BELTON, TEXAS—A man in small-town Texas is facing life in prison for allegedly killing a police officer. But the trial—which commenced Monday after a nearly decade-long wait—is a confluence of police use of force, the war on drugs, and the right to self-defense. Its outcome will in part answer the following question: How far does a self-defense claim go when it's exercised against the state?
At around 5:45 a.m. on May 9, 2014, a SWAT team in Killeen, Texas—consisting of about two dozen officers—descended on Marvin Guy's modest apartment on Circle M Drive. They were there to execute a no-knock drug raid, a controversial approach that allows law enforcement to forcibly enter a residence, usually with a fabulous display of force, without first announcing themselves. An informant had reportedly told police that Guy was dealing cocaine.
