SWAT Team Deputy Killed Serving “No Knock” Warrant

From the Western Center of Journalism:

On December 19th, a sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed during an attempt to serve a “no knock” warrant near Sommerville, Texas. Just before 6:00 A.M. an 8 member SWAT team broke through the door of Henry Goedrich Magee to serve a warrant which would permit the team to search the mobile home in which Magee and his pregnant girlfriend were living. Reacting to the pre-dawn, forced entry Magee grabbed a rifle propped against a bedroom door frame and fired at the unidentified intruders, killing 31 year old sheriff’s deputy Adam Sowders. No one else was injured and Magee was taken into custody. He is being held on $1 million bail and has been charged with capital murder, punishable in Texas by life in prison without possibility of parole or death by lethal injection.

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It’s a safe bet that a mountain of additional information will be forthcoming should Magee stand trial. But based upon the information that has been released, should Henry Magee have been charged with capital murder? In fact, should he face a murder charge of any kind? IF the SWAT team (as it was called by Texas Ranger Andres de la Garza) entered without identifying its members as law enforcement officers, did Magee have an absolute right to shoot, given that he feared for his life, that of his girlfried and of their child? Must officers accept any risk which goes along with the serving of a “no knock” warrant, the purpose of which is to confuse, intimidate and catch suspected criminals off guard?

So why was a "no knock" warrant required? It was a minor drug case, a few marijuana plants and a few guns. The suspect had been arrested twice for driving while intoxicated and twice for possession of marijuana and a felony and misdemeanor drug conviction. None of which are violent crimes.

So what was the justification for invading his home? The Feds did the same thing in Waco. David Koresh COULD have been arrested on the streets of Waco, but the Feds waited until he was in his compound and invaded it. They claim is was to protect the children, but I and many others suspect, the Feds wanted to be able to look around the compound to get more evidence of other crimes. I suspect the same is true in this case.