NO-KNOCK SWAT RAIDS ARE DANGER TO PUBLIC

All wars have casualties, yet the "war on drugs" has the dubious
distinction of catching American civilians in its crossfire ("War on drugs
can claim a deadly victory," Dispatch, Monday). Police are increasingly
turning to SWAT teams to raid suspects' homes, and those SWAT teams are
increasingly turning to "no-knock" searches.

Basically, a no-knock warrant is served by a large group of heavily armed
men kicking in the door in the middle of the night and aiming firearms at
terrified occupants.These SWAT team members wear all black, including
facemasks. They wear more body armor than we issue to the military. They
carry fully automatic MP5 submachine guns. Even U.S. Marine Corps
infantrymen do not carry fully automatic rifles. The government has
determined these weapons are inefficient for all but the highly trained
Special Forces.

And when these Men in Black kick in the door, often waking residents from
sleep, any sudden movement or attempts at defense are justification for
shooting. If you reach for a weapon to defend against what you believe to
be burglars, you may be shot. If you lunge for the phone on the dresser to
dial 911, you may be shot.

And for those who believe that suspicion of illegal activity should carry
such risks, know that these searches have been performed on the wrong house
on several occasions. Individuals not even suspected of a crime have been
killed because police got the address wrong. Something must change before
this "war" claims more victims.

Joe Rosenberg

Columbus