BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

NYPD defends controversial no-knock warrants, calling them a tool to keep NY safe

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

NEW YORK (WPIX) — A year after the no-knock warrant became a part of a rallying cry to dismantle and reimagine local police departments with the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, the New York Police Department pushed back on calls to ban it.

Earlier this year, the NYPD executed a no-knock warrant at a Jamaica, Queens woman’s home — but they had the wrong door, the woman said.

Security camera video showed officers use a battering ram to bash in the door of Tijuana Brown’s home. The NYPD was at the home looking for drugs. Brown said they had the wrong house.

“When they came into my home, they said it was an informant that told them drugs were being sold from my home — narcotics were being sold from my home,” she said. “Informants are trying to get themselves out of hot water so information is not always correct.”

Brown said police terrorized her children and damaged her property, and without cause. However, police tell a different story.

Officers said when they entered the home, they were looking for Brown’s nephew. They say he sold drugs at the home.

The search warrant was legitimate, and went through police, a prosecutor and a judge.

NewsNation affiliate WPIX spoke with Brown’s nephew; he said he was on parole but denied selling drugs at the home.

“It was the wrong guy,” he said. “If police really did their job, what they signed up for, then they’d get better results.”

The department said this is their job. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea defended the use of raids and no-knock warrants, saying mistakes are rare.

“The police department needs tools to keep New Yorkers safe. I think this is one of many valuable tools,” he said. “We take this extremely seriously…we don’t go into this willy nilly.”

In 2020, police conducted 1,815 search warrants around the city; 1,100 were no-knock, sources said.

No-knock warrants and raids have come under scrutiny in the wake of the police shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville emergency medical technician studying to become a nurse. Taylor was shot multiple times in March 2020 after being roused from sleep by police. No drugs were found, and the warrant was later found to be flawed. In New York City, several families claimed police had the wrong home when officers came in unannounced.

In Brown’s case, a small amount of marijuana was found — but all charges were dropped. 

“Because people’s lives are in jeopardy I would say please [to police] do your due diligence,” Brown said.

Northeast

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Sunny

la

69°F Sunny Feels like 69°
Wind
6 mph SW
Humidity
27%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
47°F A few passing clouds. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph NNE
Precip
10%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous