“it’s a fact that they could have arrested him without incident.”
The warrant was for search...not arrest.
And they could have easily searched the house while no one was at home.
Then why not conduct the search while the children are at school and the dead man was working his normal 12 hour shift at the mine?
Logic would dictate that would be safer for the police and prevent a barricade situation since it is a search and not an arrest warrant.
But then you don’t to dress up and play US Navy SEAL while driving to a location with music on in an armor vehicle.