Historical Context
No-knock warrants were established in the 1970s to combat the War on Drugs, “a series of federal and local policies aimed at cracking down on recreational drug use.” Before no-knock warrants, knock and announce warrants were mandatory for law enforcement to enter a home. The origins of such warrants come from Semayne’s case in 1604 and Miller vs. the United States in 1985, which prohibited citizens from being arrested in their homes without their given notice of authority and purpose from officers. Eventually, Wilson v. Arkansas in 1995 and Richard v. Wisconsin in 1997 made exceptions for unnecessary announcements.
No-knock warrants can only be issued by a judge and allow law enforcement to enter the property of a resident without announcing who they are. These warrants are typically issued if officers have probable cause to believe that:
(a) notice will likely lead to the quick and easy destruction or disposal of evidence subject to seizure,
(b) notice will endanger the life of the officer or another person,
(c) notice will allow the person who is to be arrested to escape, or
(d) if such a notice is useless.
Therefore, it is at the discretion of the judge and law enforcement to determine probable cause, the type of warrant, and its execution.
No-knock warrants have been controversial since the 1970s because the execution of such warrants is dangerous for officers and civilians. The Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground are examples of state self-defense laws in the United States where civilians have the right to defend themselves using deadly force in their homes and surrounding areas. Standing your ground is legal in 23 states. Since 30% of Americans own guns, law enforcement officials who use no-knock warrants and civilians are at an increased risk for harm. 94 civilians and 13 law enforcement officers died in no-knock and quick-knock raids in the U.S. between 2010 and 2016, and many more were seriously injured. No-knock warrants also add financial strain to civilians because they are responsible for repairing property damage resulting from no-knock warrants.
In the past four decades no-knock warrants have been used with increasing frequency. In the early 1980s, no-knock or quick-knock warrants were used about 1,500 times. By 2010, no-knock warrants were used about 60,000-70,000 times.
Breonna Taylor Incident
On March 13, 2020, seven officers entered the home of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor while she was sleeping alongside her partner, Kenneth Walker. The officers used a no-knock warrant, expecting to find money and drugs belonging to a previous partner of Breonna at her residence. Unbeknownst to these officers, her previous partner was put into police custody earlier that same night.
After repeatedly crying out and hearing no response, Walker grabbed his registered gun as the police entered the home with a battery ram. While Mattingly claimed to have announced police identity, Walker along with other witnesses did not report hearing such an announcement. Walker aimed his gun at what he thought was an intruder, and fired once. Sergeant Mattingly, Officer Myles Cosgrove, and Detective Brett Hankison fired a total of 32 rounds, six of which hit Taylor. Hankinson was later charged for “wanton endangerment” after firing into the apartment of one of Taylor’s neighbors.
No-Knock Warrant Reform
On June 6, 2020, Republican Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the “Justice for Breonna Taylor Act,” federally banning the use of no-knock warrants. In addition, this act would ban the use of no-knock warrants in state and local law enforcement agencies that receive Department of Justice funding. Although the bill received bipartisan support, it did not receive a vote in Congress.
Kentucky lawmakers have passed a series of bills concerning these warrants. “Breonna’s Law” was passed in June 2020 by Louisville Metro Council. It bans the use of no-knock warrants and requires officers to wear body cameras during searches in Louisville. Two months earlier, Senate Bill 4 was signed into law by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, banning the use of no-knock warrants except in certain situations. Many other states and jurisdictions have followed Kentucky’s example and made similar changes in police legislature.
Despite these changes to policing, many oppose the total banning of no-knock warrants. The Director of the Virginia State Police Association Wayne Huggins stated that the element of surprise is one of the advantages of no-knock warrants. Others find such warrants effective in deterring crime. NYPD commissioner Dermot Shae rejected the call to ban no-knock warrants because they kept the city of New York safe. NYPD claims no-knock warrants are primarily used to target guns. Of the 1,800 search warrants issued in 2020 by the NYPD, 1,100 were no-knock warrants. They led to the seizure of more than 800 guns.
