabin in rural Sequoyah County. A mistrial was declared in Barrett's first-degree murder trial late Friday. Jurors said later that one of Barrett's 12 jurors believed he acted in self-defense when he fired a semiautomatic rifle on Eales' vehicle. Officials said no-knock warrants create an element of danger for law enforcement authorities who are authorized to enter a residence without first knocking or identifying themselves. A law that expanded guidelines for no-knock warrants was approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Frank Keating in 1999, the same year Eales was killed. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth