No-Knock Warrants 'Rarely Used' By Richfield Police: City

RICHFIELD, MN — No knock warrants "are rarely used" by the Richfield Police Department, a spokesperson for the city tells Patch.

No-knock warrants are only used by the Richfield police when a suspect has "demonstrated a propensity for violent acts in their past," Neil Ruhland said in an email.

The controversy surrounding no-knock warrants was reignited last month when Minneapolis police shot and killed Amir Locke in an unannounced raid. Locke was not named in the search warrant and was not a suspect in their invesigation.

City data from the past ten years shows that Richfield typically executes no-knock warrants fewer than four times per year.

• 2021 – 1 no-knock warrant
• 2020 – 1 no-knock warrant
• 2019 – 8 no-knock warrants
• 2018 – 2 no-knock warrants
• 2017 – 5 no-knock warrants
• 2016 – 4 no-knock warrants
• 2015 – 3 no-knock warrants
• 2014 – 2 no-knock warrants
• 2013 – 6 no-knock warrants
• 2012 – 5 no-knock warrants

Two no-knock warrants were used so far in 2022. Both were served in the investigation of the deadly shooting at a Richfield school.

"The two no-knock/unannounced warrants used in 2022 were related to the South Education Center shooting investigation and are credited with law enforcement retrieving a lot of evidence that may have been destroyed if they would have utilized a traditional search warrant," Ruhland explained to Patch.

"Both warrants were written by the RPD, but only one was executed by our officers. The other warrant was performed by the Minneapolis Police Department, as a partner law enforcement agency."

The use of no-knock warrants varies greatly by the department. Minneapolis police average about 130 no-knock warrants per year, Minnesota Public Radio reports. Meanwhile, St. Paul Police Department has not served a no-knock search warrant since 2016.

Also read: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Falsely Told Voters He Banned No-Knock Warrants