BILL NUMBER: S1402
SPONSOR: SANDERS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the execution
of a warrant of arrest; to amend the executive law, in relation to
authorizing the commissioner of the division of criminal justice
services to establish a system to record and monitor the issuance and
execution of search warrants; and to amend the judiciary law, in
relation to authorizing the chief administrator to establish educational
programs for judicial personnel on the law of searches, arrests and
seizures
 
PURPOSE:
This legislation would ban no knock warrants except in certain circum-
stances, including such request shall show that extreme circumstances
are involved, which for purposes of this article are when the giving of
such notice is likely to create an imminent danger to the life of the
executing officer or another person. The bill also provides reforms for
all warrants and warrant oversight.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
-limits the use/issuance of no-knock search warrants to specific,
extreme cases of imminent threat to human life
-requires additional information for no knock warrant applications;
-requires officers who are executing a no knock warrant to be in
uniform;
-law enforcement officers executing a search warrant shall allow a mini-
mum of 30 seconds for the occupants to respond and open the door before
they attempt to enter the residence, absent the existence of verifiable,
exigent circumstances; no officer involved in the execution of a search
warrant shall at any point during such execution use any flash bang,
stun, distraction or other similar device unless verifiable, exigent
circumstances exist; restricts night-time raids;
-requires property be returned if there is no criminal conviction;
requires the commissioner to devise a method for recording and monitor-
ing warrant executions;
-includes individual consequences for officers who violate warrant
restrictions; and outlines contents of a comprehensive warrant execution
report and requirements for storing/monitoring and reviewing warrant
information.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Shortly after midnight on March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old
woman, was fatally shot by police in Louisville, Kentucky. The officers
entered her apartment, executing a no-knock search warrant, seeking
illegal drugs. The officers claimed they knocked and announced them-
selves before forcing entry, but there is disputed evidence if or how
effectively they did so. She worked for Uni'versity of Louisville Health
as a full-time emergency room technician. The Taylor Family received $12
million from the City of Louisville in a wrongful death lawsuit settle-
ment in September 2020, which required Louisville to implement policing
changes. These changes required more oversight by top commanders, and
making mandatory safeguards that were just "common practice" up to the
time of the raid.
A 2014 American Civil Liberties Union study found that drug searches
account for most of those no-knock raids. During SWAT team deployments,
the total no-knock warrants served in the United States has grown from
approximately 1,500 annually in the early 1980s to about 45,000 in 2010,
according to Eastern Kentucky University Professor Peter Kraska.
On June 25, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "George
Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020" (H.R.7120), a bill that included
a federal ban on no-knock warrants in drug cases. The Louisville Council
banned no knock warrants in June 2020. In October 2020, Virginia enacted
a new law that bans no-knock search warrants. Virginia joined Florida
and Oregon, along with at least 13 local governments or police depart-
ments, that have banned no knock warrants or restricted their use in
reaction to the Breonna Taylor killing. This legislation would ban no
knock warrants except in certain circumstances, including where there is
an imminent danger to life. The bill also provides reforms for all
warrants and warrant oversight.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22 REFERRED TO SENATE CODES
2021-22 referred to assembly codes
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S1402: 690.10 criminal procedure law, 690.30 criminal procedure law, 690.30(2) criminal procedure law, 690.35 criminal procedure law, 690.40 criminal procedure law, 690.40(1) criminal procedure law, 690.45 criminal procedure law, 690.45(6) criminal procedure law, 690.50 criminal procedure law, 690.55 criminal procedure law, 212 judiciary law