House DFL Lawmakers Propose Stronger Restrictions On No-Knock Warrants In Wake Of Amir Locke Killing
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Minnesota House Democrats want to target no-knock warrants and restrict their use, after the practice came under fire following a no-knock raid where police killed Amir Locke.
But their plan wouldn't ban those warrants outright, as some community activists demand.
"No-knock warrants are a tool in the toolbox but it's a tool that should only be used in the tiniest sliver of circumstances: kidnapping, hostage situations and human trafficking," said Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul, who is authoring the new bill that has not yet been released publicly but could come as soon as Thursday.
Hollins and other DFL lawmakers backing the legislation say it would build on a law passed last year, strengthening the requirements to obtain a no-knock warrant and narrowing the scope of what circumstances would allow for such warrants. Current law prohibits their use only for alleged crimes involving drugs for personal use.
"Although we were successful at passing some restrictions in last year's budget, it is clear that those were insufficient and that we have more work to do," said House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park.
Hollins said her forthcoming bill will make small tweaks to a similar bill she authored last year, which limited the use of no-knock warrants to "murder in the first degree, hostage taking, kidnapping, terrorism, or human trafficking." That bill didn't get the necessary GOP support in the Senate, and ultimately the two chambers compromised on language.
But she noted that the previously proposed language still needs work, in response to a question from a reporter about how the no-knock raid that ended Locke's life would've been avoided—if at all—by the changes she put forward.
"Murder in the first degree isn't typically decided at the point where you're executing search warrants. That process comes later and instead they're doing a homicide investigation," she said. "So, for that reason, we're actually in communication with a number of stakeholders to properly identify how to narrow this in scope in a way that simple search warrants are executed in a safe manner and not in a situation where we need to be breaking down doors and shooting immediately."
More GOP lawmakers are expressing an openness to additional changes on no-knock warrants following Locke's death, including state Sens. Michelle Benson and Paul Gazelka, both of whom are running for governor.
Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, in a statement on Tuesday also signaled there would be discussions about it in the Republican-led chamber.
"The death of Amir Locke is tragic and heartbreaking," he said. "As more information about no-knock warrants comes to light, feedback from the community and from law enforcement will be an integral part of this conversation. Everyone deserves to feel safe. It is imperative to have proper policies in place to protect the public and law enforcement."
The bill is expected as soon as Thursday with legislative hearings likely next week.
Separately, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has pledged to rework the Minneapolis police policy, which at one time he falsely claimed "banned" no-knock warrants when it didn't.
A House DFL news release prior to the Tuesday news conference also characterized the legislative proposal as a "ban," when it's really more restrictions.
Frey put in place a temporary pause on requesting and executing no-knock warrants in Minneapolis with an exception for circumstances where there is an "imminent threat of harm."
