SNIP Again if its a search warrant then you have to enter this residence. Bit then the issue is if you knock wait the few seconds yell police knock then breach your giving time for him to grab rifle and or destroy evidence.
There ya go folks. The primary reason for these paramilitary raids.
The police say they need an infantry squad because drugs and guns go hand in hand. Trust me, there would have been a paramilitary raid even if the guy was not known to have weapons or a willingness to use them. Just think back to how many incidents you've seen reported in the press. Now, how many reported the police had information the residents were known in advance to be armed and willing to fight back.
Courts have long recognized the police viewpoint that guns and drugs go hand-in-hand. Just spend a little time on FourthAmendment.com and see how many times you come across information to the effect that this court or that court approved a Terry patdown or local search for weapons when a drug offense was articulably suspected.
So, the police report that they suspected the guy had guns and was willing to use them is a red-herring. All it took was for it to be a drug search. Once its a drug search, police will take advantage of the idea they established that guns and drugs go hand in hand, and therefore overwhelming firepower is justified (according to police).
But, that's not the key point. That's just how you end up with a paramilitary squad instead of a few investigators and patrolmen.
The key point is the destruction of evidence. You can't flush stolen stereo equipment. You can't flush ten thousand dollars drug money. You can't flush kilos of MJ, heroin, or cocaine either. Its the smaller amounts of drugs that are flushable.
So, because smaller amounts of drugs are flushable, you now have a "justification" for kicking in a door and barging in rather than knocking and waiting until someone answers the door. And, since cops say drugs and guns go together, a paramilitary squad does the door-kicking.
