# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A mother’s tragic story: ‘A drug SWAT team blew a hole in my 2-year-old son’s chest with a flashbang grenade’ | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Writing in Salon (“A SWAT team blew a hole in my 2-year-old son“), Alecia Phonesavanh, the mother of Bounkham “Bou Bou” Phonesavanh, describes in her own words the horrific events her family experienced on May 29. Just before dawn, a paramilitary SWAT team armed with M16 rifles staged an unsuccessfu…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Killeen Police Department could soon be done with no-knock warrants

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In Tuesday’s meeting, Charles Kimble, Killeen’s Chief of Police said his department already stopped no-knock warrants regarding drug-related cases.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.wsmv.com/news/investigations/metro-police-raid-wrong-house-with-three-year-old-inside/article_ae05034a-e1ae-11ea-9b67-63e4793f1765.html

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Azaria Hines had finished her late shift at the local Mapco, curling up on her downstairs couch asleep when the banging outside began.

Hines, a resident of the Edgehill apartments, said she wasn't even dressed when she realized it was police.

"I was like hold on, I'll let you in," Hines said.

What happened next traumatized not only her, but her cousin, 15-year-old Kanani Hines, and her nephew, 3-year-old Jaiden Hines, both of whom Azari Hines has custody of.

Hines said police burst through the door with a battering ram, smashing the door frame and pointing guns at her naked form.

Hines said she reached to put on a shirt and was ordered by police to stop.

Both Azari and Kanani Hines describe that police rushed up the stairs halfway with guns drawn.

Both Kanani and Jaiden then came downstairs and were ordered to go out onto the porch.

"I'm furious because they came up in here and woke up my kids with rifles," Hines said.

After several tense minutes, police came to Hines with an admission.

"They had the wrong apartment," Hines said.

"Did anyone say, 'I'm sorry that we have the wrong place, I'm sorry that this happened?'" asked News4 Investigates.

"No. They basically said, sorry for the mix-up," Hines said.

A News4 Investigation into the botched raid revealed a communications snafu between two Metro agencies led to officers having outdated information.

Edgehill Apartments is an affordable-housing property of Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency.

News4 Investigates found ultimately that Metro Police believed they were serving the warrant on updated information from MDHA, however, the housing agency stopped giving updated information on residents for privacy reasons back in 2018.

Don Aaron, spokesman for Metro Police, told News4 Investigates in an email that the search warrant was executed at Hines' apartment in connection to evidence of vehicle burglaries by a 16-year-old seen on video carrying a gun.

Aaron wrote that the address for the 16-year-old, included in an arrest report last month, was also listed as the address for Hines' apartment.

Hines said she had been living at the apartment for the last six months and had never heard of the 16-year-old.

Hines said the locks were even changed when she moved in.

"I don't even understand where that mix-up came from. It's not even making sense to me," Hines said.

Aaron said police even went to the apartment a month ago to alert the 16-year-old's mother to come pick him up from juvenile court, but that mother never answered the door.

At some point before serving the search warrant, a Metro Police spokeswoman said officers checked MDHA's resident listing to verify that the 16-year-old lived there.

Hours after the botched raid, Metro Police realized they did not have access to the current list.

"As late as today, an MDHA staffer told officers that the database is updated every 24 hours; however, the database that MNPD officers were able to query had not been updated from the MDHA master database since November 7, 2018. It is unclear who, if anyone, at the MNPD knew that the information was no longer being shared. We have found no notification thus far," Aaron wrote in the email.

A spokeswoman for MHDA said in a statement that they had stopped providing resident's addressed to law enforcement more than a year ago because of concern of violating privacy rules.

It is unclear why Metro Police did not realize they had old information.

"Ironically, an MNPD IT staffer discovered yesterday afternoon that the database had not been updated since November 2018 as he prepared for moving data from one server to another and inquired with MDHA about it," Aaron wrote.

MDHA does provide keys to Metro Police when a search warrant is served, and the spokeswoman for MHDA said staff provided two keys to two apartments associated with the warrants.

However, Metro Police said the key to Hines apartment didn't work.

"MDHA provided officers executing this morning's search warrant with a key to the residence; however, the key did not work (perhaps the spare key was not updated when the locks were changed after the last tenant moved out). Entry was made after the officers repeatedly knocked and announced themselves," Aaron wrote.

Regardless of how the mix-up occurred, Hines said the trauma is still being felt by herself and her children.

"I don't want to live here anymore," Kanani Hines said.

On Wednesday, Metro Police said at a press conference that three officers have been decommissioned following the raid.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Metro Police raid wrong house with three-year-old inside

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Azaria Hines had finished her late shift at the local Mapco, curling up on her downstairs couch asleep when the banging outside began. Hines, a resident of the Edgehill apartments, said she wasn't even dressed when she realized it was police.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A 57-year-old Harlem woman preparing to leave for her longtime city government job died of a heart attack yesterday morning after police officers broke down her door and threw a concussion grenade into her apartment, the police commissioner said. They were acting on what appeared to be bad information about guns and drugs in the apartment.

Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly apologized to the family of the woman, Alberta Spruill, and said he had ordered an investigation of the entire incident and suspended the use of the grenades, which are meant to stun and disorient people with a loud noise and a flash. He said that he had reassigned the lieutenant who made the decision to use the grenade to administrative duties, pending the investigation, and that he would review how the grenades were used and search warrants carried out.

Mr. Kelly said that the officers were executing what is known as a no-knock search warrant based on information provided by a drug dealer, who told the police that his supplier stored guns and drugs in Apartment 6F at 310 West 143rd Street. The dealer had told the police that he had seen armed people in the apartment on three occasions and that there were dogs inside, Mr. Kelly said. But in the raid at 6:10 a.m., the officers found only Ms. Spruill, and realized the information was wrong.

In the minutes after the explosion, the terrified Ms. Spruill, who was dressed for work, was briefly handcuffed, but a police captain quickly realized the apartment's layout was different from the one described by the dealer, and she was released, Mr. Kelly said.

Ms. Spruill initially declined medical attention, although she told the captain that she had a heart condition. An ambulance was requested, and she went into cardiac arrest on the way to Harlem Hospital Center, where she died at 7:50 a.m.

Ms. Spruill, whom relatives and neighbors called hardworking and devout and someone who minded her own business, was a city employee for 29 years. Her job at the Division of Citywide Administrative Services included maintaining lists of candidates for civil service jobs, including police officers. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that what had happened was tragic and ''a terrible episode,'' and said in a statement that he joined all city employees in grieving for Ms. Spruill.

Neighbors and several elected officials questioned the department's tactics.

''Obviously it's slipshod police work,'' said State Assemblyman Keith Wright, who added, ''I'm sorry to say, but these things happen all too often in this neighborhood.''

At a news conference seven hours after Ms. Spruill's death, Mr. Kelly said it did not appear that the drug dealer had given any previous information to the department, although he was registered as a confidential informant. The commissioner also said that it was unclear whether the officers involved in the raid, who were from the 25th Precinct, conducted any surveillance of the building or the apartment before executing the search warrant, which was signed by Judge Patricia M. Nunez of Criminal Court.

''We're looking at the whole circumstances that led up to this event,'' Mr. Kelly said. ''We're looking at the credibility of this confidential informant, we're looking at the process used to identify the apartment, any other follow-up observations of the apartment that were conducted or could have been conducted, the judgment of the officers involved as to the use of this flash grenade.''

''This should not have happened,'' Mr. Kelly said at the news conference, which aides said was an attempt to quickly provide information and head off tensions. ''On behalf of the entire New York City Police Department, I want to offer my condolences and sympathy to the family of Alberta Spruill,'' he said. ''I also want to offer my apology.''

But Mr. Kelly said it was not clear how the police had connected Ms. Spruill, who had lived in the neighborhood for more than two decades, to a drug dealer.

The events that led up to the raid began on May 5, when the informant walked into the 25th Precinct station house and told the police that he got his drugs from a man named Melvin Boswell who lived on the ninth floor of the building at 310 West 143rd Street, Mr. Kelly said. But Mr. Kelly said that the informant told the officers that because Mr. Boswell was on parole, he kept his drugs and guns in Apartment 6F.

The informer, whose name was not released, described the layout of the apartment and said that Mr. Boswell kept crack and heroin inside, Mr. Kelly said. The informant also told the officers that Mr. Boswell kept dogs in the apartment and that on three visits there, he had seen Mr. Boswell with a pistol in his waistband, Mr. Kelly said.

The police obtained the search warrant from Judge Nunez on May 6, and were able to verify that Mr. Boswell had a long criminal record, Mr. Kelly said. Six days later, Mr. Boswell was arrested elsewhere in Harlem on felony narcotics charges and gave his home address as 310 West 143rd Street. He remains in jail.

''That arrest added credibility to the informant's information that Mr. Boswell was involved in the narcotics trade,'' Mr. Kelly said.

The raid was carried out by a half-dozen officers from the Emergency Services Unit, which specializes in tactical entry, and the lieutenant who was later reassigned. They were joined by about six officers from the 25th Precinct. They broke through the door with a battering ram. Then they threw the small grenade.

Mr. Kelly said that the police, who have executed more than 1,900 search warrants this year, went to the wrong address four times and used the grenades in 85 instances. Police officials say that in the several years of grenade use, there have been no previous deaths.

Ms. Spruill's sister, Halese Pinkney, said yesterday in a telephone interview from her home in Hamilton, N.C., that her sister, who attended the Convent Avenue Baptist Church, lived alone. ''She was a churchgoing person who went to work every day and minded her own business,'' Ms. Pinkney said.

Some of Ms. Spruill's neighbors, many of them older people who have lived in the neighborhood for many years, chatted outdoors in the afternoon as detectives went in and out.

''It shouldn't have happened,'' said Patsy Brown, 59, who lives on the seventh floor. ''They weren't supposed to be at her door. She wasn't dealing drugs. She was a nice lady who minded her own business.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Woman Dies After Police Mistakenly Raid Her Apartment (Published 2003)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Alberta Spruill, 57-year-old Harlem (NYC) woman and city employee, dies of heart attack when police storm her apartment in drug raid that was based on incorrect information; police say drug dealer's tip led them to Spruill's apartment, where suppliers were allegedly storing drugs and guns, but they realized once inside that they had incorrect apartment; police threw stun grenade into apartment, and called for ambulance after Spruill told them she had heart condition; Spruill died in ambulance; photo (M)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Killeen Police Department could soon be done with no-knock warrants

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In Tuesday’s meeting, Charles Kimble, Killeen’s Chief of Police said his department already stopped no-knock warrants regarding drug-related cases.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Isabel Pergande, Jason Herlick, and Timothy S. Rich , Opinion Contributor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Poll finds most Americans oppose no-knock warrants — and their demands are leading to reform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Since Breonna Taylor’s death, more than 84 proposals across 33 states have been introduced that would restrict or ban no-knock warrants.

# data[].attributes.body
some more info about no knock warrents. according to this article, there is little reason for a no knock warrent to be executed on amir lockes residency.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What to know about no-knock warrants, following Amir Locke’s fatal shooting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Controversial “no-knock” warrants -- that lead to the death of Breonna Taylor and Amir Locke -- allow officers to enter a private home without knocking.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Fayette County judge has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the local police union, which tried to stop Lexington from enforcing a ban on no-knock warrants.

The local Fraternal Order of Police sued the city after the city council approved the no-knock warrant ban and Mayor Linda Gorton signed it into law in June. The union alleged that the city was required to bargain with the union over no-knock warrants because the ban affects officers' "health and safety."

The union's attorneys said issues regarding officers' health and safety were mandatory bargaining issues, and the warrant ban violated the collective bargaining agreement between the city and union.

But Fayette Circuit Judge Kimberly Bunnell said Friday the city's elected officials had the right to enact public policies without bargaining over them with the union first.

"Whether or not I agree with the entirety of the ordinance doesn't matter, but in terms of what comes under the collective bargaining agreement ... I think that our elected officials have acted within their authority and I don't think they're required to do anything else," Bunnell said in a hearing Friday.

The FOP may appeal the decision, according to local representatives.

Jeremy Russell, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Bluegrass Lodge 4, told the Herald-Leader the union "respectfully disagrees with Judge Bunnell's analysis and opinion."

"Our lodge strongly believes that the no-knock ban, regardless of the known danger, creates an unnecessary risk of serious bodily harm or death to our members and members of this community," Russell said. "It remains our position that this is a mandatory subject for collective bargaining."

Russell said the union anticipated that this dispute would be appealed to a higher court by either side following the circuit court's ruling.

"We are actively reviewing the courts' decision with our lawyers," he said. "I anticipate Bluegrass Lodge 4 will seek further judicial review of this legal dispute very soon."

Lexington's ban on no-knock warrants was enacted into law more than one year after Breonna Taylor was killed during a botched raid of her apartment in Louisville. Taylor's death at the hands of the Louisville Metro Police Department led Louisville to ban no-knock warrants one year earlier than Lexington.

Now Lexington police must knock and announce themselves before entering someone's residence to serve a warrant. The ordinance got strong support from community activists as it made its way through the city council to the mayor's desk.

Rev. L. Clark Williams, a member of the Black Faith Leaders group in Lexington, said the group agrees with the judge's decision and hopes everyone can move on from the issue. The Black Faith Leaders advocated heavily for banning no-knock warrants in the year that followed Taylor's death.

"We hope that the ruling can put to rest any questions about the issue of banning no-knock warrants so that we can all move forward together in efforts to foster community safety," Williams said.

The police union strongly opposed it throughout discussions. Attorneys from the city and the union argued in front of Bunnell Friday after the city asked Bunnell to throw the lawsuit out.

"The council has outright banned no-knock warrants and has left these officers in a position where they don't get to make a determination about whether it's safer to knock and announce, or whether they need to go to a judge and apply for the ability to enter without knocking and announcing," Nicholas Oleson, an attorney representing the union, said Friday in court.

"They've removed that decision-making from these officers without discussing with them at all, which we believe absolutely violates the statutory right to bargain over their health and safety."

The city's attorneys argued in court records that it was legal to enact a no-knock warrant ban without the union's approval because Lexington's government had the right to enact public policy and set standards for officers' performance.

"Matters of public policy, such as a ban on no-knock warrants, do not constitute 'terms and conditions of employment' subject to bargaining," city attorneys said in court records. "To find otherwise would give the union effective control over the" Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, creating a "clear conflict of interest and prohibiting the passage of meaningful reforms.

"LFUCG must have the discretion to determine matters of public policy."

Jennifer Bame, an attorney representing the city, reiterated Friday that Lexington's government has the "express management right" to enact policies and rules and set performance standards.

After Bunnell agreed with the city, the union's attorneys still argued that the city should be required to bargain over the "effects" of enforcing the no-knock warrant ban. The ban still affected officer safety and could have implications for disciplinary issues, attorney Nicholas Oleson said in court.

"If a commander hands a couple officers a warrant, and they go out to the house and they think 'knocking and announcing here is going to serve a risk,' can they turn around and hand that warrant back to their commanding officer without fear of insubordination?" Oleson asked Bunnell Friday.

Oleson had additional questions about the effect the policy has on officers.

"What kind of training are the officers going to receive on this issue? What kind of discipline penalties are going to be imposed if an officer (violates) the knock and announce policy? There's a whole host of topics that we can bargain about with the effects," Oleson said.

The city argued that Lexington officers have always been required to comply with local laws and ordinances.

Bunnell said Oleson's questions and concerns were "incredibly speculative."

The union also alleged in court records that the city's law banning no-knock warrants violated a state law previously passed by the Kentucky legislature. The state law heavily restricted the use of no-knock warrants but did not ban them. Lexington's attorneys have said in court records the city was within its right to enact its additional legislation.

Bunnell again agreed with the city, stating that Senate Bill 4, which was passed by Kentucky lawmakers earlier this year, didn't keep the city from adding its ordinances regarding warrants.

This story was originally published November 22, 2021 2:24 PM.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Police union loses lawsuit. Lexington judge says the city can ban no-knock warrants

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Fayette County judge has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the local police union, which tried to stop Lexington from enforcing a ban on no-knock warrants. The local Fraternal Order of Police sued the city after the city council approved the no-knock warrant ban and Mayor Linda Gorton signed it into law in June.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ATLANTA, Nov. 22 - Police officers said they expected to arrest a man who had illegal drugs when they forced open the front door of a house in one of this city's most crime-ridden neighborhoods on Tuesday night.

Instead, they found a 92-year-old woman holding a revolver.

The woman, Kathryn Johnston, who neighbors said still did her own cooking and cleaning and had a "good, sharp" mind, was killed, and three narcotics investigators were hit in the face, chest, arm and legs during a shootout after officers knocked open the door.

Exactly what led to Ms. Johnston's shooting has become the subject of a highly charged investigation.

In a news conference Wednesday, Assistant Chief Alan J. Dreher of the Atlanta Police Department said his officers had returned fire after Ms. Johnston shot three of them.

Officers Gary Smith, 38, Gregg Junnier, 40, and Cary Bond, 38, were wearing bulletproof riot vests and carrying riot shields when they were shot, Chief Dreher said.

Each has been with the department more than 10 years.

Chief Dreher said the officers, who were released from the hospital on Wednesday, had been placed on administrative leave with pay while the shooting is investigated.

The killing of Ms. Johnston has outraged her neighbors and family, who said she was home alone at the time of the shooting and kept the "rusty revolver" only for self-defense in a neighborhood where drugs are openly traded and another elderly woman was recently raped.

"They got the wrong house," said Nina D. Robinson, a neighbor, repeating a charge that has been adamantly echoed in conversations at bus stops, in subway cars and across the counter in convenience stores around Atlanta throughout the day.

Law enforcement officials say they were at the right house.

"The police have assured me that they had made a drug purchase from this very residence on this day," said Paul Howard, the Fulton County district attorney.

Mr. Howard said undercover officers bought illegal drugs from a man at the house in the afternoon and that the officers returned in the evening to execute a "no knock" warrant, which is used in cases where officers believe that a suspect may have time to hide evidence or escape if given time to answer the door.

Officers intended to arrest that man, Mr. Howard said, but he was not in the house when they returned.

Police officials said they were still investigating whether the man, who is described only as "Sam" in an arrest warrant issued Wednesday, was related to Ms. Johnston or lived at the residence.

Ms. Robinson, who said she had lived down the street from Ms. Johnston for 17 years, said she was shaken by the death of her "good friend."

"This woman didn't bother anyone," Ms. Robinson said. "She was scared. She stayed in her house. She wouldn't even come to the door for me unless I called first."

She said Ms. Johnston's fear of intruders had lately been heightened by the recent rape of another elderly woman in their neighborhood.

The investigators were not in uniform when they arrived at Ms. Johnston's home, but they were wearing navy blue T-shirts and "raid shields" emblazoned with the word "Police." They arrived in a marked patrol car which was parked in front of the house, and they announced themselves after they opened the door but before entering, the police said.

It is not clear whether they had time to set foot in the house before they were shot.

Mr. Howard said a "complete, thorough and fair" investigation was already under way.

Ms. Johnston's killing comes as tensions over shootings by the police are already heightened in the Atlanta area.

On Tuesday, the DeKalb County district attorney announced that she would ask a grand jury to investigate the actions of the police officers involved in the fatal shootings of 12 suspects since January.

"They're killing people everywhere!" yelled a man who would not give his name as he watched a news report about the shooting on a small screen in a subway car. "Every time you turn on the news, the police is shooting someone else," he said. "You run. They shoot."

All around him, other passengers nodded and murmured their agreement.

Rhonda Robinson, 36, who was on her way to her job as a security guard, said it was easy for her to see both sides of the story.

"Maybe she was scared," Ms. Robinson said of Ms. Johnston. "She was 92 years old. I understand that, but she opened fire."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Police Kill Woman, 92, in Shootout at Her Home (Published 2006)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ATLANTA, Nov. 22 - Police officers said they expected to arrest a man who had illegal drugs when they forced open the front door of a house in one of this city's most crime-ridden neighborhoods on Tuesday night. Instead, they found a 92-year-old woman holding a revolver.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The story of Breonna Taylor, a Kentucky woman who was shot and killed by police in her home last year, galvanized the nation and brought one particular law enforcement practice - the use of no-knock warrants - under scrutiny. No-knock warrants authorize police officers to enter a home without first knocking and announcing their presence.

For state Rep. LaKeshia Myers (D-Milwaukee), the first time she heard about no-knock warrants was in the wake of Taylor's death.

"I was really caught and impacted by the death of Breonna Taylor. I think when you look at the way in which she was killed that made a big difference in understanding what actual no-knock warrants were," she says.
>> WUWM Series - Policing In Wisconsin: Has Anything Changed Since Last Summer's Protests?
Myers looked into the history of no-knock warrants and learned that they were implemented under the Reagan administration as part of the 1980s war on drugs.

"If you think about old videos from the news, I remember seeing LAPD and Nancy Reagan, you know, kind of riding, you know, on a battering ram, which was like a little tank and, you know, smashing into two suspected drug houses, all of this type of activity," she recalls.

Today, critics say that the use of no-knock warrants is both dangerous to civilians like Breonna Taylor but also to law enforcement officers who serve the warrants. In 2019, 35-year-old Milwaukee police officer Mathew Rittner was shot and killed while executing a no-knock warrant.

Proponents of the tactic say it creates a necessary element of surprise to confiscate contraband. But it's difficult to fully understand the impact of no-knock warrants because different jurisdictions collect different data and some collect none at all. When asked how many times police officers or civilians have been killed during the execution of a no-knock warrant, Milwaukee Police Department Acting Chief Jeffrey Norman was unable to answer the question.

"I have no immediate numbers of anything, if they even have a situation like that. I'm not aware of a situation in my current memory, but definitely something that can be followed up a little bit later," Norman told WUWM.
Listen: What Has & Hasn't Changed: A Conversation With Acting Milwaukee Police Chief Jeff Norman
Last week, a Wisconsin task force on racial disparities introduced a bipartisan bill that would require data collection on no-knock warrants. Under the proposal, the Department of Justice (DOJ) would have to collect information from law enforcement agencies across the state and prepare an annual report on the use of no-knock warrants. The proposal drew support from key police unions including the Wisconsin Professional Police Association (WPPA).

"I think that collecting that data would serve as a better guide for prospective public policy changes," says WPPA Executive Director Jim Palmer.

But not every member of the task force is on the same page when it comes to collecting data on no-knock warrants. Rebecca Burrell, a Madison-based activist, says the measure is a waste of time.

"We didn't come asking for what you thought was best for us. We came tell you what would be best for our community based on experience. Data collection that should already have been collected did no justice for my community, and it is a slap in my face," she says.

Rep. Myers also has concerns. While she says the measure to collect data is a step in the right direction, it does nothing to actually curb the use of no-knock warrants. Her bill, the Breonna Taylor bill, would actually do that.

"It would restrict the use of no-knock warrants from the hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. And it would also, you know, ... allow for police to say, 'Look, this is an extreme circumstance, we have to do it after 10 p.m.,' and this is the reason you have to lay out, you know, an extreme reason to have that happen," she says.

While Myers is skeptical the Breonna Taylor bill will go anywhere, she says she's not throwing in the towel. The fate of the legislation lies with Republican Rep. John Spiros, who is the chair of the Justice and Public Safety Assembly Committee.

"I'm in for the long haul. It most definitely would depend on when, if we get a committee hearing. I'm not certain that we will given that we have 329 that came from the task force. But if we don't have a hearing this session, will reintroduce the next session," she says.

The bill mandating the DOJ to collect this data was passed by the Public Safety Assembly Committee Wednesday, and will head to the Assembly floor. The Breonna Taylor bill is on standby. As for outright banning no-knock warrants, there's no proposal at the state level that would do just that.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The State Of No-Knock Warrant Bills In The Wisconsin Legislature

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The story of Breonna Taylor, a Kentucky woman who was shot and killed by police in her home last year, galvanized the nation and brought one particular law enforcement practice - the use of no-knock warrants - under scrutiny. No-knock warrants authorize police officers to enter a home without first knocking and announcing their presence.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
After the police killing of Amir Locke last week, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced what he called a moratorium on no-knock search warrants. The raid during which an officer fatally shot Locke has drawn backlash against the city's use of no-knock warrants and scrutiny of Frey's false claim to have banned or limited them to extreme circumstances like a hostage situation.

During the raid, Minneapolis officers seeking evidence tied to a St. Paul homicide opened the door to the apartment where Locke was staying, announcing their presence as they rushed across the threshold of the home. Police bodycam video shows an officer kicking the couch where Locke appears to be sleeping, wrapped in a blanket. On the video, the 22-year old appears to be waking up and holding a gun, and he is shot just as he starts to move, approximately 8 seconds after police enter the apartment. Locke was not a target of the investigation and his parents have said he was a legal gun owner. Police arrested a 17-year-old in connection to the St. Paul murder case on Monday.

Some police say no-knock warrants can help them secure criminal evidence before it's destroyed, or can help them safely search a building without alerting someone who might be hostile to police. But the tactic has drawn criticism because they can cause dangerous and chaotic situations where people inside are unsure of what's happening as police charge in the door.

Here's what we know about the city's policies on no-knock search warrants before last week, and what has happened since.
What was Minneapolis policy on no-knock search warrants at the time of the Locke killing?
In November of 2020, the Minneapolis Police Department announced its first ever policy governing the use of no-knock search warrants, which are granted by judges.

Under the policy, officers have three options for searching a residence . The first is what's known as a "knock and announce" warrant. For that type of search, officers "generally" can't immediately force their way into a building looking for evidence of a crime, the policy says. Instead, they have to knock and announce their presence and wait a reasonable amount of time before entering someone's home. Rachel Moran, professor at the University of St. Thomas Law School, told the Minneapolis City Council on Monday that wait time is typically about 30 seconds.

However, police can also seek a no-knock warrant from a judge under department regulations, which refer to them as "unannounced" entry search warrants.

For most of those no-knock searches, police must announce themselves before entering a home - although not before opening a door or busting it down. Officers, who also have to announce themselves periodically once inside a residence, used this style of entry in the raid last week where an officer fatally shot Locke. "An unannounced warrant means we breach first, then announce," said Garrett Parten, a spokesman for the department, in an interview last year.

Lastly, under the search warrant regulations, if police decide announcing themselves would create an imminent threat of physical harm to someone, officers can enter without any type of knock or announcement. The city says these are necessary only in limited circumstances, like a hostage situation.
So did Minneapolis ban no-knock search warrants last year or not?
The city did not ban no-knock search warrants last year. It's accurate to say Minneapolis enacted a new requirement that officers announce themselves prior to entering a residence to execute a no-knock search warrant. But an entry in which police announce themselves after opening a door without knocking is still considered to be a no-knock warrant by MPD. And the city policy still also allows officers to enter a home without announcing themselves in some circumstances.

During his 2021 re-election bid, Frey and his supporters campaigned on having banned no-knock search warrants, but that is not true, and Frey told the council Monday that "language became more casual, including my own, which did not reflect the necessary precision or nuance, and I own that."
What did the policy actually change?
Minneapolis police leaders say the regulations cemented what they considered to be existing best practice - police announcing themselves after opening a door for a no-knock raid - into official policy. Frey has said not all officers previously followed those practices, and police are now required to adhere to them. If officers don't follow the policy, they can also potentially be disciplined.
Did MPD follow its policy in the raid in which police fatally shot Locke?
Some have questioned if officers announced themselves before entering the apartment where Locke was sleeping. But MPD seemed to roughly follow the requirement for a no-knock search warrant, in which officers must announce themselves before entering but not before opening a door to the residence they're searching.
What did Frey announce about no-knock warrants last week?
On Friday, Frey announced what he described as a moratorium on police securing and carrying out no-knock search warrants after the Locke killing. The only way officers can execute a search warrant under the rules is through the "knock and announce" option.

But during a Minneapolis City Council Policy & Government Oversight Committee (POGO) meeting Monday, Frey said there are, in fact, exceptions to that policy in which officers can carry out a no-knock warrant. "An outright ban is not even an outright ban," said Frey.

"There may be extremely dangerous circumstances where an officer can enter without an announcement," Frey said. He listed hostage situations and "extreme domestic violence" as exceptions in which an officer may breach an entry without an announcement.

"I'm sure there are other instances as well," Frey added.

Frey said during the Monday meeting that the moratorium will remain in place until a new no-knock policy is established. He said that there is no exact timeline for creating the policy because of complexities like the inclusion of certain exceptions.

Frey said he doesn't want to rush a policy and wants to consult with experts - including activist DeRay Mckesson, who Frey said he has tapped for input - and community members. Frey also said he'd be open to collaborating with the Minneapolis council to come up with a policy.
What has the state done to address no-knock search warrants?
State lawmakers enacted new requirements last year on police using no-knock search warrants . They banned cops from using the tactic in cases tied to drugs meant for personal use. They said no-knock raids must be approved by at least two officers in management at a police agency. Legislators set new guidelines for what information officers must include in an application to a judge for a no-knock warrant, such as why a "knock and announce" entry can't be used or whether the warrant can be carried out in daylight hours.

And lastly, the law requires police departments to report information to the state on no-knock warrants they applied for and executed, as well as the number of injuries or fatalities tied to a raid. There is no central database for this information and police departments vary widely in how they use and track the use of no-knock warrants.
Is the Legislature considering further action?
Gov. Tim Walz, as well as Democratic and Republican state lawmakers - including two GOP candidates for governor in the Minnesota Senate - have called for a new examination and potential restrictions on no-knock warrants. Other Republican candidates for governor not in the Legislature have also called for a new look at the practice.

Legislators in the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus called initially for a total ban on no-knock search warrants.

"We will be pushing for a state-wide prohibition of no-knock warrants and further checks on unsafe police practices," said Rep. Esther Agbaje, a Minneapolis DFLer who lives in the downtown building where Locke was killed . "Everyone deserves to be safe in their own home."

A plan announced by House DFLers on Tuesday, however, would narrowly restrict no-knock warrants to "extreme circumstances where there is evidence that a civilian's life would otherwise be put in danger," a press release says.

Sen. Warren Limmer, a Republican from Maple Grove who chairs the Senate's Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, told reporters Monday he wanted more information on the raid and the circumstances leading up to it before forming an opinion on if any changes should be made to state law around no-knock search warrants.

Limmer said he was wary of a complete ban on no-knock warrants, however, saying "police activity is very challenging, especially when they're to arrest a dangerous criminal."

"There are times when you have to use extreme measures to make their arrest," he said.
Peter Callaghan contributed to this story.

Keep Minnesota news paywall-free.

MinnPost's in-depth, independent news is free for all to access - no paywall or subscriptions. Will you help us keep it this way by supporting our nonprofit newsroom with a tax-deductible donation today?

SUPPORT MINNPOST

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Minneapolis' policy on 'no-knock' search warrants - before and after the killing of Amir Locke - explained | MinnPost

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
After the police killing of Amir Locke last week, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced what he called a moratorium on no-knock search warrants. The raid during which an officer fatally shot Locke has drawn backlash against the city's use of no-knock warrants and scrutiny of Frey's false claim to have banned or limited them to extreme circumstances like a hostage situation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ATLANTA, Nov. 22 - Police officers said they expected to arrest a man who had illegal drugs when they forced open the front door of a house in one of this city's most crime-ridden neighborhoods on Tuesday night.

Instead, they found a 92-year-old woman holding a revolver.

The woman, Kathryn Johnston, who neighbors said still did her own cooking and cleaning and had a "good, sharp" mind, was killed, and three narcotics investigators were hit in the face, chest, arm and legs during a shootout after officers knocked open the door.

Exactly what led to Ms. Johnston's shooting has become the subject of a highly charged investigation.

In a news conference Wednesday, Assistant Chief Alan J. Dreher of the Atlanta Police Department said his officers had returned fire after Ms. Johnston shot three of them.

Officers Gary Smith, 38, Gregg Junnier, 40, and Cary Bond, 38, were wearing bulletproof riot vests and carrying riot shields when they were shot, Chief Dreher said.

Each has been with the department more than 10 years.

Chief Dreher said the officers, who were released from the hospital on Wednesday, had been placed on administrative leave with pay while the shooting is investigated.

The killing of Ms. Johnston has outraged her neighbors and family, who said she was home alone at the time of the shooting and kept the "rusty revolver" only for self-defense in a neighborhood where drugs are openly traded and another elderly woman was recently raped.

"They got the wrong house," said Nina D. Robinson, a neighbor, repeating a charge that has been adamantly echoed in conversations at bus stops, in subway cars and across the counter in convenience stores around Atlanta throughout the day.

Law enforcement officials say they were at the right house.

"The police have assured me that they had made a drug purchase from this very residence on this day," said Paul Howard, the Fulton County district attorney.

Mr. Howard said undercover officers bought illegal drugs from a man at the house in the afternoon and that the officers returned in the evening to execute a "no knock" warrant, which is used in cases where officers believe that a suspect may have time to hide evidence or escape if given time to answer the door.

Officers intended to arrest that man, Mr. Howard said, but he was not in the house when they returned.

Police officials said they were still investigating whether the man, who is described only as "Sam" in an arrest warrant issued Wednesday, was related to Ms. Johnston or lived at the residence.

Ms. Robinson, who said she had lived down the street from Ms. Johnston for 17 years, said she was shaken by the death of her "good friend."

"This woman didn't bother anyone," Ms. Robinson said. "She was scared. She stayed in her house. She wouldn't even come to the door for me unless I called first."

She said Ms. Johnston's fear of intruders had lately been heightened by the recent rape of another elderly woman in their neighborhood.

The investigators were not in uniform when they arrived at Ms. Johnston's home, but they were wearing navy blue T-shirts and "raid shields" emblazoned with the word "Police." They arrived in a marked patrol car which was parked in front of the house, and they announced themselves after they opened the door but before entering, the police said.

It is not clear whether they had time to set foot in the house before they were shot.

Mr. Howard said a "complete, thorough and fair" investigation was already under way.

Ms. Johnston's killing comes as tensions over shootings by the police are already heightened in the Atlanta area.

On Tuesday, the DeKalb County district attorney announced that she would ask a grand jury to investigate the actions of the police officers involved in the fatal shootings of 12 suspects since January.

"They're killing people everywhere!" yelled a man who would not give his name as he watched a news report about the shooting on a small screen in a subway car. "Every time you turn on the news, the police is shooting someone else," he said. "You run. They shoot."

All around him, other passengers nodded and murmured their agreement.

Rhonda Robinson, 36, who was on her way to her job as a security guard, said it was easy for her to see both sides of the story.

"Maybe she was scared," Ms. Robinson said of Ms. Johnston. "She was 92 years old. I understand that, but she opened fire."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Police Kill Woman, 92, in Shootout at Her Home (Published 2006)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ATLANTA, Nov. 22 - Police officers said they expected to arrest a man who had illegal drugs when they forced open the front door of a house in one of this city's most crime-ridden neighborhoods on Tuesday night. Instead, they found a 92-year-old woman holding a revolver.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Minneapolis city council committee held a hearing on no-knock warrants Monday afternoon following the death of Amir Locke, who was fatally shot in an apartment by Minneapolis police officers on Wednesday during the execution of a "no-knock" warrant.

Law enforcement and criminal justice experts as well as activists and attorneys for the Locke family offered research and perspective on the impact and harm of no-knock warrants to the city council as talks of legislation continue.

A no-knock warrant allows the police to enter someone's home without knocking, sometimes without announcing their presence, attorney and criminal justice professor Rachel Moran said at the hearing.

If authorized by a judge, officers are also allowed to enter at a time period that's not within the 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. window to which normal search warrants are typically limited.

Moran cited a New York Times investigation that found at least 81 civilians and 13 law enforcement officers have died in "no-knock" and "quick-knock" raids between 2010 and 2016 in the U.S. -- and many more have been seriously injured.

"They're dangerous for residents and for the police," Moran said.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, attorney Antonio Romanucci and attorney Jeff Storms, who are representing Locke's family members, slammed local legislators for policies that Storms called "half measures."

"This is an epic failure of policy, and that failed policy killed Amir Locke," Crump said.

Romanucci added that "no-knock" warrants are "one of the most intrusive forms of government that our communities can experience, period. They can result in needless death and psychological trauma."

Moran, Crump and Storms said that policy changes on "no-knock" warrants haven't made a significant impact.

Minneapolis Police Department updated its policy in November 2020, limiting "no-knock" warrants to "exigent" cases.

Minneapolis police officers are required to announce their presence and purpose before entering a home, except for when announcing the officers' presence would create an imminent threat.

In those cases, a supervisor can authorize officers to enter without announcing their presence. Supervisors are required to provide evidence to support that decision before it is signed and approved by the judge.

"This is about proactive policymaking and instilling accountability," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement announcing the policy last November. "We can't prevent every tragedy, but we can limit the likelihood of bad outcomes. This new, no-knock warrant policy will set shared expectations for our community and clear and objective standards within the department."

That month, Moran said, the city reported that they'd been averaging about 139 "no-knock" warrants per year. In the first 10 months after the purported ban, the city reported that it had requested 90 "no-knock" warrants, according to Moran.

"It's important to implore upon everyone, that half measures have really gotten cities nowhere across the country," Storms said. "It's important that city does not just put Band-Aids on the immediate problems but spends time thinking about how to preempt the next civil rights violation, not just related to no-knock warrants, but to other areas of policy practice and training."

In response to Locke's death, Frey issued a moratorium late Friday on "no-knock" warrants.

"No matter what information comes to light, it won't change the fact that Amir Locke's life was cut short," Frey said in a statement. "To ensure safety of both the public and officers until a new policy is crafted, I'm issuing a moratorium on both the request and execution of such warrants in Minneapolis."

However, officials may execute a no-knock warrant under the moratorium if it is determined that there is an imminent threat of harm to an individual or the public. The chief must approve the warrant in those cases, according to the mayor.

Frey will talk with the experts who helped shape Breonna's Law to review and suggest revisions to the department's policy. The law, issued in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2020, banned no-knock warrants following the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.

In a Friday press conference regarding Locke's death, acting Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman said that "both a no-knock and a knock search warrant were obtained ... so that the SWAT team could assess the circumstances and make the best possible decision" in the Locke case.

Body camera footage released Thursday shows officers executing a no-knock search warrant before coming across 22-year-old Locke, who had been sleeping under a blanket on the couch in the apartment that the warrant was issued for.

He is seen holding a gun as he begins to sit up, still covered with the blanket before he is shot less than 10 seconds after officers entered the room.

Huffman said that when officers saw the gun, "That's the moment when the officer had to make a split second decision to assess the circumstances and determine whether he felt like there was an articulable threat."

Locke was not named in the warrant, according to family attorney Ben Crump said at the press conference. The warrant was being executed on behalf of St. Paul police, who were searching for a homicide suspect.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner has ruled Locke's death a homicide.

The officer who shot and killed Locke was identified by police as Mark Hanneman. In accordance with policy, he's been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the incident. It is unclear if Hanneman has legal representation.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will work with the Hennepin County Attorney's Office to review Locke's death, the office said in a press release Friday.

Locke's killing prompted protests demanding justice in his killing. Hundreds of demonstrators chanted, "Who's down with the revolution? We're down with the revolution!" and "No justice, no peace," while marching toward the police precinct on Saturday.

A caravan of cars also pulled up to what ABC affiliate KSTP reported could be Huffman's home. Protesters got out of their cars in front of the home, chanting and banging drums.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
No-knock warrants in Minnesota under scrutiny after fatal police shooting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Minneapolis city council committee held a hearing on no-knock warrants Monday afternoon following the death of Amir Locke, who was fatally shot in an apartment by Minneapolis police officers on Wednesday during the execution of a "no-knock" warrant.

# data[].attributes.body
breonna taylor died of a no knock warrent. these warrents were used in the war on drugs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Louisville city council voted Thursday to ban no-knock warrants, a policing tactic that led to the death of a local woman this spring that has since become a driving force behind the nationwide protests over policing.

The law was named after Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old woman who was fatally shot by police executing a no-knock drug search warrant - which allows officers to enter a residence unannounced - at her apartment. Police say they did announce themselves when entering the residence, but Taylor's boyfriend and neighbor dispute this.

Louisville's Democratic Mayor Greg Fischer suspended use of no-knock warrants last month in the wake of Taylor's death, which is under investigation by the FBI, but this law makes the ban permanent, and also requires police to wear body cameras when carrying out search warrants.

Fischer tweeted that he intended to sign the bill into law, and said he agreed with the council "that the risk to residents and officers with this kind of search outweigh any benefit."

While Taylor's death has brought renewed attention to the practice, it has long faced criticism for the injuries and deaths sustained in the process, and efforts to reform the practice have faced legal challenges in the past.

But in the weeks following the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a ban on no-knock warrants has become part of new proposals to reform policing.

On Thursday, Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul introduced his own legislation that would "effectively end no-knock raids" in the U.S., he said. A ban on these warrants is also part of the broader Justice in Policing Act proposed by Democrats this week.

What are "no-knock" warrants and why are they used?

The increased use of no-knock warrants is a product of the country's "war on drugs," a series of federal and local policies aimed at cracking down on recreational drug use. President Richard Nixon launched the campaign in the 1970s, but it gained momentum in the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan.

In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which established mandatory minimum prison sentences for certain drug offenses. As part of the focus on drugs, federal and local law enforcement implemented militarized strategies that included no-knock raids. In other cases, police use a "quick-knock" approach before entering a location.

The surprise nature of these raids is meant to help law enforcement disrupt criminal activity without giving a perpetrator time to react - either by using force against a police officer, evade arrest or get rid of evidence, said Walter Signorelli, an adjunct professor with John Jay College of Criminal Justice who served in the narcotics division of the New York City Police Department. Signorelli added that these methods can be most helpful in situations with violent offenders.
READ MORE: 'The whole police system needs to be rebooted.' How some cities are starting to tackle reform
In dangerous situations, surprise entries have helped maintain officer safety or protect pertinent evidence, said Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association for Police Organizations. As members of Congress push for an outright ban on the tactic with their latest bill, Johnson argues they "should be an available tool to use in limited, appropriate times."

Another factor in these raids is civil asset forfeiture which allows law enforcement to seize property linked to criminal activity that they can then keep or sell to supply department resources, said Peter Kraska, a professor with the School of Justice Studies at Eastern Kentucky University.

Data collected by Kraska shows that municipal police and sheriffs' departments used no-knock or quick-knock warrants about 1,500 times in the early 1980s, but that number rose to about 40,000 times per year by 2000, he said. In 2010, Kraska estimated 60,000-70,000 no-knock or quick-knock raids were conducted by local police annually. The majority of those raids were looking for marijuana, he added.

Currently, Florida and Oregon ban no-knock warrants. Thirteen states have laws explicitly permitting no-knock warrants, and the remaining states issue them based on a judge's discretion.

What is the legal basis for no knock warrants?

The 1963 Supreme Court ruling Ker v. California set a precedent in favor of forcible police entries involving narcotics out of concern that evidence could be destroyed. In 1995, the Supreme Court's Wilson v. Arkansas ruling stated that police must "knock and announce" before executing a search warrant, but allowed for exceptions established in previous cases like Ker.

Richard v. Wisconsin in 1997 sought to add more clarification, allowing for no-knock searches when police have "a reasonable suspicion that knocking and announcing their presence, under the particular circumstances, would be dangerous or futile, or that it would inhibit the effective investigation of the crime by, for example, allowing the destruction of evidence," according to the ruling.

Both the 1995 and 1997 rulings allowed local and state judges a lot of discretion in determining what constitutes "reasonable suspicion."

And when it comes to no-knock raids, courts often support law enforcement, said David Moran, a law professor at the University of Michigan. The 2006 Supreme Court decision in Hudson v. Michigan determined that evidence seized in violation of knock-and-announce requirements may still be used against a defendant in court.

In the majority opinion, late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said excluding the evidence would not serve the original purposes of the "knock and announce" rule, which include protecting privacy and minimizing potential injury. That decision essentially removed incentives for police to go through the formal process of obtaining a no-knock warrant, said Moran, who argued the case before the Supreme Court.

The combination of court rulings protecting police searches has resulted in "sloppy" search warrants that do not have strong supporting evidence, said Mark Wohlander, a Kentucky-based attorney and former FBI agent.

Wohlander argued that the Fourth Amendment, which protects people in the U.S. from "unreasonable searches and seizures," has been chipped away at by these rulings, and "has really no meaning anymore."

While national and city-wide data on no-knock warrants is not widely collected and reported, one analysis by the Denver Post found that judges only rejected five out of 163 no-knock warrant requests from Denver police in 2000. About one-third of those executed no-knock raids did not get the required pre-approval from the district attorney, according to the Post's analysis. In another analysis, the Washington Post found that between 2016 and 2018, in Little Rock, Arkansas, judges approved 103 of 105 no-knock warrants requested by police.

What happens in the execution of no-knock warrants?

A 2014 ACLU report analyzing more than 800 SWAT deployments involving no-knock and quick-knock entries, of which 62 percent were drug searches, determined that law enforcement found drugs in 35 percent of those drug searches and found nothing in 36 percent. In 29 percent of the raids, whether anything was seized is unknown, as police did not provide this information in their incident reports

The very nature of surprise entering someone's home - often late at night or early in the morning - heightens the risk of violence, experts told the PBS NewsHour. They added that the prevalence of gun ownership in U.S. homes can further raise the risk. In Taylor's case, her boyfriend said he fired his gun when police entered the home unannounced because he did not know who they were.

Even if police found drugs in 100 percent of their searches, "it's too risky and extreme of a police tactic to justify making a drug bust," Kraska said.

Data tracking injuries sustained during these raids is lacking, but over the years deaths resulting from no-knock raids have garnered public criticism.

A New York Times investigation found that at least 94 civilians and 13 law enforcement officers died in no-knock and quick-knock raids in the U.S. between 2010 and 2016, while many more were seriously injured. Because the federal government does not require police departments to report data about these incidents, the Times identified cases through interviews, ACLU data, web searches and news reports.
READ MORE: What is the 'defund the police' movement? 5 questions answered
In 2014, police executing a search warrant in Georgia threw a flash grenade into a room with a 19-month-old child. The child had to be put in a medically induced coma as a result of his injuries. In 2010, a police officer shot and killed a 7-year-old girl while raiding a Detroit apartment. Neither case resulted in criminal convictions for the officers involved. The legal precedent favoring police makes civil lawsuits difficult to win, experts told the NewsHour.

Multiple studies also indicate that black and Latino people are statistically more likely overall to be searched and arrested for drugs throughout the country. The 2014 ACLU report found that 39 percent of the SWAT team searches affected black individuals, 11 percent affected Latinos, 20 percent affected white people and 30 percent were unknown because of insufficient information from police incident reports. Of the no-knock searches that affected black and Latino people, 68 percent were for drugs, according to the ACLU.

Signorelli of John Jay College said police need to be more "judicious" with these warrants and strengthen their investigations before taking that approach. Kraska said he hopes some reform will come from the attention brought by Taylor's death. The legislation proposed by congressional Democrats only mandates requirements for federal law enforcement, but it also conditions federal funding for state and local law enforcement on reform efforts. While limiting no-knock warrants has bipartisan support, the other measures in the Democratic bill will likely face Republican pushback.

Sen. Rand Paul's Justice for Breonna Taylor Act introduced this week would prohibit no-knock warrants and require federal law enforcement give notice of their authority and purpose before executing a warrant, according to the senator's website. The legislation would require the same of all state and local law enforcement agencies that receive funding from the Department of Justice.

In the meantime, Taylor's death is still a part of the national conversation about police practices, specifically those that target or disproportionately impact people of color. Protesters around the country this past weekend carried posters with Taylor's image as they demanded change. She would have turned 27 last Friday. No charges have yet been made against any of the officers involved in her death, and the FBI investigation is ongoing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The war on drugs gave rise to 'no-knock' warrants. Breonna Taylor's death could end them

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Louisville city council voted Thursday to ban no-knock warrants, a policing tactic that led to the death of a local woman this spring that has since become a driving force behind the nationwide protests over policing.

# data[].attributes.body
https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/st-louis-police-officers-sued-for-2017-killing-while-serving-no-knock-warrant/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

ST. LOUIS - The city of St. Louis and more than 20 local police officers are the subjects of a wrongful death suit tied for the 2017 killing of a 63-year-old man while the officers attempted to execute a "no knock" warrant.

Lawyers for the civil rights organization ArchCity Defenders filed the lawsuit in federal court Wednesday on behalf of Don Clark Sr.'s children.

Clark was shot and killed on the evening of Feb. 21, 2017, at his home in 4000 block of California Avenue in south St. Louis.

St. Louis Police said they had applied for and received permission to serve "no knock" warrants at three homes in connection with a months-long drug investigation.

Officers claim no one answered the door at one of the residences after they announced themselves, so they used a battering ram to knock the door down and gain entry. Former St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said at the time that a man inside the home fired a shot at police.

Police deployed a flash-bang grenade before the individual fired another shot, Dotson said. One officer returned fire, fatally wounding the man.

That man, later identified as Don Clark Sr., was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Lawyers representing Clark's children say the patriarch of the family was a U.S. Army veteran, a father of 7, and a grandfather who suffered from vision and hearing loss, and a range of other health issues. The family believes law enforcement raided the wrong home.

Police say the shooting was justified and claim they recovered two handguns and drugs from Clark's residence.

The affidavit for the no knock warrants mentions that police suspected the people in the homes could be armed and dangerous.

Police claim Clark had numerous prior arrests. His family denies he had any criminal history and says their father was acting in self-defense.

The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief in the form of financial compensation for damages and written apologies from every defendant to Clark's children, as well as mandatory police training and changes to department policy to avoid incidents like this in the future.

Clark was an Army veteran and a grandfather who suffered from a range of health issues, including loss of hearing and vision.

"It's abundantly clear from the situation that happened with Don Clark that nobody took a close look at this. Anyone including you would know that this is not the house to do a no knock search warrant," said attorney Jerryl Christmas, who is representing the family.

"What happened to Don shouldn't have happened to anyone and we need to make sure our system is accountable at all levels."

The night Clark died was the last time his son, Don Jr., spoke to his father. He said his dad, who was also known as Pops, was looking forward to their visit the following day.

"I was robbed out of that," Don Jr. said.

He and his family are not only seeking justice for themselves but so that these incidents will stop taking the lives of others.

"We need to hold the people that say they're going to continue to protect us to have accountability," Don Jr. said.

You can read the lawsuit in its entirety below:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
st. louis metropolitan police department

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
St. Louis Police officers sued for 2017 killing while serving 'no knock' warrant

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. ST. LOUIS - The city of St.

# data[].attributes.body
Technically, a warrant were its annouced, then followed up instantly with a battering ram is also a no-knock warrant.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Calls for an all-out ban on the execution of no-knock warrants by law enforcement in Minneapolis are intensifying following the police killing of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man, by a police officer during a raid last week. But some advocates and legal experts warn a blanket ban may not be enough to avoid such tragedies.

Locke's parents, Karen Wells and Andre Locke, in a recent interview with CNN said the contentious police tactic - in which officers enter a property without announcing their presence beforehand - is a failure of law enforcement and ultimately caused their son's death.

"The whole system. He wasn't killed, he wasn't murdered, he was executed," Locke's mother Karen Wells said during an interview with CNN's Omar Jimenez Monday.

Locke was shot several times as SWAT officers entered the Minneapolis apartment and encountered him under a blanket on the couch holding a pistol. The raid was carried out in connection to a homicide investigation in St. Paul, and on Monday, Locke's 17-year-old cousin was arrested in Winona, Minn., in connection to the murder. Locke was never a target of the investigation or search warrants.

Locke's parents, along with police reform groups, called on Minneapolis to commit to a full ban on no-knock warrants, and local officials and legal experts earlier this week questioned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as to why policies he rolled out in 2020 to restrict the practice in the wake of the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor incidents fell short.

But while some call for a ban and the city mulls over policy changes, some argue doing away with no-knock warrants is just the beginning.

"Just banning no-knock warrants may not be sufficient because police also use an approach called knock-and-announce with dynamic entry," said Nila Bala, a senior staff attorney with New York University's Policing Project.

"Technically, the officers do announce their entry - perhaps hitting the door once and then barging in with a battering ram. It's effectively like a no-knock warrant because individuals don't have a chance to gather themselves and actually answer the door. It's a no-knock under another name," Bala said.

Bala added that a ban on no-knock warrants alone doesn't go far enough as they're not used nearly as much as knock-and-announce with dynamic entry.

Campaign Zero, a police reform group in which one of its co-founders is working with Minneapolis to review and suggest revisions to the department's policy, has advocated for a ban on no-knock warrants as an initial step, but has called for further restrictions on all other warrant executions, such as requiring at least 30 seconds for a response before entering a property, banning plainclothes search warrant executions and requiring an audible announcement.

Bala agreed it's necessary to tighten regulations on knock-and-announce warrants to make an impact and stressed it's necessary to focus on comprehensive reform of policing through legislation at the state level.

"If we don't have a robust process for holding officers accountable for misconduct, ensuring compliance with any regulations - including banning no-knock warrants - is incredibly difficult. So we have to think bigger than just the warrant and ensure integrity in policing," Bala said.

No-knock warrants are an exception to the common law knock-and-announcement requirement and are authorized by a judge if police can prove there is probable cause executing a standard warrant would result in the destruction of evidence or cause harm to police officers. The majority of no-knock warrants are executed as part of drug investigations.

Thor Eells, head of the National Tactical Officers Association, a group that trains SWAT officers, told Changing America his organization began to discourage the use of no-knock warrants more than a decade ago after realizing a fair number of SWAT officers were getting shot and killed in the process. The group began teaching and educating that other options should be considered as part of risk mitigation to avoid the confrontations associated with no-knock.

But Eells warned that calls to ban the option, as well as reforms such as setting a minimum 30 second requirement before entry, are misguided.

"If you had information that a terrorist cell was going to commit a terrorist act on par with 911, had the potential to result in thousands of deaths, and the information on that terrorist attack was on a laptop computer in an apartment...and the bad guy's in there with it, all he has to do is push one button and it deletes everything, clearly a knock-and-announce you lose all evidence and potential information to save thousands of lives," Eells said, acknowledging it's an extreme example.

"I recognize that the chances of that happening, hopefully, are pretty remote. But they still exist," he said.

On the issue of standard warrants, Eells argues the courts' standard of allowing law enforcement to wait a "reasonable period of time" before entering a property is appropriate as every situation is unique, and putting minimum wait times before entry could put officers and suspects at risk.

"If you try and say 'well, law enforcement is going to have to wait a minimum of 30 seconds,' well, I will absolutely guarantee you that in of itself is going to result in injuries to law enforcement and death as well as to suspects, because once the shooting begins, law enforcement is going to respond," he said.

Eells said what is frequently misunderstood is that law enforcement is subject to suppression hearings, meaning a suspect's attorney can question whether officers did in fact "wait a reasonable period of time" before entering a property. If officers fail to satisfy the judicial review, evidence, statements from people inside or otherwise can be thrown out.
READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT INTRODUCES NEW 'PARENTAL BILL OF RIGHTS' SCIENTISTS ARE MONITORING A NEW OMICRON SUBVARIANT CALLED BA.2 HOUSE COMMITTEE IN FLORIDA PASSES 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL MAN REPORTEDLY DENIED HEART TRANSPLANT BECAUSE HE'S NOT VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19 RESEARCHERS FIND GENETIC LINK TO COVID-19-INDUCED LOSS OF SMELL AND TASTE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Intensified calls for ban on no-knock warrants might not be enough

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Technically, the officers do announce their entry - perhaps hitting the door once and then barging in with a battering ram. It's effectively like a no-knock warrant because individuals don't have a chance to gather themselves and actually answer the door. It's a no-knock under another name."

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/texas-no-knock-swat-raid/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Fight disinformation. Get a daily recap of the facts that matter. Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter.

One Friday last May, the sun had not yet risen when a SWAT team ignited a flash-bang grenade outside Marvin Guy's apartment in Killeen, Texas. Officers were trying to climb in through a window when Guy, who had a criminal record and was suspected of possessing cocaine, opened fire. Four officers were hit; one of them was killed.

Five months earlier, 100 miles away, a SWAT officer was shot during a predawn no-knock raid on another house. In that case, too, police threw a flash-bang grenade and tried to enter the residence. Henry "Hank" Magee, according to his attorney, grabbed his gun to protect himself and his pregnant girlfriend. "As soon as the door was kicked in, he shot at the people coming through the door," says his attorney, Dick DeGuerin. With his legally owned semi-automatic .308 rifle, Magee killed one of the officers.

The cases are remarkably similar, except for one thing: Guy is black, Magee white. And while Magee was found to have acted in self-defense, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Guy. He remains in jail while he awaits trial.

Historically, police serving warrants were required to knock on a door, announce their presence, and wait for an answer. But in SWAT raids, this is often no longer the case. Police aren't required to announce themselves if they believe the circumstances present a threat of physical violence, or if they believe evidence would be destroyed. According to a study by the American Civil Liberties Union, no-knock warrants are used in around 60 percent of drug searches.

Like Guy, Magee was initially charged with capital murder, which is punishable by death. But before Magee's trial, a grand jury found there was not enough evidence for him to stand trial on that charge. "In essence it was a ruling in self-defense," DeGuerin said. Guy has been through the grand jury process as well, his attorney said, but in his case, the grand jury allowed prosecutors to move ahead with capital murder charges. So while Magee awaits trial for felony possession of marijuana, Guy awaits potential execution.

Both defendants had previous encounters with the law: Magee had been arrested twice for driving while intoxicated and twice for possessing marijuana. Guy had previous charges of bank robbery, theft, burglary, and "felony in possession of a firearm," and had done time in prison. Guy's arrests warrant shows that police suspected him of possessing cocaine after receiving a tip from an informant who said he was selling. The search of his apartment turned up an "orange glass pipe," but no drugs. Magee, however, did have drugs-"more than 4 oz but less than 5 lbs" of marijuana, according to the district attorney.

When SWAT teams were created, they were not intended for drug raids. They were set up in the late 1960s for extreme scenarios like active shooters and hostage situations. Yet 85 percent of SWAT deployments today are for "choice-driven raids on people's private residences," Peter Kraska, an Eastern Kentucky University researcher who studies tactical policing, testified in a recent Senate hearing. The ACLU study found that 62 percent of SWAT deployments today are for doing drug raids. The study also found that in around half of SWAT deployments for drug offenses, no contraband is found at all.

The study also showed that 71 percent of today's SWAT raids affect people of color, even though white people are more likely to be involved in the types of scenarios SWAT teams were created for, like active shooter and hostage situations.

Magee was found to have acted in self-defense by shooting at unannounced intruders before dawn. Whether the same standard will apply to Guy remains to be seen. His trial is scheduled for next June.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Two SWAT raids. Two officers dead. One defendant is black, one white. Guess what happened.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fight disinformation. Get a daily recap of the facts that matter. Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter. One Friday last May, the sun had not yet risen when a SWAT team ignited a flash-bang grenade outside Marvin Guy's apartment in Killeen, Texas.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a summary of a scholarly journal dealing with the potential psychological trauma that can come about from no-knock warrants. While this isn't the entire article (again, just a summary), it does provide some quick references to the negative effects.

# data[].attributes.body
Otis Elder is the "forgoteen victim" in the St. Paul's homicide that led to the death of Amir Locke.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fiancée of homicide victim believes he is ‘forgotten’ with spotlight on no-knock warrants, police shooting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Elder is the victim of the St. Paul homicide that led to the no-knock search warrants in Minneapolis, which resulted in the deadly officer-involved shooting of Amir Locke.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
No-knock raids have terrorized our communities for too long. You can help end them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
No-knock warrants have been in steep decline since the height of the war on drugs, but the killing of a Black man in Minneapolis has raised questions about why police still insisted on the tactic.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

New court documents show that when 22-year-old Amir Locke was shot and killed by Minneapolis police last week, they were actually looking for his 17-year-old cousin. Police used a no-knock warrant for the predawn raid, a so-called fast-entry tactic that is once again under scrutiny. NPR's Martin Kaste explains why. And a warning - you will hear the sound of gunshots in this story.

MARTIN KASTE, BYLINE: The point of a no-knock warrant is, of course, surprise. In the body camera video of last week's early morning raid, you see Minneapolis officers, serving a warrant in connection with a murder investigation, quietly using a key to unlock a door, then bursting into an apartment, rifles out.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #1: Police. Search warrant.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #2: Police. Search warrant.

KASTE: And it happened so fast that the Minneapolis Police Department also released a version of this video in slow motion.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER #1: Police. Search warrant.

KASTE: And in that video, you can see a figure wrapped in a blanket getting up from a couch as the police swarm around him. There's a glimpse of a gun in his hand. He was later reported to be a legal gun owner. And then an officer shoots him.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOTS)

KASTE: That was Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man, not the person the police were looking for, who'd had less than nine seconds to understand what was happening before he was shot. Thor Eells says this is the problem with no-knocks. That element of surprise can also generate confusion for the cops.

THOR EELLS: The shorter time that I have to see you make a movement - is that a cellphone or is that a gun?

KASTE: And this is hardly a new insight. Eells is the head of the National Tactical Officers Association. They train SWAT officers. He says no-knocks were used the most about 20 years ago, but there was a reassessment around 2010. And in recent years, his organization has discouraged their use.

EELLS: There has been a significant decrease in the number of SWAT teams utilizing no-knock warrants as a matter of routine or with any degree of regularity. It's really become more of an exception.

KASTE: Activists agree that the political climate has shifted against no-knocks, including a number of states and cities that have banned or restricted the tactic, especially after the high-profile shooting of Breonna Taylor in a fast-moving police raid in Louisville in 2020.

KATIE RYAN: I think we've seen a lot of symbolic bills.

KASTE: Katie Ryan is chief of staff for Campaign Zero, which seeks to end all no-knocks. Their website has a map that tracks new limits on the tactic, but she says the reality on the ground can be more complicated.

RYAN: There is still so much work to be done, and there is so much nuance to understand in order for there to be substantive change.

KASTE: Minneapolis appears to be a case in point. The mayor had limited no-knocks after the George Floyd protests of 2020. But in the aftermath of last week's shooting, it's become clear that the police were still regularly getting them. In fact, in this case, Minneapolis police may have insisted on a no-knock. The Star Tribune reports that Minneapolis police told St. Paul police, whose homicide investigation this was, that they would serve the warrant only as a no-knock. Now the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, has announced a new moratorium as the city looks into what happened, and Rachel Moran says there's a deeper problem.

RACHEL MORAN: No one has reined the Minneapolis Police Department in.

KASTE: Moran is an associate professor of law at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, where she researches police accountability.

MORAN: The police department itself is not interested in stopping its use or even reducing its use, and no one has made them do it.

STEVE IJAMES: So much of this is organizational culture.

KASTE: That's Steve Ijames, a police practices trainer and consultant. Without commenting specifically on Minneapolis, he says Americans should keep in mind the decentralized nature of policing in this country, not to mention the willingness of local judges to sign off on the warrants.

IJAMES: Are judges really peeling the layers of the onion back on this? In my experience, the answer is no. They largely defer, trust the expert, the officer, and that officer may differ dramatically from one jurisdiction to another what an officer would approach a judge for and talk no-knock.

KASTE: So while experts such as Ijames think no-knock warrants are on the decline, he says it still really comes down to your local police department.

Martin Kaste, NPR News.

Copyright © 2022 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
No-knock warrants are under new scrutiny after fatal shooting in Minneapolis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
No-knock warrants have been in steep decline since the height of the war on drugs, but the killing of a Black man in Minneapolis has raised questions about why police still insisted on the tactic. LEILA FADEL, HOST: New court documents show that when 22-year-old Amir Locke was shot and killed by Minneapolis police last week, they were actually looking for his 17-year-old cousin.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What to know about no-knock warrants, following Amir Locke’s fatal shooting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Controversial “no-knock” warrants -- that lead to the death of Breonna Taylor and Amir Locke -- allow officers to enter a private home without knocking.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What to know about no-knock warrants, following Amir Locke’s fatal shooting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Controversial “no-knock” warrants -- that lead to the death of Breonna Taylor and Amir Locke -- allow officers to enter a private home without knocking.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Amir Locke shooting: Nighttime, no-knock raid would lessen chance of harm, search warrants argued - Bring Me The News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The previously sealed documents were made public Thursday.

# data[].attributes.body
Working definition of no-knock warrants

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A no-knock warrant is a search warrant authorizing police officers to enter certain premises without first knocking and announcing their presence or purpose prior to entering the premises. Such warrants are issued where an entry pursuant to the knock-and-announce rule (ie. an announcement prior to entry) would lead to the destruction of the objects for which the police are searching or would compromise the safety of the police or another individual.

According to the Department of Justice, "Although officers need not take affirmative steps to make an independent re-verification of the circumstances already recognized by a magistrate in issuing a no-knock warrant, such a warrant does not entitle officers to disregard reliable information clearly negating the existence of exigent circumstances when they actually receive such information before execution of the warrant."

See Search Warrants, Fourth Amendment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A no-knock warrant is a search warrant authorizing police officers to enter certain premises without first knocking and announcing their presence or purpose prior to entering the premises. Such warrants are issued where an entry pursuant to the knock-and-announce rule (ie.