Push to curtail no-knock warrants clears Minnesota House committee

Minnesota legislators are beginning to debate new rules to guide the use of no-knock warrants, a practice that has drawn heavy scrutiny since Minneapolis police shot and killed Amir Locke during a raid this month.

A bill that would substantially limit the use of such warrants cleared its first House committee Thursday during a virtual meeting that coincided with Locke's funeral.

"We need to make sure that we don't lose any more lives to no-knock warrants," said Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul, the bill's chief sponsor.

The measure would allow no-knock warrants only when there is "imminent risk of death or great bodily harm to an individual confined without the individual's consent at the location designated in the warrant," such as in a hostage situation.

It would also expand officer training and create a standardized application form for law enforcement agencies statewide to obtain no-knock warrants.

Hollins introduced the bill days after Locke's death Feb. 2.

Critics question limiting a tool they said is rarely used but still needed.

"Do not take tools away that are used properly," said Rep. Brian Johnson, R-Cambridge, a former police officer. "This bill is not fit for primetime."

House DFLers want to pass the measure on its own, not as part of a larger public safety package. Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, chair of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee , called it "a primary issue of importance for us."

After more than an hour of discussion, the committee voted largely along party lines to send the bill to the House Judiciary Committee. Though in its early stages, the proposal has already drawn a stark line between Democrats and Republicans, as well as law enforcement officials and other stakeholders.

Mendota Heights Police Chief Kelly McCarthy testified in support of banning no-knock warrants, saying that doing so would "demonstrate to the community that we hear their concerns and we're committed to preserving human life."

McCarthy, who chairs the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board, said a complete ban would also benefit officers. "While they're not the ones who decide to serve a no-knock warrant," she said, "they are the ones to pay a price when that warrant goes sideways."

But St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson, who noted that he is a man of color who grew up in a violent area of Detroit, said he is a "staunch opponent of this bill."

"There are perhaps members or supporters of this bill who have no idea what it is we're dealing with on the streets," said Anderson, a former SWAT member. "We are not dealing with people who simply come to the door and answer it because we knock and ask them politely."

Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said her organization supports the exception for cases involving someone held against their will because she does not believe a blanket ban can pass the Legislature.

"I don't think an outright ban has a chance to survive, but what we want is to have exceedingly high guardrails," she said.

Nearly a dozen police accountability and racial justice advocates gathered in the State Capitol's news conference room after Thursday's hearing to underscore the urgency of the moment.

Holding "Justice for Amir Locke" signs, they warned of the consequences of failing to pass or water down Hollins' proposal. Having earlier watched most of their police reform priorities languish in the Legislature after consecutive years of high-profile fatal police encounters, they pressed the need for more community activism.

"We have been forced to believe that the legislators … at this point literally do not care because if you care, you would listen to the community," said Toshira Garraway, founder of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence.

"We have to live in these communities; we have to live without our loved ones. Why are legislators not listening to the people who are living without the people they love?"

"You say you want us to heal," she said. "How do we heal?"