08x03 - Police raids and no-knock warrants in the United States

[bunniefuu]

♪ ♪

John: hi there!

Welcome to the show, still

Taking place in this blank void.

And if you're starting to enjoy

This void at all, you'll love

Its spinoff series,

"Young void," coming exclusively

To hbo max.

Yes, hbo max: there's a new

Movie every month!

This month, it's... Oh, f*ck me.

Look, it's been a busy week,

From the horror show of cpac to

Joe biden giving m.b.s. A pass

Over the m*rder of

Jamal khashoggi, to the post

Office unveiling its new

Delivery truck, which looks like

The star of a children's book

Who thinks it can, but can't.

But we're actually going to

Start right here at home, with

New york's governor,

Andrew cuomo.

A man whose face, build, and

General demeanor always seems to

Scream "business frankenstein."

Cuomo has been in some hot water

Lately.

This morning, new york

Governor andrew cuomo's

Administration is under federal

Scrutiny for its handling of

Covid-related fatality data at

Nursing homes.

The fallout comes after a



Attorney general last month

Revealed the state had been

Underreporting deaths in nursing

Homes and long-term care

Facilities by as much as 50%.

John: underreporting nursing

Home deaths... You'd expect that

Less from a transparent

Democracy, and more from an

Authoritarian regime like north

North korea, which

To this day has yet to report

A single case of coronavirus.

I assume their state media is

Claiming that the virus was

Repelled from the country after

Kim jong-un breathed fire on it.

This scandal stems from a

Directive cuomo made last march,

Telling nursing homes to accept

Covid-positive patients

To free up hospital beds.

That would be bad enough, but

Since then, his administration

Has tried to downplay any

Consequences of that action...

Releasing a report last july

That laid the blame on

Nursing home staffers for

Infecting residents, and,

As a cuomo aide recently told

Lawmakers, actively concealing

Data on covid deaths out of fear

It'd be used against them by

Federal prosecutors.

That revelation, understandably,

Set off a firestorm.

And after a democratic

Legislator, ron kim, made a

Statement about it to the press,

He says he got a call from cuomo

That went about as well as you

Might expect.

The governor asked me to

Issue a statement that countered

What I heard in the meeting and

Essentially cover up the

Cover-up.

He spent 10 minutes berating me,

Threatening me to end my career

In front of my family, in front

Of my kids.

John: yeah, not great.

Now, I have to say,

Cuomo has denied kim's account

Of that call.

But you should know, many, many

People who've dealt with cuomo

In the past have said it sounds

Exactly like him.

And that reputation alone

Goes a long way.

Be honest, if you saw a headline

Tomorrow that said, "leaked memo

Shows john oliver asked staff

If bird he saw in central park

Had an onlyfans page,"

You'd believe it.

Even if I denied the account of

That conversation, deep down,

You'd know it happened, because

It just sounds like something

I'd do.

And cuomo is famously

Unpleasant.

He reportedly has a

"Do-not-yell-at" list,

Which a former aide apparently

Admitted is very small.

And just this week,

A different former aide accused

Him of sexual harassment,

A claim he denies.

Although, on the same day that

Story broke, cuomo was at a

Vaccination site, and couldn't

Help himself from joking about

Vaccinating this state senator.

I'm going to be doing

The vaccination.

I get to select the part of the

Anatomy where I do the vaccine.

And you'll be surprised, or

Maybe not, when you see the part

Of the anatomy that I pick.

John: is it his penis,

Andrew?

Are you going to vaccinate him

In the penis?

Because I'll be honest, I would

Actually be surprised if you

Wanted to vaccinate him in the

Penis.

The vein is hard to find.

Practitioners generally

Recommend the non-dominant arm

And also, what the f*ck is wrong

With you?

Even before the current

Scandals, there was something

Gross about cuomo's glee in his

Public adulation last year,

From his constant appearances

With his brother on cnn,

To him co-signing on the term

"Cuomosexuals"... The only

Sexual orientation, by the way,

It's completely acceptable to

Discriminate against.

To the book he published last

October about the lessons

He'd learned from handling the

Still-ongoing pandemic,

Which were presumably:

"1: Do press conferences."

"2: The end."

And those press conferences

Where cuomo loved to insist on

The importance of facts now play

A little differently, after

Everything we've learned.

Especially moments like this.

"Follow the facts, they will

Show you the way,"

A.j. Parkinson.

That's what we've been doing in

New york, following the facts.

John: okay, the thing is,

It's hard to follow the facts

If the people in charge of those

Facts are actively withholding

Them from you.

As far as advice goes, that's

Basically as useful as a bully

Saying "stop hitting yourself,"

In that in both cases, yeah,

I'd actually really like to.

The thing is, some assh*le won't

Let me.

And you may've noticed that he

Was quoting someone named

A.j. Parkinson there.

That is something he does a lot.

Remember, "textbooks say

Politicians lead and the people

Follow.

No, it is often the people who

Lead and the politicians who

Follow," a.j. Parkinson.

A.j. Parkinson, great quote,

"I respect elected officials who

Aren't typical politicians."

"Don't pass the buck without

Passing the bucks,"

A.j parkinson.

A.j. Parkinson.

A.j. Parkinson.

A.j. Parkinson.

A.j. Parkinson.

A.j. Parkinson said that.

John: now, if you're

Currently thinking, "oh, no,

Am I supposed to know who

A.j. Parkinson is?"

Don't worry, he's not a famous

Historical figure that you

Learned about in school, like

Plato, or jane austen,

Or james joyce.

Although, in fairness, you

Didn't learn much about them

Either, considering you didn't

Realize that that's actually

Socrates, that's emily

Dickinson, and that's

T.s. Eliot.

But the point is, it's actually

Completely fine not to be

Familiar with a.j. Parkinson,

Because he doesn't exist.

He's a completely made up

Person.

Apparently, by cuomo's dad,

Former governor and kevin spacey

Cosplayer mario cuomo.

He used to invoke the name of

A.j. Parkinson as an inside joke

With the press.

And while that may have been

Charming at the time,

The current cuomo doing it

During a pandemic when virtually

No one gets that it's a joke is

A pretty weird move.

If you're trying to lighten the

Mood, there are so many other

Real quotes you could have gone

With.

For example, nicki minaj's

Tweet, "okay, boys, what's your

Ball size?"

Sure, not appropriate for the

Occasion, but at least she's

A real person.

Oh, and for the record, nikki,

The answer is: surprisingly

Decent-sized.

I call them the hemsworth

Brothers, because they look

Great and everyone's surprised

There's a third one.

And look, circulating

Fake quotes is obviouly not

The worst thing cuomo's done.

That is becoming increasingly

Clear.

But it does feel like

A pretty apt metaphor for

An administration that has

Aggressively managed facts

To fit its chosen reality.

And it actually brings to mind

Another insightful saying:

"Andrew cuomo is a colossal

assh*le."

It's from an excellent writer

Named t.j. Pimpernickle.

And I'll tell you exactly two

Things about t.j. Pimpernickle:

One, he is a person I totally

Made up, and two, he's also

Completely right about

Andrew cuomo.

And now, this.

♪ ♪

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If you just look at peleton,

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Some jenna sherman and cody and

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And five to ten years, those

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Sell very well at the garage

Sale.

Yeah, I don't know.

I am a big peleton fan.

♪ ♪

John: moving on.

Our main story tonight concerns

Policing.

It's one of tv's favorite

Subjects, from

"Hill street blues" through

"Law & order" through this:

Do you think the cops have

Too much power?

Do you think they used excessive

Force?

Tell us, was your life in

Danger?

Does this make you feel any

Remorse?

Are you part of organized

Outcry?

Are you acting on your own?

Would you agree this case has

Racial overtones?

John: now, you're probably

Just currently shouting, "what?"

Increasingly loudly.

So let me explain: that's a

Scene from "cop rock," a very

Real musical cop show that

Premiered on abc in 1990 and

Lasted exactly 11 episodes.

Think of it like if

"Pitch perfect" crashed into

"The wire" and there were

Absolutely no survivors.

I'd say that was the best worst

Thing I've ever seen on tv, but

The thing is, I have seen more

"Cop rock."

There's a subplot about

Child-selling!

And if you are wondering, does

The child seller sing?

Yep!

I'm the baby merchant!

Tots 'r' us.

I'll give you all the service

And no damn fuss.

Give the baby merchant

Just a week or two.

I'll have a baby for you.

John: that song is three

Minutes long and they never do

Anything else.

That couple just stands there

While a man informs them that

He's the baby merchant for

Three human minutes.

That show was on television

In america.

But as long as we've been

Questioning on tv whether

Policing has... And I apologize

For even attempting this...

"Racial overtones," we've made

Very little progress towards

Actually addressing that issue.

As we've discussed before,

The past and present of policing

In america is very much tied up

With racism.

And we want to focus on one area

Of policing in particular

Tonight: police raids.

It's a practice that attracted

A lot of attention last year in

The wake of the breonna taylor

Case.

She was k*lled after officers

Broke down her door in the

Middle of the night and

Fired 32 sh*ts into her home.

A year later, none of these

Officers have been indicted for

Charges relating to her death.

And if it is somehow nobody's

Fault that an innocent woman

Was k*lled in the middle of

The night in her own home,

There might be an issue with

Police raids.

Data on them is scarce, so it's

Hard to say how many take place

In america, but estimates put

It in the tens of thousands

Per year.

And they can be carried out by

Almost anyone in law enforcement

...from federal agents, to

S.w.a.t. Teams within police

Departments, to detectives,

And patrol officers.

And while these tactics were

Initially intended for

Life-or-death scenarios, like

Active sh**t or hostage

Situations, one analysis found

That only 7% of swat deployments

Met that criteria, while more

Than 60% of the cases involved

Searches for dr*gs.

And that shift was the result of

Intentional policy choices.

Police raids were supercharged

By the w*r on dr*gs, and the

Tactic became so popular that

Geraldo rivera even produced

A special where he showed you

Raids happen in real time.

This is real life, the first

In a series of raids we'll be

Showing you this evening.

In this one, members of the

San diego police department are

Raiding a so-called crack house,

Where pushers sell cocaine to

People in this neighborhood.

For the past six months, we have

Covered the street cops whose

Job is to rip and tear and pound

Their way into the nation's

Crack-houses and sh**ting

Galleries.

And we have gone undercover to

Expose the pushers who profit

From this dirty business.

John: wow.

They all seem to be having fun

There, from the officers'

Mad dash like it's black friday

And walmart has a sale on

Marijuana, to geraldo's

Ridiculous disguise, which looks

Like the pringles guy

Auditioning for "miami vice."

Although I will say, that's

Still better than his current

Look, which answers the

Question, what if every single

"Batman" joker were rolled into

One?

And raids can obviously have

Dire consequences.

A "times" investigation found

That, from 2010 to 2016,

At least 81 civilians were

k*lled in them.

And these tactics are rarely

Proportional to the alleged

Crimes being targeted.

In louisville, breonna taylor's

Home, a year and a half before

The raid that k*lled her, this

Happened.

This police body camera video

Shows lmpd swat officers

Breaking into daugherty and

Burr's house on west chestnut

Street.

Hurry up, come on, put your

Hands up!

The couple and their three

Children, who were under the age

Of 16 at the time, claim they

Were held at gunpoint the

Morning of october 26th, 2018.



Because a detective smelled

Marijuana coming from the

Family's home.

John: he "smelled marijuana."

Come on!

If you just "smell marijuana,"

You don't show up with loaded

as*ault r*fles like you're in

"Call of duty."

You show up with

"Settlers of catan" and $50

Worth of cookies from subway.

Don't be such f*cking squares.

And the thing is, absurdly

Disproportionate and dangerous

Responses are basically par for

The course when it comes to

Police raids.

So tonight, let's talk about

Them... Why they're such

A favored tool of police,

Why they really shouldn't be,

And what we should do about

That.

And let's start with what you

Probably know already, which is

That not all of us are at equal

Danger of being raided.

When cbs 2 in chicago did an

Investigation of several years'

Worth of search warrants,

They found that certain

Neighborhoods tended to be hit

A lot more often than others.

Englewood had 872

Search warrants.

Also in the top five

Neighborhoods are austin

With 668, north lawndale, 455,

Garfield park, 442, and

Humboldt park with 376.

Census data shows these

Neighborhoods are all nearly



We found only a small percentage

Happen in white neighborhoods

And none listed for edison park,

Printers row, wrigleyville,

Museum campus,

And magnificent mile.

John: yeah, that's about

As f*cked as you'd expect.

Although I will say, you didn't

Have to tell me those

Neighborhoods are

Predominantly white.

Because edison park,

Museum campus, and

Magnificent mile are some of

The whitest sounding place names

I've ever heard.

Right up there with alabaster

Prim, spf-50-ville, and vermont.

And that racial disparity

Has been found again and again.

In louisville, an examination

Found search warrants

Disproportionately targeted

Black residents, and a study

Of one year of warrants in

Washington, d.c. Found they were

Almost exclusively ex*cuted in

Black communities.

And police have been given tools

To carry out those warrants with

Increasing force.

Police departments have become

Heavily militarized after either

Purchasing or just being handed

Military equipment.

And some don't even try to hide

How much they enjoy using it.

Just listen to this officer

Introduce one of his toys in a

Career day livestream for kids.

We call this the big bad

Wolf.

Because with enough force,

I can take this ram on the front

Of this vehicle and I can put it

Against a brick house and I can

Go right through that brick.

And I can come right in

Your house if I need to.

Not your house, because all

Of you are good kids.

We only do it for the bad kids.

John: oh, you do, do you?

Well, that's reassuring.

We've certainly got no reason

Not to trust you to determine

Who's a good kid and a bad kid.

You're just a nice, talkative

Guy who, apparently, roots for

The wolf in the story of the

Three little pigs.

"If only the wolf had possessed

Military grade equipment,"

You say as you tuck your

Children in at night.

"Fortunately, your god-like

Father has no such limitations

On his powers.

Sleep tight, good kids!"

Now, there are important

Questions over whether or not

Police officers really need

Access to that kind of

Equipment, just as there are

Questions over what messages

They take away from some of

The training they receive.

Take a look at one particularly

Extreme exercise for

S.w.a.t. Team members.

The cult leader realizes

That they got an armored vehicle

Going to start.

He goes, okay, let's pull

The trigger, sends out the rpg,

And then they start executing

People.

Oh, my god.

It's really a mass su1c1de.

But in fact, it's really a

m*rder su1c1de.

None of the scenarios we saw

Left much room for nonviolent

Solutions.

And then back in here,

The cult leaders basically

Systematically executing babies.

Show me your hands,

Show me your hands!

When the amount of hours

You spend at the sh**ting range

Outnumber the number of hours

You spend learning conflict

Resolution by, you know,



Be more likely to use the tool

That you've trained more with.

John: yeah, no shit!

Because look, I'm not saying

They shouldn't be prepared for

Cult leader baby m*rder.

But how many cult leader

Baby murders do they think

They're going to be called to

Every year?

And I know what you're thinking,

"But john, if there is a baby

m*rder cult, how are we going

To replace all those babies?"

Don't worry.

I'm pretty sure I know a guy

Who can help.

I'm the baby merchant!

Tots 'r' us.

John: seriously.

It's three minutes long.

It's so weird.

I'm not saying you should seek

It out, I'm just saying,

You do need to know it exists.

The obvious danger of fostering

A militarized police culture

That trains and equips officers

Like they're the lead in an

Action movie is that it can

Encourage them to then act

That way.

Take a look at a raid that

Took place in little rock.

Here, the police blow open the

Door of the apartment belonging

To a man named roderick talley,

Because they falsely believed

He was selling cocaine.

But despite not finding any,

When they realized he had

A home security camera, they

Asked him... While he was still

Cuffed to a chair... If they

Could rewatch the footage of

Their raid, so they could see

How it looked.

That's awesome, I'm gonna

Record that real quick.

Can you play it back again?

That was worth coming to work

For.

One more time.

We ain't laughing at you,

Though.

John: yeah, don't worry,

We're not

Laughing at you, we're just

High-fiving ourselves for

How cool it looked when we blew

Your door in.

But you get it!

You were there!

By the way, thanks for being

Such a good sport about this,

Even though we do all have g*ns

So you kind of have to be!

This job is fun!

And police might tell you that,

They don't just use g*ns, they

Also have supposedly nonlethal

Tools out there to exposure.

But even then, there can be

Issues.

Take flashbang grenades.

In theory, they just stun and

Disorient people.

But they can generate heat

In excess of 2,000 degrees.

So you'd hope officers would

Be really careful with them,

Certainly a lot more careful

Than this.

We heard a loud... A loud

Noise, which was busting through

The door.

Then came a flash grenade

Right into the two-year-old's

Bed.

You can see by this picture

How badly it was damaged.

And I kept begging the

Officer, you know,

"Give me my son.

Just let me hold him.

He's scared.

He needs me."

The officer told me to shut up

And go sit down.

Police were looking for

dr*gs, but found nothing.

John: yeah, the police threw

A flashbang grenade into a crib.

And look, I'm no policeman.

I haven't studied all the

Bylaws, I don't have a phd in

Flash grenade-ology.

But purely as a layperson,

The police should not have

Thrown that f*cking grenade

Into a f*cking crib.

And if the police are truly

Incapable of knowing whether

They're throwing a grenade

Into a crib, maybe they

Shouldn't have f*cking grenades.

Here's another quick rule that

Applies to both horseshoes and

Hand grenades: if you throw

Either of them into a crib

Even one time, guess what?

You don't get to play with them

Anymore.

Now, thankfully, that baby

Survived.

But it's hard to believe that

Police didn't realize there were

Children in the house, given

The family had lived at that

Address for two months, and

There was a minivan with

Four car seats in the driveway.

And when they did find the man

They were actually looking for

At a different house, he

Surrendered peacefully when

Officers knocked on his door.

So in hindsight, grenading

A baby might not have been

Necessary.

And, again, they were looking

For dr*gs.

And, again, they didn't find

What they were looking for.

This happens all the time.

And troublingly, police don't

Have to work very hard to get

A warrant to blow someone's door

Open.

Judges have to sign off on

Warrants, and ideally, they

Would function as a check here.

But in practice, they often

Don't spend much time

Scrutinizing police

Justification.

An investigation in utah of more

Than 10,000

Electronically-submitted

Warrants found that half

The time, judges approved

Warrants in less than three

Minutes, with hundreds signed

Off in less than 30 seconds.

That's absurd!

Even the cases on

"Chrissy's court" were longer

Than 30 seconds, and it was a

Show on quibi, a platform that

We all collectively fever

Dreamed.

And the bar for getting a judge

To sign off on a search warrant

Is pretty low.

All you need is probable cause,

Or a reasonable belief that

Evidence of a crime will be

Found in the place you want to

Search.

And that belief can come from

Anywhere.

Whether it's the smell of

Marijuana or, very often,

The word of a confidential

Informant, who might be trading

Tips for money or leniency.

And a lot of those tips turn out

To be complete bullshit.

To get the search warrant that

Led to the raid on

Roderick talley's home,

Police told a judge that

A confidential informant had

Bought cocaine from him, and

That they'd observed the

Interaction.

But luckily, talley had a

Doorbell cam that showed

The informant walking up to

The door, alone, standing there,

And then walking away.

And look, normally, I'm not

A big fan of doorbell cams.

All they do is record me giving

Myself a five minute pep-talk

Before I enter any party.

But in this instance, I'm really

Glad he had one.

And police have sometimes been

Caught making informants up,

Giving misleading information

In their warrant application,

Or failing to do even the most

Basic checking to see if their

Suspect is actually in the home

They're raiding, or somewhere

Else that they probably should

Have known about.

Jolanda blassingame says it

Was utterly terrifying, chicago

Police allegedly breaking her

Door down in north lawndale,

Pointing r*fles at her children

In what's being called a

Colossal police blunder.

They did not bother to

Perform the simplest,

Most routine verification.

The target of the warrant,

Mr. Bell, was at that time

Serving a 20-year prison

Sentence for a m*rder conviction



Correctional center in

Galesburg, illinois.

John: well, that's

Pretty embarrassing.

But I guess it's like when

You turn your home upside-down

Looking for your keys, only to

Discover they were in your

Pocket the whole time.

Only in this case, the keys are

A man, the home isn't yours, and

Your pocket is a medium-security

Prison in another zip code.

So when you have bad police work

On the front end, and minimal

Judicial oversight on the back

End, it becomes far too easy to

Get a search warrant.

And once police have one, there

Really aren't a lot of limits on

What they can do.

Just about every search warrant

Gives officers permission to

Break down a door to conduct

The search.

And I know there's a lot of talk

Right now specifically about

"No-knock" raids, but it's worth

Noting, the line between "knock"

And "no-knock" is very very

Thin, thanks to a series of

Court rulings like this:

The u.s. Supreme court ruled

Today police do not have to

Wait more than 20 seconds before

Breaking into a drug suspects'

Home, the unanimous ruling said

Waiting any longer would let

Suspects flush evidence

Down the toilet.

John: yeah, the ruling was,

Giving you 20 seconds to answer

Your door is reasonable, because

You might flush evidence down

The toilet.

Which raises the obvious

Question here,

Why the f*ck are we

Raiding people's homes for an

Amount of evidence that can be

Flushed away in 20 seconds?

Unless someone is accused of

Trafficking smurfs or stealing

The world's most valuable

Goldfish, maybe we should be

Finding a different way to do

This.

And police really aren't

Incentivized to give you any

Seconds to answer your door.

Because in 2006, the supreme

Court ruled that, even when they

Violate the rules requiring them

To knock, announce, and wait,

The prosecution can still use

The evidence obtained during

That search.

So there's often no meaningful

Consequences to busting right

Through your door.

And decisions like that mean the

Distinction between a no-knock

Raid and a "knock and announce"

Raid is barely there.

As a judge in georgia put it,

"Either the door comes in and

People are yelling,

"Sheriff's office" or

People yell, "sheriff's office"

And the door comes in."

And that is fundamentally

The same!

It's like comparing

Bryce dallas howard and

Jessica chastain.

Are they different?

Nominally, sure, although not

In any way that means anything.

If you do need to tell them

Apart, bryce dallas howard is

The one who looks slightly more

Like jessica chastain.

And on top of all of this, there

Is just case after case of the

Police messing up the execution

Of a raid, that range from the

Horrific to the almost

Cartoonishly idiotic... Like

This video of them looking for

A suspected drug dealer,

But instead

Raiding the home of his

Neighbor, onree norris,

A 78-year-old with heart

Problems who thankfully

Survived, despite the police

Making one mistake after

Another.

How did deputies end up

Hitting a house with a different

Color, a separate driveway,

Its own mailbox, and another

Address?

What's wrong?

Missed it.

Oh!

[Bleep].

[Bleep]!

Missed it.

First, the tactical team got

Lost following instructions from

A gps app on a phone.

Turn right on...

Then, as soon as they got

To the correct address,

Deputies were immediately

Confused.

Where's the house?

Where's the house?

They walked right past the

Target house without clearing it

And headed through the tree line

To the next house on the street.

Even then, deputies were unsure.

This house?

This house?

Looking back and forth

At the two houses,

It was too late.

The entry team was already

Forcing its way into onree's

Home.

John: oh, for f*ck's sake.

It is humiliating to watch a

Trained tactical unit outfitted

With military hardware get so

Completely stumped by

"The mystery of the

More than one house."

And you might think, "oh, that's

Just a one-off"... Mistakes like

That happen all the time.

It was a total nightmare for

This family when cops burst into

Their home, which turned out to

Be the wrong address.

That is the wrong apartment.

And that is the one that

The s.w.a.t. Team went inside.

Shawn and his wife, who both

Work full time, live here.

The people the police were

Looking for live here.

The dea is apologizing for

Bursting into the renck family

Home with the bradley county

S.w.a.t. Team, only later

Finding out that it was

The wrong home.

That's not a mistake to make.

Hell, you could have looked

At the mailbox.

John: yeah, exactly.

And the police hitting

The wrong address is just

Completely unacceptable when

The stakes are so high.

Even edible arrangements manages

To deliver to the correct

Address, and that business is

Just pure chaotic evil.

"Happy anniversary!

Please enjoy this flavorless

Crucified melon."

Amazingly, there often aren't

Consequences for cases like

Those.

Officers are rarely criminally

Charged, and even more rarely

Convicted.

Botched raids usually aren't

Even investigated, unless

Someone is k*lled, the media

Gets involved, or there's

A lawsuit.

And even when they happen,

Police officers are protected

From civil liability by the

Doctrine of qualified immunity.

As for their departments,

They aren't even responsible for

Paying to repair a broken front

Door, or compensating residents

For any other losses or damages,

Even when they raid the wrong

Residence.

Which is just absurd.

Look, this is obviously

Incredibly dangerous, and not

Just for the people whose homes

Are raided.

For the police, too.

That same investigation that

Found 81 civilians had been

k*lled in raids found that



As well.

Which shouldn't be that

Surprising.

These raids are, by design,

Highly disorienting, and for the

People woken up in the middle of

The night to the sounds of an

Armed invasion, they have to

Make a split-second decision

Whether or not to defend

Themselves.

That is something everyone can

Understand.

In georgia, a republican state

Senator got in trouble for

Saying, if police raided his

Home in a no-knock raid,

He would sh**t them dead,

And when he was pushed on that,

He did not back down.

If somebody kicks down

My door unannounced,

They will meet with resistance,

I guarantee you.

But if it's law enforcement?

They would be there...

How am I supposed to know at



Somebody shows up in

Black outfits, they can say

They're law enforcement.

Maybe they're not.

They've got a g*n pointed at me.

What are you gonna do, dale?

John: yeah, dale!

What're you gonna do?

I know that guy looks like a bit

Of a belligerent assh*le,

But the thing is, the country

Is full of belligerent assholes,

And lots of them have g*ns.

And while it is easy for

A white state senator to

Fantasize about himself,

Or indeed, dale, mounting a

Hypothetical armed resistance

To a police raid, for those who

Actually do get raided, there

Are real consequences to those

Actions... If not death, then

Serious criminal charges.

Just a few hours after

Breonna taylor was k*lled,

Her boyriend, kenneth walker,

Who believed the police were

Intruders, was charged with

Attempted m*rder for firing

His g*n during the raid and

Allegedly injuring an officer

In the leg.

Those charges were dropped,

But only because he had national

Attention and a good lawyer.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old

Tyler harrell was sentenced to



After he injured a police

Officer during a surprise

Drug raid at his home, even

Though a jury found "no proof

That he knew he was sh**ting

At police."

Lives are getting destroyed

Through police raids.

And even if nobody gets

Physically hurt, that doesn't

Mean no damage is done.

Having your home violated is

A traumatizing experience,

Often exacerbated by how targets

Of raids are treated.

Take anjanette young,

A social worker in chicago whose

Home was raided, and who fought

Hard to get the body camera

Footage released to the public,

Even though it is incredibly

Difficult to watch.

You see them running up to

The apartment complex with the

Battering ram in their hand.

It was so traumatic to hear

The way the thing was hitting

The door.

Go, go, go, go!

Search warrant!

Search warrant!

Police search warrant!

And it happened so fast,

I didn't have time to put on

Clothes.

You've got the wrong house!

And she was right.

They were in the wrong house.

We found they simply took the

Word of an informant who gave

Them anjanette young's address.

The informant claimed a



Felon had a g*n and a*mo inside.

I don't know who that person

Is.

I've been living here for four

Years and nobody lives here

But me!

Okay.

Okay.

You don't have to shout.

I don't have to shout!

This is ridiculous!

John: yeah, it is.

They broke into her home, having

Done next to no due diligence,

And handcuffed her completely

Naked, before eventually

Throwing a blanket over her,

While she was still

Handcuffed.

And then they said, "you don't

Have to shout."

Shouting is not the drastic

Measure being taken here.

People shout for many reasons.

Because they want peanuts.

Because they don't want to

Get up or just because the song

Told them to.

When you are handcuffed naked

In your own home because

The police screwed up

A search warrant, shouting

Should be in your f*cking

Miranda rights.

And when you treat people

Like that, it's clear you have

No interest in forging a healthy

Relationship with the community

You're supposed to be serving.

Instead, the community has to

Live with the knowledge that

No space is truly secure from

The threat of police v*olence.

That is a message that is

Received loud and clear

From a very young age.

So what do we do about it?

Well, I would argue small

Changes just aren't going to cut

It here.

Because, yeah, it would be

Better if search warrants were

Harder to get and officers were

Required to verify information

From confidential informants and

We didn't give military grade

Equipment to people who can't be

Trusted not to throw it

Into a f*cking crib.

But that is just not nearly

Enough.

And even reforms that appear

Sweeping can be pretty limited.

After breonna taylor's death,

No-knock warrants were banned

In, among other places,

Louisville and virginia,

Which initially sounds good.

The thing is, as you've seen

Tonight, the difference between

"No knock" and "knock" is

Basically no difference at all.

And I'd argue that there is

A big solution here that is

Staring us right in the face.

And that is, stop doing drug

Raids.

Just stop it.

And if that sounds extreme,

You might want to know, the

Former chairman of the national

Tactical officers association

Recommends that raids never

Be used to serve narcotics

Warrants, saying, "why would you

Run into a gunfight?

You definitely don't go in and

Risk your life for dr*gs."

And he's right.

Drug raids just have to stop.

And raids in general should only

Be used a last resort to save

Lives that are in immediate

Danger.

Because bursting into someone's

Home is never going to be safe

For anyone involved.

And right now, raids are being

Used far too widely, and are

Destroying lives, both for

The individuals who are k*lled,

Injured, or traumatized,

And all the black and brown

People who have no choice but to

Internalize the lessons

Of that trauma.

They deserve the respect and

Consideration of a police force

That's supposed to protect them,

Not one that merely sees their

Lives as an opportunity for

Action movie cosplay,

A thrilling tv special,

Or the reenactment of

A misremembered nursery rhyme

With a souped-up f*cking

Battering ram.

And maybe, just maybe, if we can

Do the right thing here, and

Climb down from our current wild

Overuse of raids, then, and only

Then, we'd have a police story

Legitimately worth singing

About.

That's our show.

Thank you so much for watching.

We'll see you next week.

Good night.

♪ I'm the baby merchant ♪

♪ Tots 'r' us ♪

♪ I give you all the service ♪

♪ And no damn fosse ♪

♪ Just a week or two ♪