ALTUS – A proposal to eliminate the use of no-knock warrants was rejected March 1 by the city council.
Ward 4 Councilman Dillon Feazel brought the issue before the council, but the measure failed by a 5-1 vote with council members Terrence Filer and Matt Rester abstaining.
City Manager Gary Jones said Altus police have never been authorized to use a no-knock warrant, but have assisted other law enforcement agencies with those types of warrants.
“Overall, it’s a tool law enforcement can use,” Jones said. “Surprise is an advantage they (police) need.”
A no-knock warrant issued by a judge does not require law enforcement agencies to announce their presence before entering a home, business or any other structure.
Altus Police Chief Tim Murphy could not be reached for comment.
In a Facebook post, Feazel wrote that his proposal “was not created out of spite or malice against law enforcement.” Rather, he wrote, the proposed measure came from his exposure to police, which included his father who served on the department.
“Over the years, there were many close calls to his life,” Feazel said. “Drawing from that experience and overall knowledge of what law enforcement goes through, I, and many others, understand that there is no doubt that law enforcement is a dangerous profession.”
Feazel also wrote, “But what’s even more dangerous is bad policy and legislation in regard to law enforcement that increases that risk of danger. Both to officers and civilians alike. No knock warrants are just that, bad policy and legislation that only unnecessarily increases risk for both parties.”
Feazel also referred to the Feb. 2, 2022, police shooting of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Minnesota man who was asleep when police executed a no-knock warrant. Locke, who was not named on the warrant, reportedly grabbed his gun in an attempt to protect himself but was fatally shot by police.
Feazel’s proposed ordinance would have required police to knock on any door to the premises in such a way that it could be heard by the occupants, ring a doorbell, clearly and verbally announce that police have a search or arrest warrant and, absent exigent circumstances, wait a minimum of 15 seconds or a reasonable amount of time for occupants to respond.
The measure also would have required body cameras be in use when police serve the warrants. In addition, the proposal would have required each police officer’s body camera be activated five minutes before the search and could not be deactivated any sooner than five minutes following the completion of the search or arrest.
Feazel’s proposal would have required all recorded data be retained for five years and be available for public inquiry in accordance with the state’s Open Records Act.
No-knock warrants came into vogue during the 1990s when police wanted to preserve evidence, such as large amounts of crack cocaine, or surprise a potentially armed suspect. But during the last few years, police shootings combined with risky, dangerous situations for law enforcement have contributed to the end of no-knock warrants in most cities. At least four states – Florida, Oregon, Connecticut and Virginia – have banned the no-knock warrants, according to a report from PBS NewsHour in 2020. State level bans do not impact federal law enforcement agencies.
In Oklahoma, no-knock warrants are not allowed unless immediate action is required such as saving a person’s life, preservation of evidence or capturing a suspect.