[raw]
[/raw]
When Minnesota lawmakers passed new regulations for no-knock search warrants last year, they said police departments had to report information to the state on how they use the controversial tactic.
While individual police agencies may have kept records on no-knock warrants, there hadn’t been any comprehensive data, meaning legislators and others had a hard time gauging how often no-knock warrants are used across the state. As of Sept. 1, 2021, police must report to state officials the number of no-knock warrants they have asked for, the number that were issued by a court, and the number of no-knock warrants they carried out. The information must be reported to the state within three months of the date the warrant was issued.
Police also have to send data on the number of injuries or fatalities tied to the raid and any other information requested by state officials.
On Tuesday, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released initial data reported to the state over the first few months of the law, from September of 2021 — when the new regulations went into effect — to February 2. Because agencies have three months to report no-knock warrants, the data may be missing warrants that were issued after November 7.
During that period, police agencies in Minnesota reported being issued a total of 71 no-knock warrants. Of those, 49 were actually executed as no-knock warrants. In the other cases, the warrants were not acted on or were carried out as “knock and announce” warrants, where officers must knock, announce their presence and wait a reasonable amount of time before entering.
The Department of Public Safety, which oversees the BCA, has to write a report on the data to the Legislature each year, but since a full year of data hasn’t been collected, the agency hasn’t written such a report.
Still, here are some things we learned from the state’s new data on no-knock search warrants, which have faced scrutiny and criticism after Minneapolis police killed Amir Locke in a no-knock raid last week.
No-knock search warrants were more common in the metro, but happen in Greater Minnesota, too.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office reported to state officials 11 no-knock warrants that were carried out, which was the most among the limited and incomplete data. The next highest were Minneapolis and St. Cloud police, who reported eight executed no-knock warrants. The majority of the executed no-knock search warrants in the state data were reported by agencies inside the Twin Cities metro area, though other departments besides St. Cloud used the tactic, too.
The Isanti County Sheriff’s Office reported four no-knock warrants served, and the Cass and Douglas county sheriffs reported two no-knock warrants each.
[raw]
The agency listed is the one that reported the warrant to state officials but not necessarily the agency that carried out the warrant or
the only agency involved in its execution.
[/raw]
Many of the raids were tied to drug and violent crime enforcement teams, which can be composed of several agencies. For instance, four of the no-knock raids reported by St. Cloud police were tied to the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force, which includes officers from police departments in Sartell, St. Cloud, as well as Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns and Todd counties.
All four executed no-knock warrants reported by the Isanti sheriff were connected to the East Central Drug Task Force. And all of the 11 no-knock search warrants the Hennepin County sheriff’s office reported that were carried out were tied to the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force.
No-knock search warrants have drawn criticism because they can create dangerous and chaotic situations in which people inside a home being raided might be confused or not have time to safely react to officers. But some police say they’re crucial to either preserving evidence of serious crimes or protecting officers from people who may be hostile to police.
William Blair Anderson, chief of St. Cloud police, spoke in opposition last year to a DFL-supported bill that would have placed more restrictions on no-knock warrants. At the time, he said limiting no-knock warrants would “create an exponentially higher level of danger in an inherently dangerous profession.”
“We are going to start seeing many, many great law enforcement professionals walking away, and who could blame them,” Anderson said. “We are simply unnecessarily putting them in harm’s way. This is one of the most effective tools that we use, and I can not overstate that we do treat this with the proper reverence that it deserves.”
Further complicating the data is that not every no-knock warrant listed by the state may have been carried out by that agency. St. Paul police say they haven’t executed a no-knock search warrant since 2016. But the agency reported one to the state last October. Department spokesman Steve Linders said they asked the Ramsey County SWAT Team to carry out the search warrant in North St. Paul on their behalf, and said when that happens, St. Paul police defer to the tactics and policies of the agency serving the warrant. (Minneapolis police were carrying out a search tied to a St. Paul homicide when an officer fatally shot Locke, who was not a target of the investigation. Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman told reporters the city obtained a no-knock and a knock and announce warrant.)
The search warrant in North St. Paul was tied to a homicide in St. Paul, and Linders said officers arrested a homicide suspect and recovered a handgun.
Black people are the subjects of the majority of no-knock warrants reported to the Department of Public Safety so far.
Agencies reported race data for 94 people who were the subjects of carried-out no-knock warrants. Of them, 66 were reported as Black, 24 were white, three were American Indian and one was of unknown race or ethnicity. Data on the race of people who were subjects of warrants were not available for five of the 49 executed no-knock warrants.
[raw]
[/raw]
While the data are incomplete, they do suggest a starkly disproportionate number of no-knock raids are carried out on Black people, who make up 7 percent of Minnesota’s population but 70 percent of the people who were the subjects of no-knock warrants in the data.
Most no-knock raids reported to the state were tied to cases involving weapons and drugs.
No-knock warrants for drug offenses are controversial. Last year, legislators in both the DFL-led House and the Republican-led Senate voted to ban police from executing no-knock warrants in cases related only to drugs meant for personal use. Advocates for such a policy say using a no-knock warrant for small drug crimes unnecessarily puts lives at risk.
Drugs are one of the most common primary offenses cited in no-knock data, though the data do not indicate whether the warrants were related to small quantities of drugs or large ones. Of no-knock warrants reported to DPS, 14 were primarily related to drugs/narcotics. Only weapon law violations surpassed drug and narcotic related no-knock warrants.
[raw]
[/raw]
No-knock warrants were rarely denied by judges.
State law requires police to report how many no-knock search warrants were issued to them and carried out, but also how many they asked for but were denied. The only department to report having a warrant application denied was Minneapolis police, for a warrant tied to a mid-December incident. The warrant request was listed in state data as being related to a violation of weapons law.
Few injuries were reported from no-knock warrants.
In the limited and incomplete data, police and sheriff’s departments reported few injuries tied to no-knock warrant searches.
The Hennepin County Sheriff reported an injury to an adult from a Jan. 24 no-knock raid in Minneapolis tied to the county’s violent offender task force. That injured person was not listed as a subject of the warrant. Brooklyn Park police reported to the state an injury in a no-knock raid in Minneapolis on Feb. 1.
And lastly, the state listed an injury tied to an Austin police “knock and announce” raid in late December, an apparent reference to when an officer shot and killed 38-year-old Kokou Christopher Fiafonou. In that case, police say Fiafonou had threatened to hurt other people and officers tried unsuccessfully to detain him with pepper spray, foam bullets and Tasers.
After a long negotiation while Fiafonou was in an apartment complex, police say they shot the man after he left the building and confronted officers with a knife. Fiafonou’s family has said police harassed him, who the family described as having a mental health crisis. Austin police don’t have body cameras, though the incident was partially captured on squad-car video.
Law enforcement agencies reported finding the items they were searching for in most of the carried-out no-knock warrants reported to the state.
When officers apply for warrants, they are required to identify items or item categories they are seeking in their search, DPS spokesperson Jill Oliveira said in an email.
In all but three of the 49 executed no-knock warrants, law enforcement reported they had reported “initial criminal evidence located,” or that they found the items they had indicated they were looking for in the warrant application.
[raw]
MP.highcharts.makeChart(‘.chart-dept’, $.extend(true, {}, MP.highcharts.barOptions, { legend: { enabled: false }, xAxis: { categories: [‘Hennepin County Sheriff’,’Minneapolis Police Dept’,’St Cloud Police Dept’,’Isanti County Sheriff’,’Brooklyn Park Police Dept’,’Brooklyn Center Police Dept’,’Cass County Sheriff’,’Dakota County Sheriff’,’Douglas County Sheriff’,’Edina Police Dept’,’New Hope Police Dept’,’Blaine Police Dept’,’Richfield Police Dept’,’St Paul Police Dept’]}, yAxis: {title: { text: ‘Executed no-knock warrants’} }, tooltip: { formatter: function(){ return ‘ ‘ + this.x + ‘‘ + ‘: ‘ + MP.formatters.number(this.y,0) + ”; } }, series: [ { name: ‘Executed no-knock warrants’, data: [11,8,8,4,3,2,2,2,2,2,2,1,1,1], } ] }));
MP.highcharts.makeChart(‘.chart-race’, $.extend(true, {}, MP.highcharts.barOptions, { legend: { enabled: false }, xAxis: { categories: [‘Black’,’White’,’American Indian’,’Unknown’]}, yAxis: {title: { text: ‘People’} }, tooltip: { formatter: function(){ return ‘ ‘ + this.x + ‘‘ + ‘: ‘ + MP.formatters.number(this.y,0) + ”; } }, series: [ { name: ‘People’, data: [66,24,3,1], } ] }));
MP.highcharts.makeChart(‘.chart-offense’, $.extend(true, {}, MP.highcharts.barOptions, { legend: { enabled: false }, xAxis: { categories: [‘Weapon Law Violations’,’Drug/Narcotic Violations’,’Robbery’,’Aggravated Assault’,’Murder & Nonnegligent Manslaughter’,’Motor Vehicle Theft’,’Rape’]}, yAxis: {title: { text: ‘Executed no-knock warrants’} }, tooltip: { formatter: function(){ return ‘ ‘ + this.x + ‘‘ + ‘: ‘ + MP.formatters.number(this.y,0) + ”; } }, series: [
{ name: ‘Executed no-knock warrants’, data: [15,14,8,7,3,1,1], }
] })); [/raw]
“7 percent of Minnesota’s population but 70 percent of the people who were the subjects of no-knock warrants in the data.”
Possible to add data on murder %, crime %, proportion etc. as well?
Interesting difference between Mpls and St Paul.
I would be interested in knowing if there is a better way than using the no knock warrants. I think we are all thinking that. The no knock warrant may be what is best and most efficient for police, but there needs to be a thorough evaluation of whether they are worth it … they are efficient and, seemingly, get results, keep police safer, but people are dying because of their use. Isn’t it possible to wait and arrest someone in a safer environment, such as a hallway or in their vehicle or on the street, or use the no knock warrant when they are absolutely sure they are the only person in the residence? If they walk out of their residence and are arrested in the hallway, either their gun or the drugs are on them or in their residence. If they are arrested as they get into their vehicle the gun or drugs are on them or in their residence. I don’t know … I am wondering what other alternatives are available. It seems the police need to sacrifice the efficiency of an arrest and their safety, but this isn’t working.
If the police think it is too dangerous to enter a premises by knocking and announcing their presence, they should send in a robot or drone to check out the situation. That’s what the Lee County Sheriff’s office in Florida does. Why can’t the Mpls Police Department do that? Maybe it’s a cultural thing. They like going into places with guns blazing???
No-knock warrants are banned in Oregon, Virginia and Florida. Banning is not “impossible.” There is a long list of entirely innocent people being killed and maimed during no-knocks, including police shooting other police officers, a 94 year old grandma sitting with four grandchildren (nothing illegal in her home), a baby who almost died when a flash grenade went off in her crib (noting illegal in her home), many wrong addresses. No-knock has also been used by some police officers for their own illegal activities and by criminals claiming to be police.
No-knocks also fly in the face of the Castle Doctrine and (horrible) Stand Your Ground laws. Can’t have it both ways.
Based on the cases reviewed, it is reported that few injuries and deaths occurred. Would there have been fewer or more with a different approach? Is there any way to know? Thanks for sharing data to help us better understand how no knock warrants work out in practice. It would be nice to know how often people drop their weapons, raise their hands and submit to police.
There would have been no warrant, SWAT team or tragic second death if the murder suspect had not been given parole after a previous shooting, had not obtained an illegal gun, had not committed murder or had turned himself in rather than trying to evade capture. It would be helpful if family and community leaders routinely encouraged suspects to turn themselves in.
What difference does race make? Did they commit the crimes? Instead of continuing this blacks are targeted unfairly by police — it would be helpful if minnpost would post the results of these warrants. It they were found guilty, then I don’t see what the issue is. In 46 out of 49 no knock warrants, the police found the evidence they were looking for.
What is the problem here? It’s obvious these are people who committed felonies. I don’t want them on the streets with guns. They belong in prison.
Do the judges who approve the warrants know the race of the persons being served?
Just a few notes on the nature of analysis in a scenario like this:
First, the simple collection of data doesn’t necessarily yield significant observations because you need to draw qualitative as well as quantitative conclusions in a scenario like this. So for instance, you may find that no one get gets killed or injured 99% of the time when no-knocks are used, but if that 1% is a catastrophic homicide that wouldn’t have occurred otherwise, what is the real value of that data or observation? The qualitative magnitude of the failure can outweigh the percentage of failure.
Furthermore, discrete data sets frequently can’t be interpreted in isolation. For example, the percentage of injuries and fatalities associated with no-knocks may not yield valid observations unless it’s compared to other data, like the number of injuries and fatalities associated with all the other warrants. You could find for instance that while no-knocks are “safe” 99% of the time, other warrants are “safe” 100% of the time. So you would want to know how many cops and civilians get killed or injured using other types warrants.
It also important to remember who actually bears the burden of proof here. We KNOW that cops kill innocent people and get killed and injured themselves when they use no-knock warrants, so any claim of enhanced safety falls on proponents of no-knocks who claim to be saving lives with the practice. This means they need to demonstrate that fewer people are harmed and killed, or that in some number of no-knock scenarios someone WOULD have been injured or killed had they not used a no-knock.
Finally, regarding the data in reference to whether or not cops find the stuff they say they’ll find when apply for no-knocks. A couple logical observations should be made. First, it’s actually illogical to assume that cops would NOT have found whatever they found had the used some other kind warrant. While it is possible that a small amount of something could be destroyed in a short period of time, it’s illogical to assume that SWAT teams routinely attack apartments and homes in order seize a baggie of pot. I seriously doubt that those requesting no-knock warrants list small amounts of something or another as their excuse for blasting into peoples homes without notice. In this regard the excuse for the no-knock simply doesn’t connect logically with the rationale and actual practice for n0-knocks. Do these guys really go to a judge and ask to blast into someone’s home in the middle of the night with a SWAT team because they think they’ll find a baggie of pot? Related the data itself regarding what is or isn’t “found” appears a little dodgy. It looks like an either/or classification, so even if they didn’t the target of the warrant, they still get to justify the warrant by finding something else, i.e. some other illegal material. So again, if you told the judge you were raiding a house full of armed hooligans hiding a trunkful of drugs, and all you came up with was a single unregistered gun or a baggie of pot, or a laptop with some stolen bitcoins; you still get to say the no-knock was justified?
Just a thought. 46 out of 49 warrants found the goods they were looking for. Mr Locke was killed because he pulled out a gun on the police. Paul, how many people go to sleep with a gun next to them? They guy they were looking for was his cousin, who they did arrest the next day. At the end of the day, all of crime occurring in the Twin Cities is making everybody nervous as hell. If no knock warrants, along with putting juveniles in jail for carjacking is what is takes to stop this non stop violence I’m all in. As are most people in the Twin Cities.
For those who are on the far left, who continue with the same “blacks are unfairly targeted” it’s time you realized we are sick and tired of this and simply want those committing these crimes in prison. No diversion programs, no county jails.
One more point regarding the rationale’s for no-knocks: We’re told that were there are drugs there are guns… OK, but this is the US of A… there’s actually no reason to ever assume that anyone in any home DOESN’T have a gun, and some of our most heavily armed civilians have little if anything to do with illegal drug trades. As a rationale for a no-knock vs. some other kind of entry the possible possession of a gun would be universal in almost any warrant application would it not?
I don’t doubt that racism is a factor in requesting no-knock warrants, but this data is meaningless, as is any crime data that compares the racial breakdown of arrests, conviction, etc. to the overall population. To actually demonstrate racism in policing, you need to compare the treatment of people who were charged with/committed the same crimes.
Well, not exactly, data like this can reveal institutional racism in play. Cops know who their after when they apply for these warrants so they know the racial category of their suspects. We know that white people involved in the same crimes are less likely to suffer arrest and prosecution, decades of data and observations have confirmed that. So it’s not simply a matter of how people are treated when or after they arrested and in custody. Just because a black guy gets the same treatment in jail as a white guy doesn’t mean there’s no racism in play. We also know that people of color get harsher sentences, even if no one uses the “N” word to describe them in open court. AND we know that actual laws on the books are designed to regulate and control non-white people and populations. When we make an ordinance that criminalizes selling cigarettes on the street while letting a family of white folks inflict death and suffering on hundreds of thousands of people using Oxycontin, THAT’S not a funny coinkidink. We KNOW who’s being targeted for control and prosecution even if we don’t say it out loud.
So when you see no-knocks being deployed against black people at more than twice the rate of anyone else, or traffic stops, or loitering citations, etc. etc., it does reflect a vast array of systemic racism.
At the end of the day, most people want the people committing the crimes in prison. Not jail. If they are black or white, we don’t care. Commit the crimes, go to prison. Did it ever occur to you the people committing the crimes are mostly black? It’s not racism, it’s simply the world we live in.
A passage from Isabel Wilkerson’s, “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents” seems appropriate here:
“‘Scapegoating, as it is currently practiced,’ [Jungian psychologist Sylvia Bringing] Peters wrote, ‘means finding the one or ones who can be identified with evil or wrongdoing, blamed for it and cast out of the community in order to leave the remaining members with a feeling of guiltlessness, atoned (at one).'”
And as an aside: if you look into criminal statistics, I think you’ll find it’s white people who are found guilty of most crimes. Black people are rather disproportionately represented in crime statistics relative to their share of the population.
Also, pertaining to another comment of yours, regarding anxiety about Twin Cities crime: it is still the case that random violence is statistically rare. You are more likely to be the victim of a crime by someone you know than some random person. I would suggest doing a mental audit of your own personal relationships and acquaintances to get to the bottom of any anxiety you may have before you suggest that that anxiety justifies excessive use of force by police
I suggest you do some research before posting comments. White people are convicted of most crimes? Try violent crimes. With guns. Like carjackings. ( that group is black teens 13-17). Star/Trib. And drive by gang shootings. Shootings in North Minneapolis? Black on black crime. The good residents who live there are begging for police protection.
So if you think it’s okay for Mpls and St Paul to let these juveniles back on the street, there’s no reasoning with you.
So I’m supposed to be comforted by the fact that there’s only several carjackings in Minneapolis per day and so the risk of me having someone point a gun at my head, bash my face in and steal my car with my little daughter in the back seat, is relatively small. Got it.
Oh, and anecdotally – my neighbor’s friend – carjacked. Coworker’s neighbor – carjacked and face bashed in with a gun. Friend’s, kid’s best friend – carjacked. Coworker – robbed at gunpoint.
For something that’s supposedly really rare, it seems to be happening to a lot of people around me, and all in Minneapolis.
As far as this statement goes – “And as an aside: if you look into criminal statistics, I think you’ll find it’s white people who are found guilty of most crimes. Black people are rather disproportionately represented in crime statistics relative to their share of the population.” – it kind of contradicts itself, no?
If you look at murder victims and offenders by race, the first half of your statement isn’t close to accurate – don’t have time now to do the full gambit of violent crime.
I think it’s far more likely that the bulk of the disparity has to do with poverty and educational/resource differences. Sure, racism plays a part but I don’t think the fact that black people are around 4 times more likely to be either a victim of murder or the offender can really be reconciled simply by saying the police and/or prosecutors are racist.
Hennepin County is by far the largest county in the state, Minneapolis by far the largest city. Comparing raw numbers is simply not valid.
Beyond that, what are the charges that justify warrants? If the warrant involves a murder, it is by definition higher risk than lesser offenses. Police justifications fir warrants should be in writing and available after the fact in cases like this. Loss of hypothetical evidence is a lot less compelling than reasonable fear of a murderer willing to take alife or a hostage situation.
The use of robots to enter a premise allow the police to intervene without risk. It can take video and do many other things to subdue a suspect.