Local News

Deaths Of FBI Agents Will Most Likely Lead To Warrant Service Modifications

February 3, 2021 / 4:26 PM EST / CBS Miami

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – FBI operations, such as warrant service, are carefully planned and involve the agents making the case.

"The FBI has a strict policy. It starts with the case agent. He or she prepares an ops plan, a tactical plan, that identifies who the subject is, what the case is about, the location, even identification of a trauma center," said Stuart Kaplan, a former FBI special agent.

In Tuesday's case, agents were not going for an arrest – they were looking for evidence.

The FBI confirmed David Lee Huber unleashed a hail of bullets as the agents arrived to serve a search warrant in a case involving violence against children.

A total of five agents were shot, with Laura Schwartzenberger and Daniel Alfin being killed in the line of duty.

"Most child exploiters and child molesters, the image of them shooting an officer would not equate lockstep with what you would think of a drug lord or people in gangs or more violent offenders," said Dr. Alex Piquero, chair of the University of Miami's department of sociology.

Any plan has constraints. Warrant service has the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"Inherently, within the 4th Amendment, we must knock and announce ourselves," Kaplan said. "It is just a dangerous situation that exists, but that is the reality law enforcement has to operate in."

There are many moving parts in warrant service that one part goes wrong and, as we saw, lives are lost.

"So they have to have as much intelligence that they possibly can, doing the best job they can, going in," said Piquero. "Because you don't know what's on the other side of the door."

Kaplan said one alternative could be to "call him out of the house, wait him out and this give you a much better tactical advantage."

"I think what is going to happen going forward, the FBI is going to do a deep dive into this case," said Piquero. "'Did we miss anything? When this happens, is there some piece of intelligence that fell through the cracks somewhere?'"

It will be a lengthy investigation, with the end results probably being FBI warrant service policy modifications.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family of agent Laura Schwartzenberger, click here if you would like to help.