Story at a glance
- In a pre-dawn, no-knock raid Wednesday, Minneapolis police killed 22-year-old Amir Locke.
- The killing renewed scrutiny of the use of the controversial warrants — a practice that prompted widespread condemnation two years ago after Louisville police killed Breonna Taylor in a similar incident.
- A few states have outlawed no-knock warrants while others have some restrictions, though advocates say they would like to see more accountability and oversight.
A national debate over no-knock police warrants has been reignited by the police killing of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man shot last week during a pre-dawn raid that employed the contentious law enforcement tactic.
AP
Locke was shot and killed after SWAT agents in full tactical gear unlocked an apartment door with a key and surprised him while he was lying on a couch under a blanket.
His parents, Andre Locke and Karen Wells, said police “executed” their son when he was startled from his sleep and reached for a legal weapon to defend himself.
Locke was not the subject of the search warrant that police used to enter the apartment. He had no prior police record and was in possession of a legal firearm.
“I think what we’re seeing right now is innocent people are dying because of the use of no-knock warrants,” said Rob Doar, senior vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, a gun rights advocacy group.
“If we have to pick between no-knock warrants being utilized at all or innocent people being killed simply because there’s evidence that police want to gather, we would much rather err on the side of the citizen, and prohibit the use of no-knock warrants.”
The Locke killing has left Minneapolis and St. Paul reeling less than two years after George Floyd’s murder sparked a reckoning with race and police across the country. Protests throughout the city took place over the weekend, with protesters asking how a heavily criticized tactic can still be used so commonly by police.
A no-knock search warrant authorizes officers to enter a property without announcing their presence beforehand, dispensing with the common law “knock and announce” requirement. A judge will authorize such a warrant if police can prove there is probable cause executing a standard warrant would result in the irrecoverable destruction of evidence or harm to police officers.
While proponents argue the element of surprise is necessary for law enforcement in some instances, critics argue the tactic poses an inherent threat to both citizens and police that leads to tumultuous and dangerous instances, such as the raids that led to Locke’s death.
The use of no-knock warrants has increased over the last few decades, rising from about 1,500 annually in the early 1980s to, by 2010, 50,000 to 70,000, according to New York University’s Policing Project.
Nila Bala, a senior staff attorney at the Policing Project, said those numbers are just estimates because very few states keep good data on it, adding that these types of warrants that ultimately killed Locke are “incredibly unregulated.”
“It’s incredibly tragic,” Bala said. “And that’s the short of it. Unfortunately it’s not isolated, there are so many incidents like this as we now know that happen every year. That’s why no-knock warrants are extremely dangerous and should be used sparingly.”
Police body-cam footage released Thursday by Minneapolis police, who conducted the raid that led to Locke’s death in the sister city of St. Paul, shows the SWAT agents entering the apartment and shouting “Police! Search warrant!” and “Get on the ground!”
The 14 seconds of footage shows an officer kicking the couch where Locke was wrapped in a blanket. He’s then seen emerging from under the blanket with a firearm in his right hand just before an officer fires his weapon, killing Locke.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) announced a temporary moratorium on no-knock warrants in the city days after the incident to “ensure safety of both the public and officers until a new policy is crafted.”
Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) interim Chief Amelia Huffman, defending police, said the SWAT team officer had to make a “split-second decision” when realizing Locke was armed.
Frey rolled out a new policy in 2020 limiting the practice in certain scenarios following Floyd’s murder, as well as the death of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in Louisville, Ky., that year by police carrying out a no-knock warrant, and the Minnesota Legislature passed measures to add additional layers of accountability to obtaining no-knock warrants, including review and approval from a chief law enforcement officer.
But Locke’s killing has left some questioning where recent policy changes have fallen short and advocates and lawmakers calling for greater reforms.
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus condemned the use of a no-knock warrant in the raid involving Locke, emphasizing that his death was “completely avoidable” and that he was well within his right to be in possession of a firearm.
“I think the problem that we’re seeing is there’s a lack of oversight with these warrants,” Doar said.
“Legislation was added in 2021 in Minnesota that required the chief of police to sign off on any no-knock warrants that were being used and that was supposed to add an extra layer of accountability, but I think what we’re seeing is, this was just a warrant for evidence. Amir Locke was not named on the warrant, he was not a suspect in the crime, they weren’t anticipating anybody to actually be inside of the dwelling.
“That draws some serious questions as to whether a no-knock warrant was the appropriate tool for that search warrant execution,” he said.
Doar noted the type of warrant is a valuable tool for law enforcement, such as in the event of a hostage situation, but added reforms may need to include holding judges who authorize no-knock warrants more accountable.
In Minnesota, efforts to narrow the use of no-knock warrants did not translate into the MPD making significant changes, Bala said.
“We need accountability mechanisms in place so that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” said Bala, who called for clearer reforms to be implemented by the state legislature, including a more vigorous application process for officers attempting to utilize no-knock warrants.
Nationwide, the overwhelming majority of states allow the use of no-knock warrants, although Virginia in 2020 passed legislation prohibiting their use and Oregon and Florida also have similar bans in place. But Bala said most states are in the “some restrictions category” and need to do more to codify additional accountability measures.
“I hope those places take up the call and fix the issue before we have another Amir Locke on our hands.”
Frey and Minneapolis police leaders will work with prominent activist DeRay McKesson and Pete Kraska of Eastern Kentucky University to review and suggest revisions to the department’s policy. Both helped shape Breonna’s Law in Louisville and have led reforms to unannounced entry policies across the country.
“Amir should be alive today,” McKesson, co-founder of police reform nonprofit Campaign Zero, told Changing America.
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