A No Knock Warrant Death

[chipperi]

No Knock warrant costs a cop his life over small amount of weed. If you storm into a home unidentified after hours do you seriously not expect to get shot?


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By John Hopkins
The Virginian-Pilot
© January 24, 2008

CHESAPEAKE

Ryan Frederick, the Chesapeake resident accused of killing a police officer, is a hard-working man who believed he was protecting himself the night the officer came to his door and tried to serve a search warrant, Frederick’s aunt said today.

“He’s not a killer,” said Sheryl Morales of Chesapeake. “He knew someone was in his house and he shot.’’

Frederick, 28, is being held in jail without bond for the shooting of police detective Jarrod Shivers.

Shivers, an eight-year veteran of the force and father of three, was shot Jan. 17 while executing the search warrant at 932 Redstart Ave. in the Portlock section of Chesapeake. Police have said Shivers was trying to enter the home when shots were fired from inside and hit him.

Morales said the tragedy could have been avoided.

“What would you do in that situation? If they had've knocked on the door and got a response, he would have let them in,’’ she said, crying during an interview with The Virginian-Pilot this morning at her home in her South Norfolk neighborhood.

Frederick faces charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 30 in Chesapeake General District Court.

The medical examiner’s office said Shivers died from a single gunshot wound to his arm and chest. He was wearing body armor and a badge when he executed the search warrant, police said. Police also wore helmets marked “POLICE’’ when they came to the house.

Morales said she wanted to attend a candlelight vigil Sunday in honor of the officer but worried that it would create more problems. Today she offered the family’s condolences to Shivers’ wife and family.

“I’m just so sorry for her loss and her kids’ loss,” she said. “We all offer our condolences. We’ve all prayed for them.’’

Morales said Frederick purchased a gun as protection for his home and he practiced at firing ranges to learn how to use it. A couple of days before the shooting, someone attempted to break into the house, she said.

At about 120 pounds, Frederick would have been no match for an intruder, she said. “Ryan never hurt anyone in his life,’’ she said. “He had nothing more than a speeding ticket on his record.”

She said if police found marijuana in the house, it would have been only a small amount for personal use. According to a search warrant, police found an unspecified amount of marijuana, smoking devices and other paraphernalia in Frederick’s home.

 

[General Geoff]

Eventually, the cops (or more accurately, their superiours) will wise up. There's a lot more armed citizens than there are police officers in this country, and if they continue to do no-knock entries, more police will continue to die.


I hope this gentleman has all charges dropped against him. If it comes to a trial, he stands a decent chance of winning, especially with the attempted break-in that occurred a few days before the incident.


edit; on the flip side, however, had I been in said situation, I'd have waited for the door to burst open, so I could at least identify my target visually before taking a shot.

 

[bensdad]

Horrible situation for all involved. He'll be judged by 12. They will get more information than we will.

 

[General Geoff]

They will get more information than we will.

But they'll be allowed to use *less* of that information during their deliberations, technically. All they would be allowed to judge upon (in order to determine intent) is what the man knew when he pulled the trigger, nothing afterwards. That's why I think he might be exonerated; He was not privy to the fact that the guy outside his door was a police officer. However, he also did not know for a fact whether the man was armed, or what his intentions were. This is where castle doctrine law usually kicks in, with the legal assumption that someone uninvited who is attempting to break into your house *is* trying to do you physical harm.

 

[Officers'Wife]

He who acts like a home invader gets shot like one. The guy deserves a medal for protecting his children, not a jail sentence because the intruder turned out to be a 'good guy.'

Trouble with the ends justifying the means is the people in the middle can't tell who is playing what. What a pity.

Selena

 

[Just Jim]

I am afraid that if someone comes to my house un anounced and begins to break down my door that I too will go to jail.

Sad for the officer and his family and a poor decision for the powers to be that gets good men like this killed. Why didn't they wait till he left home to arrest him and use the search warrant then??? To assualt a home where people are armed when you can easily catch them outside the home doesn't make any sense.

jj

 

[Justin]

Yet another unintended consequence of the war on drugs.

Nobody's life, cop or citizen, is worth ending over a bag of pot.

 

[mgregg85]

It seems that under the castle doctrine, if you heard someone trying to break into your house you would have the right to shoot them.

It also seems that an assailant could knock down your door and yell "police!" pretty easily, if you have no way of knowing whether or not the guy charging you yelling "police!" is actually a cop, would you shoot?

Wasn't there a case recently where a guy shot a cop that stormed his house mistakenly? I seem to recall that the cops went into this guy's house by mistake and he shot one of them thinking they were intruders.

I really can't blame this guy for shooting but I imagine its tearing him up inside and he's gotta be afraid of the jail time.

 

[DENALI]

:banghead: I think there gonna hang this guy. Police officers are extra-special people, and extra special people have extra special rights, at least the government see's it that way.....

 

[average_shooter]

Off topic, I know, but I feel compelled to mention L.E.A.P.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

You don't have to be current or former LEO to join, either. They welcome concerned citizens to join as well.

 

[sacp81170a]

if police found marijuana in the house, it would have been only a small amount for personal use.

I'm not commenting on Mr. Frederick's actions or the actions of the officers serving the warrant. I am, however, pointing out circumstances that could have led up to the confrontation.

#1.

Mr. Frederick was in possession of marijuana according to the police report to the press. Taking that assertion as a fact at face value:

Where did Mr. Frederick get the marijuana? (Hint, not from a law-abiding citizen.)

Given the fact that he would necessarily have had a business relationship with people we would all agree were willing to break the law for profit (regardless of the morality or constitutionality of that law), would it be a reasonable assumption that those people would have "sold Mr. Frederick down the river"? In other words, if they caught the dealer that Mr. Frederick obtained his marijuana from and pressured him for names, could he have given them Mr. Frederick's name rather than someone higher up his chain of supply?

The reason I bring this up is to point out that Mr. Frederick's circumstances, while tragic, may have been brought about by his own behavior. He violated John Farnam's basic rules for the warrior: Don't go stupid places and don't hang out with stupid people.

I hate that he finds himself in such a tragic situation. I hate that a brother officer was killed needlessly in the performance of his job. I, for one, believe that no-knock warrants have a troubling tendency to be over-used.

I make no moral judgements on the system or the players involved, but merely observe that those who associate with known criminals and who break the law themselves are far more likely to end up in this type of encounter than those who do not. Here endeth the lesson.

 

[Sage of Seattle]

And some people still think that no-knock warrants aren't easy to get and often used for trivial things?

I now am for the enactment of strict guidelines of when ANY no-knock warrant shall be issued. Guidelines such as a minimum of let's say two independent witnesses who put some form of identification on the warrant itself, or perhaps that the person who is at the residence has at least one felony conviction on record (or even several misdemeanor violence convictions) or SOMETHING.

Folks, I know I'm preaching to the choir on this, but what the cops are doing now AIN'T WORKING.

 

[Just Jim]

Where did Mr. Frederick get the marijuana? (Hint, not from a law-abiding citizen.)

Maybe he was able to grow his own so he didn't have to deal with criminals??

It would be nice to know all that facts before judgement is passed. It is very dangerous to break in to peoples homes unanounced though.

jj

Seems alot of this drug use would stop if they closed the border where most of it comes from. How many lives would it save to do the right thing??

 

[vis-à-vis]

From what I read right now, if I were a juror, I'd be leaning toward a not guilty vote.

 

[ilbob]

I feel bad for the dead guy's family. I feel bad for the guy who is now in jail for merely defending his home against unknown invaders.

According to a search warrant, police found an unspecified amount of marijuana, smoking devices and other paraphernalia in Frederick’s home.

All over probably a baggie of pot, maybe some pipes, and a dieter's scale. Is the failed war on drugs really worth it? How many more people have to die and lives ruined before we call a truce?

 

[eliphalet]

Understanding why our borders are left open but "no knock warrants" are used on the populace escapes me.

 

[fletcher]

The medical examiner’s office said Shivers died from a single gunshot wound to his arm and chest. He was wearing body armor and a badge when he executed the search warrant, police said. Police also wore helmets marked “POLICE’’ when they came to the house.

You probably can't see those very well at night, and the words on their helmet would probably be the last thing to worry about if your door gets kicked down.

 

[DENALI]

The whole sorry episode is just another tiny chapter in Uncle Sam's ongoing essay on criminalizing one segment of society after another and then lowering them to the position of dungeon-class, and of course always expanding the para-militaries rights and privlidges to combat them in the name of protecting the middle-class they just removed them from. Just who is the predator?

 

[Just Jim]

Understanding why our borders are left open but "no knock warrants" are used on the populace escapes me.

We could slow down the drug trade alot if we closed the border. 80% of all meth comes across our southern border. No Knock warrants wouldn't be needed if the crap is not here to sell.

jj

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

im not seeing anywhere in this story where it was a "no knock" warrant? can someone please point it out?

the only thing i see even remotely close is:

“What would you do in that situation? If they had've knocked on the door and got a response, he would have let them in,’’ she said, crying during an interview with The Virginian-Pilot this morning at her home in her South Norfolk neighborhood.

it doesn't appear that the aunt, who is quoted above, was there when the warrant was executed, because she later says:

She said if police found marijuana in the house, it would have been only a small amount for personal use.

had she been there she'd have probably known what the police claim to have found.

so, can someone show where it was a "no knock" warrant? or are we just assuming at this point?

thans.

 

[tallpaul]

I am of the - ya better knock or call first club... I am not a criminal and ANYONE- with a hat or vest that can say pilice etc does not mean anything to me. They sell those items on ebay every day- well online anyhow... You do not come into my house un announced or uninvited by me unless ya are willing to die- PERIOD! I have had that discussion with quite a few LE and they usually get pissed off royal... they do feel they are truly special... they would be the first to arrest us if we went to a house based on a bad invite or iflormation. They also feel that if they goto the wrong house based on bad info they should not be prosecuted.... its BS I also know several "officers" that brag even with a knock warrant they only wisper...

I hope the dude gets let off as he should. I don't think the right of protecting your home is not done away with for committing a misdemeanor is it? Heck its not even done away with if ya are a felon - maybe not with a gun but ya still have the right AND DUTY to protect your family/home- God knows LE don't save ya from home invasions and the supreme court already ruled its NOT the responsibility of the LE community to protect us as individuals...

 

[Cesiumsponge]

This is several weeks old which is a shame. There aren't many details coming out immediately which is suspicious. The interesting parts are the new developments. According to Radley Balko who spoke to one of the reporters...there is some information that did not make it to the news articles.
http://www.theagitator.com/2008/01/25/more-from-cheseapeake/

He told me a couple of interesting things that didn’t appear in the paper’s interview with Frederick. First, Frederick told the reporter that as the police were taking him out of the house in handcuffs, he told them he was sorry, and that he was scared because his house had been burglarized earlier in the week. According to the reporter, Frederick says the police arresting him then told him they not only knew about the burglary, they knew who had done it. Neither the reporter nor Frederick made the connection at the time that the person who broke in could well also be the informant.

Apparently the owner was a gardener with Japanese Maples and grow lamps so these can possibly be mistaken for pot. Tomato plants have been mistaken as pot plants in the past. Young Japanese Maple leaves look somewhat like pot leaves before they turn that mature red. http://www.soulofthegarden.com/Images/April06JapaneseMapleLeavesCU.jpg



Don't forget that no-knocks are being used a little too readily on non-violent offenses with information given by "informants" which are often less-than-reliable. You're getting the same type of highly dynamic raids on things like poker games which absolutely aren't justified. Judicious use of force is a high risk decision. Just several months earlier, a similar raid resulted in one dead single mother and a 1-year old child shot AFTER the suspect had been arrested.

On recent scandals with drug informants, there is a big stink about a DEA informant that worked with a DEA agent in over 21 false convictions which have put innocent people away.
http://www.cleveland.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1200994350273790.xml&coll=2

Geneva France walked out of federal prison with $68 and a bus ticket home. That's all the government had to offer a woman who had served 16 months of a decade-long prison sentence for a crime she didn't commit.

Federal prosecutors in Cleveland charged France and 25 others from Mansfield in 2005, based on the work of informant Jerrell Bray and DEA agent Lee Lucas.

Lucas and Bray identified her from a photo Mansfield authorities provided.

"As soon as [a sheriff's deputy] showed me the picture, I said, That's the girl I bought from,' " Lucas testified at France's trial Feb. 14, 2006.

The picture was France -- her sixth-grade class picture, taken 13 years earlier.

No surveillance photos, which are standard in tracking drug dealers, were taken in France's case.

It was her word against Lucas'.

A lot of critical mistakes are being made lately.

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

cesiumsponge,

thanks for the information, i too agree that no-knocks are very dangerous for all parties involved. no different than other undercover drug buys where the dope dealers have no idea the buyer is an undercover cop, or vice versa.

in relation to this particular incident did Balko or anyone else specify if this was a no-knock warrant? i dont see it anywhere.

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

ok i just found a linked news story:
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/01/all-officers-were-wearing-body-armor-during-shivers-shooting

part of the article says:

Officers were wearing body armor and helmets marked “POLICE” when they climbed the three brick steps at 932 Redstart Ave. last week to serve a narcotics warrant, a department spokeswoman says.

According to Christi Golden, officers did a “knock and announce” – in which they approach the door and declare their presence before entering.

a neighbor said:

“I heard a bam,” but no warnings from police, McReynolds said. “There was no police sirens, nothing.”

looks like it wasn't a "no-knock" warrant, whether they did knock and announce then is more of the issue. did they or didn't they?

 

[DENALI]

Hey there eliphalet. In answer to your question, just think "Hotel California"....:banghead: