. . . muttered the ogre

Wouldn’t it be cool if the blogosphere could save a life? Radley Balko is on the case. (Cited by Gene Healy.)

It is disputed whether the warrant authorized a no-knock entry into Maye’s apartment, but why should that have any bearing on the case? The criterion for self-defense is whether Maye reasonably believed that grave danger existed, and by definition if the cops broke in without warning Maye necessarily could not know whether or not they were “authorized”.

Cops need to recognize that, when they execute a no-knock warrant, they are deliberately making themselves look like felons.