Question:

High Court Backs Police No-Knock Searches

SCOTUS has ruled that no-knock and no-announce searches, when accompanied by a court issued search warrant are legal and proper.

My question is; given that the police on occasion accidentally search the wrong house, what protection do innocent citizens have against the police?

For instance: its 2 am the cops don’t knock and don’t announce themselves as police. They proceed to do an armed insertion into the wrong house. The home owner awakened from his sleep by the sound of people breaking into his home grabs his firearm and defends his home against armed invasion. Several outcomes are possible, let’s just focus on two. The homeowner can shoot and kill police or the homeowner himself may be killed.

If the homeowner kills a cop, will the court hold him responsible?

If the cops kill the homeowner will they be charged with murder?

My opinion on this is: By not announcing themselves as police, and by entering the wrong house, the police are criminal aggressors and loose all semblance of authority, whatever happens after that point is the result of their illegal action, therefore the cops would be guilty of first degree murder if they killed a homeowner. If the homeowner kills his attacker he has done nothing wrong, self-defense applies.

This scenario may seem a little far fetched, but I predict its only a matter of time before it comes to pass.