Written by: Josh Paniagua at theantimedia.org
Let’s start in Prentiss, Mississippi on the night of December 26, 2001. Police carried out a no-knock raid on the home of Cory Maye during a raid on his neighbor Jamie Smith, a known drug dealer who lived on the other side of Maye’s duplex. Upon hearing a crash at his back door, Maye rushed to grab his .380 caliber pistol, unaware that the intruders were police. Maye fired 3 shots into Officer Ron Jones, killing him with a final fatal shot. About a gram of marijuana was found. In 2004, Cory Maye was sentenced to death by lethal injection. However, after 2 retrials and 10 years in prison, Maye signed a plea agreement pleading guilty to manslaughter and was released in 2011.
Now let’s fast-forward to January 17, 2008 in Chesapeake, Virginia. 28-year-old Ryan Frederick heads to bed at 8:00 pm to be ready for his morning shift just to be immediately awoken by crashes at his front door. Frederick grabs his pistol, looks out of his room, and sees unknown intruders smashing in his door. In defense of himself and his home, he fired his gun at the front door, striking and killing Officer Jarrod Shivers. It should be noted that 3 days prior to the police raid, Frederick’s home had in fact been invaded. It would later be revealed that the intruder was actually a police informant that broke in and searched his home for probable cause for a raid. In February 2009, he was sentenced to the maximum 10 years in prison for manslaughter.
Then more recently, we have the case of 49-year-old Marvin Louis Guy. In the early hours of May 9th, 2014, police executed a no-knock raid on Guy’s home. Upon their forced entry, they were greeted with gunfire from Guy, resulting in the death of Officer Charles Dinwiddie. A warrant for the raid was issued after a police informant claimed to have seen cocaine being trafficked through Guy’s apartment. After the raid, only a glass pipe was found and nothing to suggest he was trafficking drugs. Marvin Guy is awaiting trial but is facing charges for capital murder which is punishable by death.
See a pattern here? A SWAT team aggressively invades somebody’s home in a no-knock raid based on information from a snitch, officer gets killed in an act of self-defense, the information turns out to be illegitimate, and then the people defending themselves and their property from unknown invaders are charged with capital murder or manslaughter. And coincidentally, they all happen to be drug-related cases. But a grand jury in Texas broke that pattern when they dropped all charges related to the shooting and killing of Deputy Adam Sowder during another botched no-knock raid.
On December 19th, 2013, 9 Burleson County Sheriff’s Department raided the home of Henry Magee and his pregnant girlfriend in. Magee believed that his home was being robbed, so to protect himself and his girlfriend, Magee grabbed his gun and opened fire on the unidentified intruders, resulting in the death of Adam Sowders.
The SWAT raid was executed based on information from yet another police informant. Officers believed they would find a major marijuana grow operation consisting of over a dozen six-foot plants and several firearms, including one that had been stolen from the department. Instead, they found 2 6-inch plants, under an ounce of marijuana, and 4 guns all legally owned by Magee.
“It was a tragic accident, but it wasn’t a crime,” Magee’s attorney Dick DeGuerin tells the press, “Hank did what a lot of people would have done under the circumstances[…] When awakened by a loud boom and somebody’s kicking in the door, they defend themselves.”
The grand jury found that Henry Magee acted in self-defense and dropped the murder charges. He was howeverindicted for possession of marijuana, and possession of a deadly weapon and illegal drugs is a felony (which in itself is completely outrageous). But aside from the ludicrous weapons charges and the absurdity of general US policy on marijuana, what’s important to recognize is the breaking of a cycle. The police fucked up, one of them got killed in the process, and a grand jury recognized that enough for a man to avoid manslaughter or capital murder charges which are, as mentioned earlier, punishable by death.
Now, before anybody starts getting all bent out of shape, allow me to clarify: this story isn’t good news to me because somebody got away with shooting a cop. This story is good news because in regards to the murder charges, I believe unconditional justice was served. These officers stormed into this man’s house where he and his pregnant girlfriend were sleeping, did not identify themselves as police officers, and got shot at. Aside from the basic fact that Magee himself pulled the trigger, it’s quite clear to see who is at fault: the unidentified intruders.
Still, the dropped murder charges don’t change the fact that Magee is being indicted on drug and weapons charges which also happen to be victimless. Henry Magee growing marijuana did not result in an officer being shot. Unnecessary force, lack of investigation, and senseless drug policies resulted in an officer being shot.
The 4th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States says and I quote, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”. The first fuck up of law enforcement was, and I agree with Josh in this was where he said “lack of investigation”. The police shoul have NEVER signed under oath without tangable proof that they had probable cause for the search warrant…That is IF they even had a search warrant considering they were going off the word of a snitch which is usually a career criminal him or herself so that alone make the search suspect. Now, lets say the police did NOT have a search warrant. Texas is a Castle Doctrine state. For those of you who do not know what the “Castle Doctrine” aka Stand Your Ground Law is, it is a law that says, “that an individual has no duty to retreat when in his or her home, or “castle,” and may use reasonable force, including deadly force, to defend his or her property, person, or another”. With that said, it is my personal conclusion that the subsequent charges brought against these individuals be it at the time of the no knock raid or at any point later due to evidence obtained is fruit of the poisonous tree and all charges should have been dismissed.
i believe a no knock the equivalent of the makings of a home invasion so what we see, hear, read, is the police in america having the moral low ground and the most skilled gang yes the police are a gang with unlimited funds toys and ways to destroy the playing field.you protect yourself in your home and shoot a weapon and there is a trial for freedom that will wreck your life and your whole families lives and wipe out any money you have and your property to pay for a legal defense because a pro bono lawyer works with the D.A.the police jargon reads to protect and serve,themselves .
For a SWAT team to be called in is bad news. These guys are thuds. There is way more to the story. If a SWAT team is called GOOD LUCK. To many murders,rape,child molestation, drugs, women getting abused, Devore, suicide, robberies, sex traffic, etc…..etc…. Etc. to keep old ladies being raped and mugged is super hard work and I personally couldn’t do it.
My son is a police officer and an excellent one. He is the one you want to show up when your child just hung himself or a mother just drowned her child or you call at 4:30 in the morning because I you here noises in your house. He will do the write thing. He will comfort your entire family as they put your child in the body bag. He will try and breathe life into the infant to give it a chance to live. He will put his life in front of your when someone has a gun to your head.
Don’t fuck up and hurt people in America so we can all live in peace. I am a single mom I raised my son to be an honorable man and protect all who can’t. I couldn’t live without him, and neither can you. Tina Cahill
Nobody gives a shit. Police are FUCKING thugs
Give it a break, not all cops are thugs.
We need more like Tina’s son, don’t prove the thugs right by being an ass.
Seriously?? So the cop dies for nothing and the pathetic kill gets life for killing? how much did the Jury get paid for not charging him? or was it he even supplies to jury.
U are a complete moron. It is the stupid police’s fault for not announcing themselves. Please never breed.
Your stupid as f if you havent followed up with all the “Police arrests/murders innocent people” and all those things. The cops are the ones that fucked up, not the one defending themselves. There is no excuse for them. If that actually would had been something trying to rob him, the robber would be dead and the case thereby closed, cause as i stated, he was a robber. But just because they are police, doesnt make them immortal gods that can do whatever they want. They didnt announce themselves (their fault), and if its night/early day, then its at first hard to see who it is, and if a humans instincts are right (wich in this case they were), you defend yourself and attack the intruder. He did the right thing, they police fucked up, no one got paid. You need to see this from more aspects and also things from the past, if you only reply to this thread because of what you saw here and not somewhere else, you cant be very smart. There has happened alot in the past regarding police officers being brutal and even killing innocent people for nothing, and only some very few got charged. Being under the law or not, doesnt change the fact that you at the same time do a crime, even if its “legal” (just because some people that are high ranked say its legal, doesnt mean it is. Its called basic human rights, and defending one self is one of them, look it up). So next time when you reply, look at more than one aspect. Also this just infact makes you look like one of the cops that practice all the things i mentioned above.
The key word is No-Knock, if they had announced themselves the man wouldn’t shoot out because they are way more armed. If it were my case and a bunch of people broke into my home I would probably shoot because I don’t know who they are and why they are in my house.
“no knock” dosent mean silent, They just break in the door first, then they yell and announce themselves; its complete chaos. The shooter is full of it, he knew they were cops long before he saw them. Author of the story had to go back 14 years to gather the 4 examples….lmao. One of them even shot through the door, which is almost always instant guilt. One of these days you guys will do your homework….
Here in Germany, we had several cases where intruders got shot and the shooters have been found innocent by court – although they owned their guns illegally (private gun possession is VERY limited over here).
In one case, a police officer has been shot through the door by the homeowner as they tried to lockpick the door. As soon as they shouted “Police, don’t shoot” he dropped the gun and got arrested without any resistance.
You have to know, the resident received murder threats the police KNEW about. So when they tried to get in, he thought they were coming to kill him and pulled the trigger of his .44 Magnum. The shot officer was the one picking the lock and as he leaned forward, the bullet entered his body without even touching his ballistic vest.
In the end, this guy has been found innocent for self defense also.
I think that’s the way it should be everywhere.
And that is the correct way to behave. If you defend yourself, cause it is after all everyones right to do so, then you cant be charged for something they did wrong. It was the polices fault, not the ones getting raided. Most (i said most here, not all) americans dont see that as right, because the thing called justice, simply doesnt exist in the USA. Either you stand up for what you do, or if you do just one thing, not even something close to a crime, they bend it to their like as much as they want to, and charge you for something that wasnt even much of a thing before it came to court, and it comes to the fact that they think they are gods that no one can disobey and everything they say is right. It simply isnt. If it was, then no one would see anything wrong in it, yet many do. Simply because we all think different, so thats why we all depend on the one thing most see as right: moral justice. Which in case to the USA, just doesnt exist. “Justice” as they call it there, is putting everyone in jail that hasnt even been accused of having done something wrong. And dont take that from me, take it from someone that also is reviewing alot of these things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks
I truly don’t see a reason for the no knock other than perhaps knowing that a subject that is in a house is a danger to all. If said person was a danger to all and known to have a weapon I think I would make sure he was there first. It’s just sloppy police work we are seeing. Police not wanting to put in the time to make sure what a dead beat snitch is telling them rings as the truth. It’s sad that Police men were killed but I am betting if they would have announced who they were not a shot would have been fired. More than anything I would blame their chief of police for allowing such a method of operation.
break into my house in the middle of the night unannounced and see what happens. you won’t come out alive. I don’t care who you are.
neither would you
no knock violent entries over minor drug offensives is not the American way. Thats evil and that why people are getting hurt.
silly yankies with there gun laws down here in Australia we have strict gun laws preventing anyone owning a gun without a licence but yet usa and everyone from there are killing each other damn hillbillys lol
Exactly! Too many guns, too many accidents.
I always read: “crash the door” or “no knock”… Where is the decency left ? The courtesy dictates the use of the doorbell. If someone is at my frontdoor at night he would get some with my baseballbat (Opinion amplifier)