Pit Bull Won't Justify No-Knock Warrant

In Commonwealth v. Santiago, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled yesterday that the mere presence of a pit bull is insufficient to justify a no-knock entry. The court said, in part, "While we agree with the Commonwealth that a pit bull (or a mutt) may, under the appropriate circumstances, pose a serious enough threat to an officer's safety to justify a no-knock warrant, no such circumstances were present here. There was no information in the affidavit that the defendant might actually use the pit bull as a weapon."