Erosion of the Bill of Rights continues...

So, after they bury my bullet-riddled carcass, does my family have a cause of action?

 

Doubtful. You would almost certainly have to prove the police acted in bad faith and/or knew what they were doing was illegal/against established protocol to win a 42 U.S. 1983 suit. I doubt you will find many courts who will hold that when police start firing back they are doing so in bad faith.

 

So I, as an American citizen, am supposed to, what, INTUIT that the man who breaks down my door without identifying himself is a police officer? What if I'm, say, the Reverend Accelyne Williams, the elderly Boston minister who died after being cuffed and rousted by Boston SWAT cops after their CI gave them his address? What if I'm the Reverend Williams, doing nothing wrong, in a tough neighborhood, and somebody I don't know starts breaking and entering? This is a bad decision on a number of levels, not the least of which is the fact that Scalia seems to have no concept of how the police and citizens interact in the real world, or he doesn't care, as long as the cops are arresting people he could care less about.

 

I was thinking about this in the morning when I heard about the decision. New laws have been passed in several "red states" providing for self-defense. The right to shoot an intruder on-site has increased.

Now, you are saying the cops can just barge in without identifying themselves first.

The two just don't mix.

 

. . . and won't it be "interesting" . . .

 

. . . and you expected what from the likes of Scalia, given his enduring love affair with the likes of the VP? . . .

 

But sending a certified letter with a time of arrival would help the suspects know when to put their pants on. Or reload.

 

The cops only have to knock if they suspect Dick buttfucking Scalia. We cannot have SCOTUS interruptus or Vice POTUS interruptus.

 

Yes, because clearly a certified letter is what is anyone who disagrees with this ruling is saying.

Also, just because you announce who you are after entering a building doesn't mean it is always heard and heard correctly amidst the noise of the door breaking apart, stamping feet and general police chatter.