[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6877 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6877
To establish limitations on the use of no-knock warrants, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 1, 2022
Ms. Omar (for herself, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Garcia of Illinois,
Ms. Pressley, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr.
Carson, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Newman, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Danny
K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Torres of
New York, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Payne, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr.
Espaillat, Ms. Meng, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Johnson
of Georgia, Mr. Rush, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Ms.
Schakowsky, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Jayapal, and Mr. Grijalva)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish limitations on the use of no-knock warrants, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Amir Locke End Deadly No-Knock
Warrants Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Byrne grant program.--The term ``Byrne grant program''
means any grant program under subpart 1 of part E of title I of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34
U.S.C. 10151 et seq.), without regard to whether the funds are
characterized as being made available under the Edward Byrne
Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Programs,
the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, the
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, or
otherwise.
(2) COPS grant program.--The term ``COPS grant program''
means the grant program authorized under section 1701 of title
I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
(3) Covered law enforcement task force.--The term ``covered
law enforcement task force'' means a law enforcement task force
that has not less than 1 Federal law enforcement agency or
Federal law enforcement officer as a member.
(4) Covered federal warrant.--The term ``covered Federal
warrant'' means a warrant authorizing a search by a Federal law
enforcement officer or covered law enforcement task force.
(5) Daylight hours.--The term ``daylight hours'' means any
time beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 6:00 p.m. in the time
zone in which a warrant is to be executed.
(6) No-knock entry.--The term ``no-knock entry'' means
entry into a property by a law enforcement officer without the
law enforcement officer knocking and announcing their presence,
authority, and intention to enter the property.
(7) Nighttime.--The term ``nighttime'' means any time other
than daylight hours in the time zone in which a warrant is to
be executed.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL SEARCH WARRANTS.
(a) No-Knock Entry Requirements.--
(1) Bar in drug cases.--A covered Federal warrant may not
authorize a no-knock entry for the investigation of any offense
related to drugs.
(2) Requirements for court authorization.--A court--
(A) may only issue a covered Federal warrant
authorizing a no-knock entry if the court determines
there is clear and convincing evidence, supported by
particularized facts, that law enforcement officers
entering the property without announcing their presence
and intention to enter is necessary because notice
prior to entry would substantially endanger the life or
safety of the law enforcement officer or other persons;
and
(B) may not issue a covered Federal warrant
authorizing a no-knock entry for the investigation of
any offense related to drugs.
(3) Avoiding destruction of property and injury of
persons.--
(A) In general.--In executing a covered Federal
warrant, law enforcement officers shall seek to avoid
the destruction of property and injury of persons
occasioned by forcible entry and execution of a search.
(B) Restitution.--Any person who is injured by, or
the owner of property damaged by, law enforcement
officers during the execution of a covered Federal
warrant may bring an action against the United States
in the appropriate Federal district court for
appropriate relief, including restitution, unless the
person is convicted of an offense related to the
covered Federal warrant.
(4) Conforming amendment for drug investigations.--Section
509 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 879) is
amended--
(A) by striking ``A search warrant'' and inserting
``(a) A search warrant''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) A Federal law enforcement officer (as defined in section 2 of
the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act of 2008 (34
U.S.C. 50301)) may not make a no-knock entry (as defined in section 2
of the Amir Locke End Deadly No-Knock Warrants Act).''.
(b) Planning and Execution of All Covered Federal Warrants.--
(1) Execution during daylight hours.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), a covered Federal warrant shall only authorize
execution of the covered Federal warrant during
daylight hours not later than 7 days after such warrant
is issued, and such a warrant shall only be executed by
a Federal law enforcement officer or covered law
enforcement task force during such hours.
(B) Court authorization for nighttime service.--A
court may authorize a covered Federal warrant to be
executed outside of daylight hours if the court
determines that the application for such warrant
contains particularized facts indicating that nighttime
execution is necessary because execution of the warrant
during daylight hours would substantially endanger the
life or safety of law enforcement officers or other
persons.
(2) Application for a warrant.--
(A) Approval.--An application for a covered Federal
warrant may not be submitted for consideration by a
court unless the head of the law enforcement agency
approves such an application. The authority for
approval described in this subparagraph may not be
delegated.
(B) Contents of application.--An application for a
covered Federal warrant shall include--
(i) a description of what investigative
activities have been undertaken to support the
request for such a warrant, or why no such
investigative activity is needed; and
(ii) in the case of an application for a
no-knock warrant, an explanation for why the
applicant is unable to detain the suspect or
search the premises without knocking or
announcing law enforcement presence or using
other less invasive methods.
(3) Potential presence of vulnerable individuals.--
(A) Evaluation.--An application for a covered
Federal warrant shall assess, and a court issuing a
covered Federal warrant shall evaluate and include
information with respect to the primary language of the
individuals on the premises, whether there will be
children, individuals with a disability, individuals
who are elderly, or other vulnerable individuals
present at the location where the covered Federal
warrant is to be executed.
(B) Requirements for issuance.--A covered Federal
warrant may only authorize the search of a location
where a child, individual with a disability, individual
who is elderly, or other vulnerable individual will be
present if the court determines, based on
particularized facts, that there is a clear necessity
for such search to avoid endangering the life or safety
of law enforcement officers or other persons and that a
safety plan is in place to ensure the safety of the
vulnerable individuals.
(4) Knock and announce requirement.--Except in any case in
which a covered Federal warrant authorizes no-knock entry,
during execution of a covered Federal warrant--
(A) a law enforcement officer shall be easily
recognizable and identifiable as a uniformed law
enforcement officer;
(B) a law enforcement officer shall knock and
audibly, or in a manner sufficient to provide notice to
any person with a disability, and with consideration to
the native language of the occupants, announce the
officer's identity as a law enforcement officer,
authority pursuant to the warrant, and purpose;
(C) an audible knock and announcement shall be
provided in a manner reasonably expected to be received
and understood by occupants of the premises to be
searched based on the size and nature of the location;
(D) a body worn camera or any other government
issued recording device shall be recording at least 5
minutes prior to the start of a covered Federal warrant
execution, during any subsequent entry and the entirety
of the search of the premises, and 5 minutes following
the exit of the premises; and
(E) law enforcement officers shall delay entry for
at least 30 seconds, or a sufficient amount of time
after the announcement, whichever is greater, based on
the size and nature of the premises and occupants, to
allow the occupant a reasonable opportunity to respond.
(5) Exception to delayed entry requirement.--
Notwithstanding paragraph (4)(E), law enforcement officers may
forcibly enter into the premises in less than 30 seconds if--
(A) a covered Federal warrant authorizes a no-knock
entry; or
(B) a verifiable exigent circumstance exists, there
is an imminent threat to the life of law enforcement
officers or others, and law enforcement officers
provide information about such exigency in the warrant
execution report.
(6) Verification of place to be searched.--Before executing
a covered Federal warrant, law enforcement officers shall
verify that the address or location about to be searched is the
correct address or location authorized to be searched under the
covered Federal warrant. Such verification shall occur within
the 24 hours prior to execution of the covered Federal warrant.
(7) Use of explosive devices.--Law enforcement officers
executing a covered Federal warrant shall not use or possess
flash-bang stun grenades, other explosive devices, chemical
weapons, or any military-grade firearm, unless expressly
authorized under the covered Federal warrant based on clearly
articulated reasons, supported by particularized facts, that
the use of any such device is necessary under the
particularized circumstances to protect the life or safety of
law enforcement officers or other persons.
(c) Data Collection.--
(1) In general.--A Federal law enforcement agency shall--
(A) collect data about--
(i) the items to be seized under a covered
Federal warrant, as described in the
application;
(ii) the items seized in the execution of
that covered Federal warrant;
(iii) the total number of covered Federal
warrant applications and the number of no-knock
warrant applications;
(iv) the total number of covered Federal
warrant applications granted and the number of
no-knock warrant applications granted;
(v) the number of forcible entries made
while executing warrants (both where no-knock
entry is explicitly authorized by the warrant
and when not explicitly authorized), including
a description of the circumstances under which
forcible entry occurred and why warrant
requirements were modified; and
(vi) injuries that occur during the
execution of warrants (sustained by both law
enforcement and others); and
(B) submit the data collected under paragraph (1)
to the Attorney General.
(2) Attorney general report.--Not later than 2 years after
the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years
thereafter, the Attorney General shall make available to the
public on the Department of Justice website a review and
analysis of the data submitted to the Attorney General pursuant
to paragraph (1)(B).
(d) Exclusion of Evidence.--Evidence obtained in violation of this
section may not be admissible in any trial, hearing, or proceeding in
or before any court, department, officer, agency, regulatory body, or
other authority of the United States, a State, or a political
subdivision thereof.
(e) Officer Accountability.--Any law enforcement officer who
executes a covered Federal warrant in violation of the requirements of
this section shall be subject to such consequence as the Attorney
General determines appropriate, including rendering all evidence
collected pursuant to the violation inadmissible, suspension of duty,
civil penalties, or termination.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ELIGIBILITY FOR
FUNDS.
Beginning in the first fiscal year that begins after the date that
is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, a law enforcement
agency of a State or unit of local government may not receive funds
made available to the State or local government under the Byrne grant
program or the COPS grant program for a fiscal year if, on the day
before the first day of the fiscal year, the State or local law
enforcement agency of the State or unit of local government does not
have in effect policies that are substantially similar to the policies
described in section 3.
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