Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ban No-Knock Warrants Initiative (May 2021)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ban No-Knock Warrants Initiative
LocalBallotMeasures Final.png
Election date
May 18, 2021
Topic
Local law enforcement
Status
Approveda Approved
Type
Initiative
Origin
Citizens

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ban No-Knock Warrants Initiative was on the ballot as an initiative in Pittsburgh on May 18, 2021. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the Pittsburgh home rule charter to add Article 10: Powers of the Pittsburgh Police, including Section 1001 barring employees of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police from executing warrants without knocking or announcing themselves.

A "no" vote opposed amending the Pittsburgh home rule charter to add Article 10: Powers of the Pittsburgh Police, thus maintaining the existing charter.


This measure was one of two initiated measures on ballot in Allegheny County. The other measure was to ban solitary confinement.

Overview

The ballot initiative required police to knock on a door, announce their presence, and wait at least 15 seconds before entering a residence to execute a warrant. The ballot initiative also required police who are executing a warrant at a residence to wear and use a body camera and dress in uniform or wear clothing that identifies the officer as law enforcement.[1]


Election results

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ban No-Knock Warrants Initiative (May 2021)

Result Votes Percentage

Approved Yes

50,132 81.16%
No 11,640 18.84%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for this measure was as follows:

Shall the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter be amended and supplemented by adding a new Article 10: Powers of the Pittsburgh Police, containing Section 1001, which shall bar employees of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police from executing warrants at any residence without knocking and announcing themselves? 

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.


Support

The Alliance for Police Accountability led the campaign in support of this measure, they are also supporting a Prohibit Solitary Confinement initiative.[2]

Supporters

Political Parties

  • Green Party of Allegheny County[3]

Organizations

  • Abolitionist Law Center[3]
  • ACLU PA[3]
  • Black Lives Matter SWPA[3]
  • BlaqkOps[3]
  • Catapult Greater Pittsburgh[3]
  • EM | POWER[3]
  • 1Hood POWER[3]
  • New Voices for Reproductive Justice[3]
  • Okra Ethics[3]
  • PA United[3]
  • Pittsburgh Friends Meeting (Quakers)[3]
  • Pittsburgh I Can’t Breathe[3]
  • Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network (PIIN)[3]
  • Pittsburghers for Public Transit[3]
  • Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates[3]
  • Progress for People of Color[3]
  • Radical Youth Collective[3]
  • Take Action Mon Valley[3]
  • Transyounitingpgh[3]
  • UNITE![3]
  • West End P.O.W.E.R.[3]
  • Women and Girls Foundation[3]
  • Women’s Law Project[3]

Arguments

The following arguments were posted on the Alliance for Police Accountability's website:[4]

This May, the voters of Pittsburgh have the power to ban the use of “no-knock” raids by police. These raids became infamous this past march, when Louisville police executed a no-knock warrant at the home of emergency room technician Breonna Taylor, opened fire when her boyfriend shot at these (announced) intruders, hitting her with eight bullets and killing her.

Pittsburgh, too, has suffered. In the past six years, multiple settlements costing hundreds of thousands of dollars have been reached between the city and victims of such police raids. This is unacceptable; while the practice has been supposedly discontinued temporarily, we must prohibit it altogether through an amendment to the city charter.[5]

Brandi Fisher, Alliance for Police Accountability President, said regarding the Ban No-Knock Warrants Initiative and the Prohibit Solitary Confinement Initiative:[6]

These two initiatives are critical to the public health and safety of the residents of Allegheny County, the community has the power to make the decisions that impact their lives, and this initiative is one way for that to manifest.[5]

Opposition

If you know of endorsements or arguments that should be posted here, email editor@ballotpedia.org.

As of April 14, 2021, there is no known organization leading a campaign against the referendum.

The Pittsburgh Police Bureau asserted that the measure was not necessary, as a Bureau spokesperson said:[7]

[the Bureau] do not au­tho­rize no-knock war­rants. The Bureau has al­ways fol­lowed the Rules of Crim­i­nal Pro­ce­dure of the PA Con­sol­i­dated Stat­utes, which re­quires po­lice to knock and an­nounce their iden­tity and pur­pose[5]

Background

No-knock warrants

No-knock warrants are search warrants that exempt police from knocking and announcing their presence before entering the premises in certain circumstances.[8] No-knock warrants came into widespread use in the 1970's and 1980's in executing raids for illicit drugs.[9]

Notable local police-related ballot measures (2021)

See also: Notable local police-related ballot measures (2021)

In 2021, Ballotpedia covered a selection of local police-related measures concerning police oversight, the powers and structure of oversight commissions, police practices, law enforcement department structure and administration, law enforcement budgets, law enforcement training requirements, law enforcement staffing requirements, and body and dashboard camera footage.

State Jurisdiction Title Election date Description Result
New York Albany Proposal 7 November 2 Increases the authority of the Community Police Review Board over investigations and oversight of complains against police Approveda
Texas Austin Proposition A November 2 Requires a minimum number of police officers and certain police training and sets demographically representative hiring practice guidelines Defeatedd
Washington Bellingham Initiative 2 November 2 Prohibits facial recognition and predictive policing technology Approveda
Colorado Denver Referred Question 2G November 2 Transfers the power to appoint the Independent Monitor to the Office of the Independent Monitor, which is responsible for disciplinary investigations concerning the Denver police and sheriff’s departments, from the mayor to the Citizen Oversight Board Approveda
Minnesota Minneapolis Question 2 November 2 Replaces the police department with a department of public safety in the city charter Defeatedd
Ohio Cleveland Issue 24 November 2 Changes the oversight structure of the Cleveland Police Department Approveda
Michigan Detroit Proposition P August 3 Revises the Detroit City Charter, with multiple changes to the Detroit Police Department included Defeatedd
Texas Austin Proposition C May 1 Establishes the position of the Director of Police Oversight in the city charter Approveda
Texas San Antonio Proposition B May 1 Repeals provisions allowing police officers to collectively bargain with the city Defeatedd
Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Ban No-Knock Warrants Initiative May 18 Requires police to knock on a door, announce their presence, and wait at least 15 seconds before entering a residence to execute a warrant Approveda
Pennsylvania Allegheny County Prohibit Solitary Confinement Initiative May 18 Prohibits the solitary confinement of persons held in the Allegheny County Jail Approveda
Illinois Oak Park Police Defunding Advisory Question April 6 Advises the city to defund the police department Defeatedd


In 2020, Ballotpedia identified 20 police-related measures in 10 cities and four counties within seven states that appeared on local ballots. All 20 of the ballot measure were approved.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Pennsylvania

The ballot initiative was placed on the ballot after the Allegheny County legal counsel approved the petition filed on February 16, 2021, by the organization Alliance for Police Accountability who submitted 21,880 signatures.[10][11]

See also

External links

Footnotes