GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Four years ago, Grand Rapids native Breonna Taylor was killed during the execution of a no-knock warrant in Louisville, Kentucky. Now, the Grand Rapids Police Chief is speaking out against the practice.
Chief Eric Winstrom said no-knock warrants do more harm than good and is proud that his department no longer conducts them. Winstrom shared his opinion in an op-ed published Wednesday morning by the Detroit Free Press. He said his opinion on no-knock warrants started long before Taylor was killed by police.
In it, he said search warrants are an essential part of the police process, but they can be done safely without the no-knock method.
The method now used by GRPD he calls "surround and call out", where officers surround the home and make contact with people inside, giving them a chance to leave before the search warrant is executed.
He said the process takes more time, but is worth it to avoid unnecessary trauma.
“When a warrant, a no-knock warrant especially, goes bad it can go very bad," said Winstrom. "Breonna Taylor’s case being one of the extreme examples. But even not taking it to that example, there are cases where police have kicked in doors and traumatized children at gunpoint and that’s something, as young as a toddler, has been exposed to and it's so avoidable, whether that’s physical danger, whether it’s the trauma you’re bringing to families.”
He also said he's proud that the GRPD is setting an example for departments around the country by no longer using no-knock warrants as an option.
“I think it becomes more legitimate from a place of us in the Grand Rapids Police Department as police leaders looking, how can we do things better?" said Winstrom. "And we know the reality is this is the right way to do it. You always want to be the best in the profession and I think we are the best and we always want to lead the charge in what is the best practices for policing.”
Winstrom said he's confident in his current practices, saying they are safer and more humane for everyone and he hopes other departments around the country consider following suit.
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