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Former SWAT Group Head Endorses Campaign Zero's Push To End No-Knock Warrants

The former head of an organization for tactical officers has endorsed an effort by the prominent police reform and racial justice group Campaign Zero to end the type of no-knock warrant raid that killed Breonna Taylor.

Mark Lomax, the former executive director of the National Tactical Officers Association, said it’s time to take a “serious look” at “ending the dangerous practice of no-knock warrants and raids,” outside of extenuating circumstances.

“The ends may not always justify the means when it comes to the service of search warrants and especially no-knock raids,” Lomax said in a statement issued through the Black Lives Matter-associated group Campaign Zero, which launched its #EndAllNoKnocks initiative on Monday.

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Lomax said it would be tough to reform what he called one of the most intrusive acts in policing, but it’s time to take a look at techniques and practices that “have been shown to have caused disproportionate harm to communities of color for years.” The March killing of 26-year-old Taylor during a raid by the Louisville, Kentucky, police should not be in vain, he said.

A new Campaign Zero effort follows the death of Breonna Taylor, who was memorialized at this site in front of Louisville Metro Hall. (Brandon Bell via Getty Images)
A new Campaign Zero effort follows the death of Breonna Taylor, who was memorialized at this site in front of Louisville Metro Hall. (Brandon Bell via Getty Images)

“Our law enforcement and government leaders need to engage and step up and fight against discriminatory and unsafe tactics that not only disproportionately put the lives of Black and Brown Americans at risk –– but also the lives of our police officers,” Lomax said. “The time is now. It is time to adopt meaningful legislation and policies that will work for all of us, our communities, and our police officers.”

Lomax, in an interview with HuffPost, explained that he thinks there should be some exceptions to bans on no-knock raids when “lives are in jeopardy,” but not when police are “saving dope” as part of a search warrant.

“My son is in law enforcement, and I do not want him to get hurt, shot, killed while serving a warrant when it wasn’t necessary,” said Lomax, a retired major with the Pennsylvania State Police. “I had friends...

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