No more no-knock warrants, raids

No-knock raids, which allow police officers to forcefully enter a property without prior notification, are an increasingly common tool of law enforcement throughout the United States. But a deadly no-knock raid in Louisville, Ky., which left one woman dead and her boyfriend charged with attempted murder, should motivate states to rethink the practice.

In the early hours of March 13, as 26-year-old emergency medical technician Breonna Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, slept, plainclothes Louisville Metro Police burst into their apartment, serving a noknock search warrant in a narcotics investigation. The authorities have claimed since the incident that they announced their arrival; lawyers for Ms. Taylor’s family and Mr. Walker say they did not.

Mr. Walker, who has said that he believed the home was being invaded, grabbed his legally registered gun and fired a shot that struck an officer in the leg. The police returned fire, discharging more than 20 rounds. Ms. Taylor was hit eight times and was killed. No drugs were found in the apartment.

There are more than 20,000 noknock raids in the U.S. every year, according to criminology data, up from just 3,000 in 1981. These raids, originally meant to facilitate dangerous operations that require an element of surprise, are increasingly used for low-stakes investigations, including run-of-the-mill drug crimes.

And no-knock raids, particularly those that utilize plainclothes officers, can quickly become tragic. Mr. Walker was not the first to fire on officers serving a no-knock warrant; he is just one of the few to survive such an act.

Mr. Walker, who believed he and his loved one were under attack, should be cleared of attempted murder. Self-defense is a natural instinct, and Mr. Walker, who was innocent of any crime and a legal gun owner, exercised his legal rights.

But the incident that landed Mr. Walker in jail and claimed the life of his partner should motivate legislators to assess the value of no-knock warrants. No-knock warrants are illegal in Oregon and Florida, yet law enforcement has had no issues performing necessary operations in either state.

No-knock warrants leave too much room for error. And when that room can have deadly, life-altering consequences, something needs to change.