Pubdate: Sun, 07 Dec 2003 Source: Delta Democrat Times (MS) Copyright: 2003 Delta Democrat Times Contact: http://www.ddtonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2123 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids) COURT MADE THE RIGHT CALL Police Need 'Knock And Announce' Methods Law-abiding citizens who find themselves living in fortifications rather than homes because of the criminal element can take heart from this week's U.S. Supreme Court decision, allowing law enforcement officers the flexibility to enter a domicile for just cause after knocking and waiting at least 20 seconds. This is good news not only for Greenville and Washington County, but for every hamlet in Mississippi and across America. We believe it is about time that law enforcement has more crime-fighting teeth to rid this scum that relentlessly plies on our communities and intrudes on the normalcy of our daily lives. Nevertheless, we do not believe that the U.S. Supreme Court decision will mean police departments will adopt a "Rambo" style of carrying out search warrants on suspected drug dealers and other criminals. Because, in our view, if you have nothing to hide there should not be a problem. The high court, in a 9-0 decision, reversed a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals - which is not too surprising to us - in the case of LaShawn Banks who was suspected of harboring drugs in his Las Vegas apartment in 1998. Heavily armed police officers broke in when Banks, who was in the shower at the time, did not come to the door. Writing for the nine concurring justices on the court, Justice David H. Souter said: " ... We think that after 15 or 20 seconds without a response, police could fairly suspect that cocaine would be gone if they were reticent any longer." While we understand that criminals have rights, too, we have become a nation that coddles this lawless element to the detriment of law-abiding citizens. The decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court should speak loudly to the wiseguy-toughs that America is indeed angry and is not going to take it anymore - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom