WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new Justice Department memo signed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche lifts strict “no-knock” entry procedures implemented under the Biden administration, expanding the circumstances under which federal law enforcement may conduct searches without warning.
On March 3, Blanche announced the rescission of the stricter “no-knock” procedures adopted in 2021. MS NOW obtained the DOJ memo and reported on the change.
The policy had been implemented in 2021 after the police shooting of Breonna Taylor. In March 2020, Taylor was at home with her boyfriend when Louisville Metro Police conducted what has been described as a “botched, late-night drug raid” on her apartment.
Police did not give a “warning knock” before forcing entry into the residence, prompting her boyfriend to fire a “warning shot.” Officers responded by firing 32 rounds, six of which struck and fatally wounded Taylor.
The Biden Justice Department created a policy requiring strict conditions before law enforcement could pursue a “no-knock” entry. Agents were expected to have “good reason” to believe that greater harm would occur to themselves or others if they conducted a search with a “warning” knock.
If those requirements were not met, top supervisors and a U.S. attorney in the area were required to approve government searches that proposed “no-knock” entry plans.
MS NOW reported that it obtained the DOJ memo signed by Blanche and other top supervisors and U.S. attorneys on Monday, March 2. According to MS NOW, Blanche wrote that modifications to the Biden-era policy were intended to “eliminat[e] unnecessary restrictions.”
The memo expands the number of permissible justifications for a no-knock entry, including situations “when there is a risk that evidence could get destroyed.” The memo states that the change allows “the brave men and women in law enforcement [to] carry out their duties to the fullest extent permitted by law.”
“[The DOJ is] bringing back a common sense approach to law enforcement designed to ensure officer safety and protect the integrity of criminal investigations,” DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said.
He added that the new policy complies with the law and the Constitution while “reversing a Biden-era policy decision that unduly hindered and unnecessarily endangered law enforcement agents.”
The policy change has drawn criticism from some former prosecutors, who told MS NOW that the risk of evidence destruction could be argued in “nearly every search,” potentially making no-knock entries easier to justify under the law.
Vanita Gupta, a former associate attorney general under the Biden administration, called the change “disturbing.” Gupta helped lead the creation of the policy alongside then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
“This is a step backwards for policing — rather than forward — when law enforcement has often prided itself on embracing best practices,” Gupta said. She explained that the policy had been designed to protect public and officer safety by promoting best practices for searches.
The policy followed a yearlong review of “best police practices,” incorporating input from numerous federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Those entities were also reported to have “generally supported the changes.”
Gupta said she is particularly concerned about the impact of the rescinded policy on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, especially in light of recent tragedies in Minnesota, Chicago and elsewhere around the country.
She said ICE’s conduct reflects a departure from the evolution of policing reforms and improvements, making the changes to no-knock entry policies “particularly significant.”
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