Mpls. Mayor Enacts Policy To Limit Application, Use Of No-Knock Warrants
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has enacted a policy which changes the police department's warrant and entry policy, and prohibits the application and use of of no-knock, no-announcement search warrants.
The policy goes into effect on Friday. It still has limits; officers are allowed to immediately enter the premises to "prevent imminent harm or to provide emergency aid," prevent destruction of evidence, prevent escape of a suspect, or when officers are in hot pursiut.
Frey proposed the policy in mid-March, just weeks after 22-year-old Amir Locke was killed by Officer Mark Hanneman during a no-knock raid inside a downtown apartment building. Locke, who was wrapped in a blanket when officers entered on the morning of Feb. 2, grabbed his gun - which he had a permit to carry - and was shot three times. He was not named in the original search warrant.
Under Frey's policy, officers must announce their presence and wait a full 20 seconds for all warrants and 30 seconds between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. before entering a premises, except in the exigent circumstances. In Locke's case, police officers announced their presence as they crossed the threshold into the apartment.
There will also be a new risk classification and evaluation system for knock-and-announce search warrants, and the policy "introduces new, safer entry tactics to deploy when entering a home," a press release says.
The city will also develop an online dashboard to track forced entries by the Minneapolis Police Department.
Frey says the policy is "among the most forward-looking" in the nation.
The second-term mayor originally pledged to rework the Minneapolis police policy, and at one time falsely claimed he had "banned" no-knock warrants when he didn't. In the days following Locke's shooting, Frey put in place a temporary pause on requesting and executing no-knock warrants in Minneapolis, with an exception for circumstances where there is an "imminent threat of harm."
When Frey initially proposed the policy in March, it was met with support from the lawyers representing Locke's family. Minnesota House Democrats proposed strengthening the requirements to only allow warrants if there is risk of death or great bodily harm to somebody held against their will, like a hostage or kidnapping situation. One of the sharpest critics of the policy was St. Cloud police Chief Blair Anderson, who said the standard to get a warrant is already high.
Officer training on the new policy will begin immediately, according to Frey.
