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Introduction:

Following the killings of Breonna Taylor and Amir Locke, and the endangerment of Anjanette Young and others from botched police raids, calls for warrant reform have been heard across the country. 

“No-knock” raids, such as the ones in which Breonna Taylor and Amir Locke were killed, are often executed in narcotics cases — a practice which became commonplace during the 1980s and 1990s “war on drugs” era. A no-knock warrant is defined as any search warrant that is issued by a judge and executed upon a premises that does not require those executing the warrant to knock and announce themselves and their purpose at the premises. Officers involved in these raids use “dynamic entries,” which are intended to confuse and disorient the occupants in the location of the raid. The tactics used in no-knock raids (executing warrants at night, using battering rams to break down doors, only giving occupants seconds to answer the door, possessing automatic and military grade weapons) are dangerous for everyone involved and disproportionately endanger communities of color, according to 2014 American Civil Liberties Union report that found 42% and 12% of SWAT team raids targeted Black and Latinx occupants, respectively. For example, officers involved in a 2014 raid in Georgia threw a flash-bang grenade into a playpen when forcibly entering a home at 3:00 AM, severely injuring a one-year-old baby. In Breonna Taylor’s case, an officer, who was perceived as breaking-and-entering in the middle of the night, was shot and wounded, which resulted in the barrage of bullets that resulted in her death.

Many of the tactics used in no-knock raids would be considered unconstitutional if they were deemed “unreasonable” by courts; however, the courts often defer to police in determining what force is “reasonable.” Given these issues, many city and state governments across the United States have made changes to warrant procedures. Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts encourages the City of Chicago to do the same.

Summary of National Reforms:

In June of 2020, the Louisville, Kentucky metro city council passed an ordinance named “Breonna’s Law,” which banned no-knock warrants in the city. The ordinance bans no-knock search warrants and regulates how search warrants are carried out. Under “Breonna’s Law,” any police carrying out a search warrant must include only individuals “reasonably necessary” for the successful execution of the warrant; officers must to be equipped with a body camera, activated no later than five minutes prior to and after all searches (and data retained for five years); and law enforcement must physically knock on the door “in a manner and duration that can be heard by the occupants” and wait a minimum of 15 seconds before entering the premises. 

Other city governments have also banned no knock warrants since 2020. In Sante Fe, NM, the Prohibited Police Activities Ordinance banned the use of no-knock warrants and required the use of body cameras when search warrants are executed. Memphis, TN, banned no-knock warrants and the Indianapolis (IN) Metropolitan Police Department announced it will no longer authorize them. The city of San Antonio, TX, voted to pass an ordinance which bans no-knock warrants as well as sleeper holds, a restraint used with the purpose of making the victim unconscious, and prohibits officers from firing at a moving vehicle unless shots are being fired from inside the vehicle. 

Proposed Local Reforms:

The City of Chicago has proposed reforms to no-knock warrants via three different government bodies: the executive branch, through the Mayor-led policy changes in the Chicago Police Department (CPD), legislative approaches, and even some judicial means. 

In February 2021, Chicago City Council introduced the Anjanette Young Ordinance, which would ban no-knock warrants and require that the Chicago Police wait at least 30 seconds to enter after knocking. Additionally, it would enforce, among other things:

• Requirements that the Chicago Police Department members “use tactics that are the least intrusive to people’s home, property and person and least harmful to people’s physical and emotional health.” This includes ensuring protections for children present during the planned law enforcement action by prohibiting officers from pointing firearms at, handcuffing, or restraining children or their caregivers, or interrogating or questioning children barring some circumstances. Search warrants must be executed in a manner to ensure that people inside a residence may be searched only by officers of their preferred gender identity.
• Data about each residential warrant executed must be recorded and published, including any allegations of police misconduct or excessive force (names, badge numbers, and units of assignment for officers), demographic information of every individual present inside the residence, if handcuffs or any other restraint was used, and more.
• No Chicago Police Department officer will seek a warrant without receiving supervisory approval. No warrants without “reasonable surveillance to corroborate the [informant’s] information and ascertain that the target of the warrant is present at the location” will be granted, and the credibility of informants must be assessed.
• All warrants must be conducted between 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM, absent verifiable exigent circumstances, and during the execution of a warrant, CPD “must take all available measures to avoid any damage or destruction to property or possessions of the place of the warrant’s execution.”
• All CPD officers who execute a residential warrant must wear and activate their body camera during the entirety of the execution of the warrant and must prepare a damage report before leaving the location. Investigations into allegations of misconduct against any officer during the execution of a warrant will not require a Sworn Affidavit, Testimony, or Statement.

In March 2021, the Mayor of Chicago and the Police Superintendent proposed changes to CPS search warrant procedures. These changes do not end no-knock warrants, but include, among other things: warrants must now be approved by a Deputy Chief or above; no-knock warrants must be reviewed and approved by a Bureau Chief, and will only be granted “when there is danger to the lives of officers” or others; and a lieutenant and a female officer must be present on the scene of all warrant executions. Additionally, the proposed changes include some common-sense items, such as requiring an “independent investigation to verify information used to develop the search warrant”; that prior to the execution of the warrant, “vulnerable persons,” including children, must be identified; each officer involved in a search warrant must wear a body worn camera;  and that now, CPD will notify the judge of and “conduct a review” for all wrong raids they perpetrate. 

Recently, in March 2022, a federal court judge granted a motion to include oversight of the Chicago Police Department’s search warrant policies and procedures in the consent decree. The consent decree, which became effective in 2019 after the murder of Laquan McDonald and subsequent “finding[s] of abusive policing occurring in communities of color and a lack of accountability,” mandates a series of reforms that CPD must implement under the oversight of the federal courts. Because the consent decree now covers issues related to search warrants (i.e., policies, training, use of force, interactions with kids, racism, etc.), the progress — however slow — will be monitored by a federal judge and independent monitor to ensure that the Chicago Police Department is in compliance. 

Conclusion:

The Anjanette Young Ordinance, which ends no-knock warrants and is in compliance with the newly-added provisions of the consent decree, appears to be the first step in mitigating and ensuring that the Chicago Police Department is held accountable for any harm it causes during the execution of search warrants. 

Many advocacy groups, including the Chicago Council of Lawyers, have recommend that these warrant reforms — specifically the Anjanette Young Ordinance — be passed. We echo the Council’s sentiment that, “​if passed, the Anjanette Young Ordinance also has an advantage over the Mayor’s proposed policy changes in that the reforms are to be coded into law instead of existing solely in Chicago Police Department policy,” and encourage Chicago City Council to do just that. However, we also understand warrant reform is a bandaid on a much larger issue; these “reforms” do not address the bigger issue of why warrants are produced, how they are approved by courts, and who they disproportionately target. Reforms that do not effectively target root causes or those that do not reduce reliance on punitive punishment will never fully succeed at preventing police violence nor at improving public safety. The real solutions must be systematic and focused on community-based, non-punitive measures of safety.

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This piece was researched and written by Elizabeth Solleder, recent graduate from Northwestern University in Sociology and Gender & Sexuality Studies and Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts’ Intern, and edited by Stephanie Agnew, Director of Communications.