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Just what can be reasonably implied from the fact that Officer Jones who obtained the warrant went through Maye's door with his pistol in its holster? To me it indicates that Officer Jones had no concerns whatsoever about even the possibility that someone might be on the otherside of the door. If this is a reasonable conclusion then it raises all sorts of questions about the information the informant provided Officer Jones and the actions all Officers present took prior to going through the door.

Just what can be reasonably implied from the fact that Officer Jones who obtained the warrant went through Maye's door with his pistol in its holster?

From what I understand, he wasn't normally a part of the tactical unit the jurisdiction uses for this kind of thing.

From the blog:

Sometime in late 2001, Officer Ron Jones collected a tip from an anonymous informant that Jamie Smith, who lived opposite Maye in a duplex, was selling drugs out of his home. Jones passed the tip to the Pearl River Basin Narcotics Task Force, a regional police agency in charge of carrying out drug raids in four surrounding counties. The task force asked Jones if he'd like to come along on the raid they'd be conducting as the result of his tip. He obliged.

I have questions as to why Jones is leading the element into the building at all. He doesn't appear to be a part of the unit that regularly does this kind of thing and trains for it.

He's a 'guest' on the raid. So why is he the first man through the door? My best guess is that this is what the police refer to in technical jargon as a 'f**k-up'.

Elsewhere in the blog- it states that Jones' pistol is holstered so that his hands would be free to force the door. It seems to me that the cop whose hands need to be free to force the door should back away the instant the door opens, so that the next man can lead the element in.

Quite apart from any question of the raid's fundamental legitimacy- that is clearly bad procedure. Officer Jones had his pistol holstered entering the building because he was caught up in the moment, and not thinking about what he was doing.

To me it indicates that Officer Jones had no concerns whatsoever about even the possibility that someone might be on the otherside of the door.

Anyone know anything beyond what's at theagitator.com? Rereading the above quote after having read that site raises an interesting question: IIRC, according to the police, Maye turned on an interior light after they started banging on the door, and this was cited as evidence that he should have heard them yelling "police". But if the police had noticed the light going on, shouldn't that have caused Officer Jones to be cautious?