No-Knock Warrants Set To Be Issue On Pittsburgh Ballot

PITTSBURGH — Across the country, a controversial topic is being discussed in many communities, no-knock warrants. In less than two weeks, Pittsburgh voters will choose if they should be banned within city limits. Some believe from the early morning hours to late at night, police officers should not have to break down doors unannounced. In Pennsylvania, according to the Attorney General’s office they do not execute no-knock warrants. The law governing execution of search warrants provides only a limited exception for exigent circumstances including where occupants remain silent after repeated knocking and announcing, where police are virtually certain that occupants of premises already know their purpose, where police have reason to believe that an announcement prior to entry would imperil their safety and where police have reason to believe that evidence is about to be destroyed.