This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
On Wednesday night, six members of the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force were shot while serving a "knock-and-announce" search warrant at the Ogden home of 37-year-old Matthew David Stewart.
While Utah courts do issue "no-knock" warrants — where police can surprise a suspect by breaking down the door — such warrants are the exception and are only issued when police can meet a higher standard, established mostly through decades' of case law.
"You have to be able to articulate that there's probable cause to believe that if you knock, evidence will be destroyed or that officers' safety is going to be put into peril," Salt Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeff Hall said Friday.
Even if police are able to show there are weapons in the home, it might not be enough to reach the threshold for a no-knock warrant. Detectives often must show that someone inside the home has a history of violence, or that there are other factors — such as security cameras or armored doors on the home — that would indicate an elevated risk, Hall said.
In the case of Wednesday's shooting, Ogden police said the suspect had only minor criminal offenses. A search of court records shows only a minor traffic offense.
Police say no one answered when they knocked on Stewart's door. The officers then came under heavy fire when they entered the home.
One officer was killed and five others were wounded.
Regardless of the type of warrant service, officials said, the element of danger always exists.
"Even if you have the best floor plan, you don't know exactly where you're going because you've never been there," said John Gnagey, a veteran law enforcement officer and outgoing director of the National Tactical Officers Association. "The person who lives there has the advantage, and when you knock, they have the super advantage."