Minnesota lawmakers seek no-knock ban after Amir Locke death

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers say they will push to significantly limit the use of no-knock warrants after a Minneapolis SWAT team entered a downtown apartment while serving a search warrant last week and killed Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man.

The bill would narrow the use of no-knock warrants to only a handful of situations such as false imprisonment, kidnapping, and human trafficking.

Rep. Athena Hollins said the new legislation would go further than a measure passed by the Legislature last year as part of a package of police accountability measures. Activists and Locke’s family expressed anger at the police department’s initial statement.