'NO KNOCK' WARRANTS KEEP POLICE SAFE

Re: Court signals loosening of the last reins on police, by Robyn E.
Blumner, June 25.

I am a retired law enforcement officer who during his 20 years of
service enforced many "no knock" warrants. I am happy to say that I
was never involved in any "wrong door" raids. However, understanding
that police are human, it is possible that mistakes can be made.

Blumner's column referred to 200 "wrong door" raids in the past 15
years. This amounts to 13 each year! In light of the fact that
thousands of such raids are conducted annually this is an extremely
low number. There is no correlation between "wrong door" raids and
"no knock" warrants. If the police were at the wrong door it would be
because of faulty investigative techniques, not how the warrant is executed.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that the police do
not simply target a house, knock down the door and subject the
inhabitants to abuse. A search warrant must be applied for, in which
probable cause is established. Then a sitting judge must review the
probable cause and then give a judicial okay. It is only then that
the "no knock" endorsement is attached and it too is subject to
judicial review.

As Blumner correctly mentioned, the "no knock" provision is to
prevent the destruction of evidence and to protect the police
executing the warrant. Having been involved in many warrant
executions, I can personally say that it has saved many cops from
injury or worse.

To portray the police as "playing soldier" is both demeaning and
untrue. Most police officers are dedicated professionals. Blumner
should think about that the next time she sees a cop running toward
trouble when everyone else is running from it.

Gary Repetti

Palm Harbor