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