City Of Minneapolis: Mayor Frey Discusses Policy, No-Knock Moratorium With City Council Committee

Press release from the City of Minneapolis:

February 7, 2022

Today, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey joined the City Council’s Policy and Government Oversight Committee meeting at the invitation of Chair Jeremiah Ellison to discuss the recently announced moratorium on both the request and execution of no-knock warrants in the City of Minneapolis. He also discussed the November 2020 policy restricting the execution of unannounced entries while serving no-knock warrants.

“In making these policies we have a sacred duty to honor the sanctity of life, with the overriding goal being the preservation of life – both that of the public and police officers,” said Frey. “It shouldn’t take tragedy to spur these conversations, but our work from here must bring people together around the conviction that we must and will do better.”

While the moratorium is in place, the mayor and MPD leadership will work with national experts Dr. Pete Kraska of Eastern Kentucky University and DeRay McKesson to review and suggest revisions to the department’s policy. Dr. Kraska helped shape Breonna’s Law in Louisville and both have spearheaded significant reforms to unannounced entry policies associated with no-knock warrants in states across the country.

The November 2020 policy governing no-knock warrants is outlined on Mayor Frey’s webpage and can be found below. 

In the fall of 2020 Mayor Frey and Chief Arradondo marked another first for the department, issuing an official policy governing the use of unannounced or “no-knock” warrants in the city of Minneapolis. Under the new policy, MPD officers will be required to announce their presence and purpose prior to entry, outside of exigent circumstances like a hostage situation. The new policy adds transparency and shared expectations for community and codifies best practices in the department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit.

In briefings, interviews and in early coverage of this policy, the terms “unannounced entry” and “no-knock” were used interchangeably because state law uses them interchangeably. Under State law, a no-knock warrant allows the officers serving it to enter a building unannounced. Mayor Frey’s November 2020 policy reform required officers to announce presence and purpose prior to entry when serving any type of warrant, including no-knock warrants. The policy ended the use of no-knock warrants to allow for unannounced entry, barring dangerous circumstances like a hostage situation or domestic assault with a weapon.

As of today, under the mayor’s moratorium on no-knock warrants, the expectation is that the MPD will neither request nor execute any no-knock warrant as defined under statute. To execute a no-knock warrant under the moratorium, there must be an imminent threat of harm to an individual or the public and then the warrant must be approved by the Chief.

This press release was produced by the City of Minneapolis. The views expressed here are the author’s own.