BCA releases first ever no-knock warrant report

By KAALTV
Courtesy: MGN

(ABC 6 News) – The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has released their first ever no-knock search warrant report.

The law requiring the report went into effect on Sept. 1, 2021, therefore the first report covers only the final four months of last year. Future reports will contain full-year data.

The report looks at the number of no-knock search warrants requested, issued and executed, and if any injuries occurred during their execution. No-knock warrants are supposed to allow law enforcement to execute a warrant without prior notice if there is an investigative or safety reason necessitating that.

According to the report, from Sept. 1, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2021:

  • Warrants requested: 132
  • Warrants issued: 129
  • Warrants denied: 3
  • Warrants executed: 105
  • Warrants where the sought of evidence was located: 87

Minneapolis police led the way among all agencies in the states, requesting 44 warrants and executing 33 of the 43 that were granted. The department with the next-highest total in each category was the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, which requested 16 no-knock warrants, had 15 granted and executed 12.

More than half of the warrants sought by Minneapolis police were related to weapons violations while seven were for aggravated assault. Only two were for murder or manslaughter investigations.

The report also looks at the age, gender and race of the subjects of no-knock warrants. Of the 187 subjects, 132 were male, 53 were female and 2 were unknown.

Male

  • Under 18: 16
  • 18-24 years old: 41
  • 25-34 years old: 38
  • 35-49 years old: 28
  • Over 50: 9

Female

  • Under 18: 8
  • 18-24 years old: 10
  • 25-34 years old: 19
  • 35-49 years old: 10
  • Over 50: 6

Nearly half of the subjects were Black, particularly the younger subjects. In fact, 23 of the 24 subjects under 18 were Black, as were 37 of the 53 subjects in the 18-24 age range and 32 of the 57 subjects ages 25-34. Another 42 subjects were white, 17 were American Indian or Alaskan Native, two were Asian and nine were listed as “unknown race.”

Additionally, only four subjects of no-knock warrants resisted police, the report states — one each in Austin, Douglas County, Edina and St. Paul. Only the subject in Austin was injured and none were killed.

View the BCA’s full report, HERE.