Law enforcement officers in Cumberland County seldom execute no-knock warrants, which have become controversial as part of the Black Lives Matter movement, officials said.
And when they are used, they are an absolute last resort for reasons such as protecting police officers’ lives. A judge has to first sign off on them, officials added.
Some states have signed off on laws banning no-knock warrants, but North Carolina is not one of them.
The controversy over no-knock warrants boiled over following the death of Breonna Taylor, an EMT technician in Louisville who was shot to death by police March 13.
Taylor was not the main target of the narcotics investigation that prompted Louisville Metro Police officers to enter her home. But officers had a search warrant for her and her apartment that included a “no-knock” provision, meaning that police could enter her house without identifying themselves as law enforcement.