Republicans introduce search warrant, SWAT bills

Rep. Dean Knudson of Hudson and Sen. Duey Stroebel of Cedarburg released a statement saying they were looking for co-sponsors for the legislation, which they said would shed light on police tactics and protect residents.

The state’s largest police union was skeptical. Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, noted that the legislation requires police departments to wade through thorny legal issues on no-knock raids that courts have left vague for more than 20 years.

“There really isn’t a bright-line rule,” Palmer said Tuesday. “It would be a tall order for any agency to come up with a uniform policy that makes sense.”

The first bill would require every law enforcement agency in Wisconsin to develop a written policy on when to request and execute a no-knock warrant. The policies would have to be submitted to the state Department of Justice.

The state Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that police didn’t have to knock when executing a search warrant, as long as the decision was reasonable. Knudson said in the news release that creating policies would establish ground rules.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Knudson said he wants the policies to explain the rationale for asking for a no-knock warrant from a judge and what factors go into deciding whether to skip knocking once on scene.

The bill comes about two months after Cindy Archer, a former aide to Republican Gov. Scott Walker, filed a lawsuit alleging her civil rights were violated when Milwaukee investigators raided her home in 2010. The raid was part of an investigation into Walker’s top employees and associates while he was Milwaukee County executive that eventually netted six convictions.

Archer, who was never charged with wrongdoing, alleges that police knocked but threatened to break down her door. After she opened the door, officers entered with their guns drawn.

Knudson and Stroebel didn’t mention the Archer raid in the news release. Knudson said during his interview that neither bill was spurred by any specific incident.

“It’s really more of a proactive approach,” Knudson said. “It’s concern for the public.”

The second measure would require documentation of SWAT-team deployments and what happened during the call-out. The Department of Justice would compile an annual report of call-outs that it would submit to lawmakers and post online for the public.

Palmer, the police union leader, said he generally doesn’t have a problem with documenting SWAT team call-outs given the public’s concern with police adopting more militaristic tactics and equipment.

But he noted that SWAT teams often don’t know what they’ll face when they’re called out. If no serious threats arise at the scene, reports completed in hindsight could lead to accusations of overkill and distort public perception, he said.

The president of the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association, Kiel Police Chief Dave Funkhouser, said the association’s legislative team hadn’t had a chance to review the bills and declined comment.

A spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said he was reviewing the legislation. A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said Fitzgerald hadn’t had a chance to review the bills.