ST PAUL, Minn. — A bill that would greatly restrict the use of no-knock searches in Minnesota got past its first legislative hurdle Thursday, by the slimmest of margins.
The House Public Safety Committee voted 10 to 9 to approve the bill, authored by Rep. Athena Hollins, of St. Paul. Ten Democrats voted for it, while eight Republicans and one Democrat voted no.
The bill's next stop is the House Judiciary Committee, which also has a DFL majority. The bill hasn't received a hearing yet in the GOP-controlled Senate.
"House File 3398 is a bill that will assure there will never be another Amir Locke," Rep. Hollins told fellow members of the panel, referring to the 22-year-old Minneapolis man killed Feb. 2 by police who were executing a no-knock search for Locke's cousin Mekhi Speed.
"No-knock warrants are a dangerous tool and should only be used in cases where a person being held captive will be harmed or killed as a result of the police announcing themselves," Hollins asserted.
Her bill would restrict no-knock warrants to cases in which someone's life is in imminent danger, such as a kidnapping or hostage situation. Officers who falsify facts in a search warrant application would be subject to having their licenses suspended or revoked.
The Hollins bill also would require the Attorney General to develop a four-hour training course on search, seizure and search warrants. Officers who haven't taken the course yet would be barred from taking part in no-knock searches.
Mendota Height's Police Chief Kelly McCarthy, who heads the Peace Officers Standards and Training Board, or POST Board, spoke in favor of the bill.
"Banning no-knock warrants will show officers that their leadership will not intentionally create the chaotic conditions that can lead to tragedy," Chief McCarthy told lawmakers.
If the bill were to become law, the POST Board would be asked to develop a model policy on searches, seizures, warrant processing and execution. Local chiefs would be required to adopt that model policy
Saint Cloud Police Chief William Blair testified in opposition to the bill, on behalf of himself and the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association. He said his department only uses them in cases involving suspects known to have a violent past.
"This is the best and the safest option for us to resolve potentially volatile issues efficiently, effectively and most importantly, peacefully," Blair told the committee.
Blair noted cases where officers have been shot at through doors when they announce themselves.
Rep. Paul Novotny of Elk River, a retired Sherburne County Deputy Sheriff, said he agreed with Blair's assessment that police need this tool.
"We’ve seen that over 100 no-knock warrants were executed in Minneapolis the previous year. Is that racially disparate? Probably. You know what else is racially disparate? The number of murder victims."
Locke's death
Mehki Speed was a suspect in the Jan. 10 murder of Otis Elder in St. Paul. Elder was sitting in his car when he was shot to death in what authorities described as a botched robbery attempt.
Locke wasn't a suspect and wasn't named in the search warrant.
He was sleeping on the sofa in Speed's brother's apartment the morning SWAT officers used a key to enter the apartment, and rushed in shouting, "Search warrant! Police!"
Officer Mark Hanneman shot Locke while he was still under a sheet, nine seconds after officers crossed the threshold. Officer Hanneman opened fire apparently because he spotted a pistol in his Locke's hand, protruding from under the sheet.
Locke had a gun permit. His family says he carried it because he made deliveries for a living and feared being carjacked. They believe he was confused to be awakened at 7:00 a.m. by shouting offices.
Family members also cite the body camera video, which shows the gun was pointing towards the floor. And, they point out that Locke's finger was on the barrel of the gun, rather than the trigger. They say that's a safe firearm handling technique.
The final application for the no-knock search warrant said it was justified because Otis Elder, the victim in the St. Paul murder Speed is accused of, had been shot with armor-piercing bullets.