(C) Minnesota Reformer
This unaltered story was originally published on MinnesotaReformer.com [1]
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House Democrats move forward bill banning no-knock warrants during Amir Locke’s funeral
By: ['Max Nesterak', 'More From Author', '- February'], Minnesota Reformer
Date: 2022-02-17 00:00:00
As Amir Locke’s funeral was underway in north Minneapolis, House Democrats at the state Legislature moved forward with a bill over Republican opposition that would ban no-knock warrants in most situations — including the one that resulted in Locke’s death earlier this month.
Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul, introduced the bill (HF 3398) after 22-year-old Locke was shot and killed by a police officer during a no-knock raid on an apartment he was staying at. Locke was not the subject of the warrant.
“We all have some blood on our hands,” Hollins said during Thursday’s hearing of the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee. “I was before this committee last session with a different no-knock warrant ban bill, and we allowed it to be watered down to the point where this could happen again.”
Hollins introduced a bill last session following the killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, which would ban the use of no-knock warrants except in cases involving first degree murder, hostage situations, kidnapping, terrorism and human trafficking. What lawmakers ultimately passed was a bill that bans no-knock warrants when the only underlying crime is drug possession, and it requires law enforcement officers to complete a warrant application explaining why they can’t complete the search through other means.
Hollins’ proposal this year, which has nearly two dozen Democratic co-authors but no Republicans on board, would ban the use of no-knock warrants in all situations except in hostage scenarios to avoid imminent death or injury. It also directs the attorney general and commissioner of the Department of Public Safety to develop a four-hour training course on search, seizure and obtaining and executing warrants.
The bill was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, where it will receive another hearing. Once it passes the House, the bill would need to pass a Republican-controlled Senate before it could reach the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson, who is Black, urged lawmakers to reject the bill, saying no-knock warrants are a crucial tool for law enforcement.
“We are not dealing with people who simply come to the door and answer it because we knock and ask them politely,” Anderson said.
He said his department has executed 10 no-knock warrants since the new rules governing their use took effect in July.
“There have been no injuries. There have been no killings. There have been no shootings, and all 10 people we were looking for have been taken into custody,” Anderson said.
Anderson offered condolences to Locke’s family for his death but added, “Ours is one of the few professions where we can do everything right, the way we were trained to do it, and still have an awful outcome.”
But some law enforcement leaders spoke in favor of the bill.
Mendota Heights Police Chief Kelly McCarthy, who also chairs the state’s Police Officers Standards and Training Board, said it would not compromise community safety or safety of rank-and-file police officers.
She said that even though police leaders might order a no-knock raid, it’s rank-and-file officers pay the price when a raid goes sideways.
“You have the opportunity to vote your values and to show your support for community safety, your support of legal gun owners and your support of the police,” McCarthy said.
Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslie, who chairs the Minnesota Sheriffs Association, said they generally agree with Hollins’ bill but noted that no-knock warrants aren’t needed for hostage situations or when officers believe someone is in imminent danger.
Although House Republicans in the public safety committee voted in unison against the bill, Locke’s killing has divided Republicans between their allegiances to the Second Amendment and police.
Locke was holding a gun when he was shot by a Minneapolis police officer, but the shooting happened just nine seconds after police entered the apartment in the early morning, yelling multiple demands and shining a flashlight in his face.
Guns rights activists said many gun owners would have responded to an unexpected intrusion just like Locke.
“Locke did what many of us might do in the same confusing circumstances, he reached for a legal means of self-defense while he sought to understand what was happening,” said Rob Doar, a lobbyist for the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, shortly after Locke’s killing.
Doar was scheduled to testify before the committee on Thursday but was at Locke’s funeral, where members of Locke’s family were watching the hearing remotely, Hollins said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota Policy Director Julia Decker said Hollins’ proposal didn’t go far enough and called for an out-right ban.
Since Locke’s killing, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar has said she will also introduce legislation at the federal level to put greater restrictions on no-knock warrants.
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