Request House floor vote for bill to restrict use of no-knock warrants.
Just 2 years after the nationwide outcry following the shooting death of Breonna Taylor during the execution of a no-knock warrant on her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, Amir Locke was similarly killed when a no-knock warrant was served on the apartment he was asleep in in Minneapolis. Amir (22 yrs) was not named on the warrant. This was not his apartment, he was just staying over. The police shot and killed him 9 seconds after entering the property.
The use of no-knock warrants needs to be restricted. They are dangerous for both the police serving them and also for the people in the residence they are being served on. No-knock warrants are disproportionately served on people of color and they do not lead to more crimes being solved.
A bill (HF3398) to restrict the use of no-knock warrants in Minnesota has been heard in multiple committees in the House and is now waiting to be brought to the floor for a vote. We will be contacting House leadership to request that they bring this bill to the floor for a vote.
Background information:
No-knock warrants currently permit police officers to enter a person’s home without knocking or announcing their presence before forcibly entering.
St. Paul hasn’t served one since 2016. In 2020, MPD solved 37% of their homicide investigations;St Paul solved 91%.)
About the bill:
HF 3398 will limit the use of no-knock warrants to only situations in which they’re needed for the safety of people being held against their will. It will raise judicial standards for warrant applications approval, prohibit no-knock warrants from being served in households with disabled people, void warrants that are falsely obtained and prohibit any evidence from such warrants from being used in court. For more on this bill, see the links below.
HF3398 is now waiting to go to the House floor for a potential vote. There is no Senate companion for the bill at the moment. HF3398 has not been included in the House Public Safety omnibus.
Action:
Call/email Rep. Hortman (Speaker of the House) and Rep. Winkler (Majority Leader) and request that they bring HF3398 to the floor of the House for a vote.
E-mail: rep.melissa.hortman@house.mn
Sample Script (modify as you see fit):
Dear Rep. ………,
My name is _____and I live in _____ zip code. I am contacting you as DFL Leadership of the MN House to ask you to bring HF3398, a bill to restrict the use of no-knock warrants, to the floor for a vote.
The shooting death of 22 yr old Amir Locke during the execution of a no-knock warrant this February in Mpls (just 2 years after Breonna Taylor was killed in Louisville, Kentucky also as the result of a no-knock warrant), makes it very clear that we need stricter laws on the use of this type of warrant. Amir Locke was asleep on the couch in the apartment where the warrant was being served. He wasn’t named on the warrant. It wasn’t his apartment - he was staying over. The police shot him 9 seconds after entering. He didn’t stand a chance and he should be alive today!
The use of no-knock warrants needs to be restricted. They are dangerous for the police who are serving them and for the people at the address where they are being served. They are served disproportionately on people of color - 70% of no-knock warrants served in MN at the end of last year were served against Black people. Furthermore, the evidence shows that they don’t result in more crimes being solved.
Amir Locke should be alive today, just as Beonna Taylor should be alive today. Please bring this bill to the floor for a vote. Minnesota needs to pass this bill into law, so that no one else has to die as a result of a no-knock warrant.
Thank you!
For more on HF3988 bill and no-knock warrants see -
https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/SessionDaily/Story/17124
https://mspmag.com/arts-and-culture/no-knock-warrants-in-minnesota-explained/
April 21st Rally to Ban No-Knock Warrants - https://www.facebook.com/CAIR.Minnesota/videos/1157446778365096
This action was created by MN Legislative Action