A8 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2020 S LATIMES.COM
MINNEAPOLIS — Min-
neapolis’ mayor and police
chief have changed a policy
on so-called no-knock war-
rants, saying officers must
announce their presence as
they enter a site and again
periodically while inside.
Wednesday’s announce-
ment by Mayor Jacob Frey
and Police Chief Medaria
Arradondo comes six
months after the death of
George Floyd and is one of
several changes imple-
mented amid calls to defund
and revamp the Police De-
partment. The new policy
goes into effect Monday.
Floyd, a Black man who
was handcuffed, died May 25
after then-Officer Derek
Chauvin, who is white,
pressed his knee against
Floyd’s neck as Floyd said he
couldn’t breathe. Chauvin
has been charged with sec-
ond-degree murder and
manslaughter, and three
other former officers face
charges of aiding and abet-
ting. Floyd’s death renewed
calls for an end to police bru-
tality and racial inequities,
sparking protests in Minne-
apolis and beyond.
“We can’t prevent every
tragedy, but we can limit the
likelihood of bad outcomes,”
Frey said of the change.
“This new no-knock warrant
policy will set shared expec-
tations for our community
and clear and objective
standards within the de-
partment.”
The city said that in an
average year, the police
carry out 139 such warrants.
Police spokesman John
Elder said the warrants may
be used to preserve evidence
and for officers’ safety. He
added that while officers
might have authorization
for a no-knock warrant, that
doesn’t mean it will be used
— as officers evaluate situa-
tions up until a warrant is ex-
ecuted.
Officers requesting
search warrants must indi-
cate whether they need an
“entry with announcement”
or an “unannounced entry,”
and a judge must approve
the request. In most cases,
officers must knock, identify
themselves as police, an-
nounce their intent and give
occupants time to respond.
The policy says high-risk
warrants may involve imme-
diate or “unannounced en-
try.” Officers are required to
announce themselves as po-
lice before crossing the
threshold. Announcements
must also be made periodi-
cally during the search and
at least once when an officer
moves to an area where he or
she is more likely to be
heard, the policy says.
The policy also says that
in exceptional circum-
stances, when announce-
ments would create an im-
minent threat, a supervisor
may authorize officers to en-
ter unannounced but must
provide evidence support-
ing that decision.
Michelle Gross, presi-
dent of Communities United
Against Police Brutality,
said the new policy is “pretty
disappointing.”
“Nothing about this
would decrease the number
of no-knock warrants,” she
said. “It simply enhances, to
a certain degree, the an-
nouncement as officers
move from room to room.”
Gross said her group
plans to introduce a bill that
would ban no-knock war-
rants statewide, except in
extreme circumstances. She
said unannounced entries
“should be very rare.”
Frey and Arradondo
have made other changes in
recent months. One requires
officers to document efforts
to de-escalate situations;
another requires more de-
tailed reports when force is
used. The city has also
banned chokeholds.
Arradondo has also with-
drawn the department from
police union contract talks,
saying he wants a review of
the grievance and arbitra-
tion process that makes it
hard to fire problem officers.
Floyd’s
killing
leads to
stricter
policies
Minneapolis changes
‘no-knock’ warrant
rules following outcry
for police reforms.
associated press
month as Trump’s national
security advisor before he
was fired in early 2017 for ly-
ing to Vice President Mike
Pence and other officials,
and he later pleaded guilty
to lying to the FBI, a felony.
He recently sought to with-
draw his guilty plea, and his
case has been in legal limbo.
In a statement, the White
House said that Flynn “ne-
ver should have been prose-
cuted” and that Trump’s
pardon would “end the re-
lentless, partisan pursuit of
an innocent man.”
Biden urged Americans
to consider how the toxic
politics gripping the nation
is undermining the fight
against COVID-19, which he
said “has divided us, an-
gered us, and set us against
one another.”
“I know the country has
grown weary of the fight,” he
said. “But we need to re-
member we’re at war with a
virus, not with one another.”
Biden’s appeal to Ameri-
cans “to write a newer, bold-
er, more compassionate
chapter in the life of our na-
tion” had the markings of an
inaugural or State of the
Union address.
There were calls for ac-tion and sacrifice, nods to
history, and promises of mo-
bilization by the federal gov-
ernment.
Biden engaged the sym-
bolism of Thanksgiving and
his signature empathy in
trying to unite a nation that
he acknowledged is discour-
aged after losing so many
loved ones and facing a holi-
day weekend when it is un-
safe to gather.
Biden said he would forgo
a decades-long tradition of
large family gatherings for
the holiday, and he implored
other Americans to do the
same.
“For so many of us it is
hard to hear that this fight
isn’t over, that we still have
months of this battle ahead
of us,” Biden said. “Many lo-
cal health systems are at risk
of being overwhelmed. That
is the plain and simple truth,
and I believe you deserve to
always hear the truth from
your president. We have to
try to slow the growth of the
virus.”
Biden is determined to
implement a public health
offensive immediately upon
taking office in January. It
will rely heavily on large-
scale buy-in by Americans.
Expanded use of masksand social distancing —
guidance often mocked and
flouted by Trump — is a cen-
tral pillar of the incoming
administration’s plan to
keep Americans safe before
vaccines are expected to be
widely available in the late
spring or summer. Biden
promised that the federal
government will do its part
— once he takes charge —
with expanded testing, a
comprehensive contact-
tracing program and clearer,
coordinated guidance for
schools and businesses on
opening safely.“I commit to you: I will
use all those powers to lead a
national coordinated re-
sponse,” he said. “But the
federal government can’t do
it alone.... None of these
steps we’re asking people to
take are political state-
ments. Every one of them is
based in science.”
Earlier in the day, Biden’s
advisors said the official fed-
eral transition — which the
Trump administration had
blocked until Monday night
— is now well underway, with
Biden’s team already hold-
ing dozens of meetings at
federal agencies.
Yet the address Wednes-
day highlighted how access
to officials in the federal gov-
ernment will only get Biden
so far in advancing his
agenda, particularly in con-
fronting the pandemic.
Once in office, he needs
broad public support for
public health measures in
order to execute his plan.
That may be difficult after
the government’s top medi-
cal experts were under-
mined and sidelined by a
president who saw political
opportunity in promoting
division and misinformation
about the virus.
While Biden’s legal teamcontinues to fight the
Trump lawsuits alleging —
without evidence — mass
voter fraud, the president-
elect has largely stopped
talking about them.
His speech Wednesday
suggested that going for-
ward, Biden will speak to the
nation as if he is already in
the White House.
He talked about how the
vaccine will be distributed,
and how the hope it provides
should fortify the nation for
the battle ahead, when con-
taining community spread
will be vital.
“Don’t let yourself sur-
render to the fatigue....
America is not going to lose
this war,” he said.
Biden put the challenge
in the context of other his-
torically difficult periods:
the Civil War, the two World
Wars and the Jim Crow pe-
riod of legal segregation. He
said “love of country and love
of one another” ultimately
enabled the nation to over-
come them.
“We don’t talk much
about love in our politics,” he
said. “The public arena is too
loud, too angry, too heated.
To love our neighbors as our-
selves is a radical act, yet it’s
what we are called to do.”THE PRESIDENT-ELECTurged Americans to join him in forgoing traditional large family gatherings to help rein in the coronavirus.Mark MakelaGetty ImagesBiden gives Thanksgiving address
‘I know the
country has
grown weary of
the fight. But
we need to
remember we’re
at war with a
virus, not with
one another.’
— President-elect
Joe Biden[Biden,from A1]BELLE PLAINE, Kan. —
It’s barely a town anymore,
battered by time on the
windswept prairie of north-
western Kansas. COVID-
still managed to find Nor-
catur.
Not much remains of the
rural hamlet, save for a serv-
ice station, a grain elevator,
a little museum and a week-
end hangout where the lo-
cals play pool, eat pizza and
drink beer. The roof has col-
lapsed on the crumbling
building that once housed
its bank and general store.
Schools closed decades ago,
and the former high school
building is used for city of-
fices.
But for the 150 or so
remaining residents, the
cancellation of the beloved
Norcatur Christmas Draw-
ing has driven home how the
COVID-19 pandemic has
reached deep into rural
America.
“Due to individuals who
have COVID and refuse to
stay home and quarantine it
has been determined it is
not safe for the citizens of
Norcatur and the area to
proceed,” read the notice
tucked in the town’s newslet-
ter and posted on its Face-
book page. It blamed “negli-
gent attitudes of lack of con-
cern for others” for the can-
cellation.
In a decades-old tradi-
tion that evokes NormanRockwell nostalgia, the
whole town typically gathers
for a potluck dinner at
Christmastime. Its name-
sake drawing features a
plethora of donated meats,
crafts and other goodies so
every family can go home
with prizes. The local 4-H
Club puts on its bake sale.
Santa Claus arrives riding
the firetruck.
Decatur County has
fewer than 3,000 people scat-
tered across farms and small
towns like Norcatur. As of
Monday, the county had re-
ported 194 coronavirus cases
and one death, although
medical providers say there
have been at least four more
local deaths that have yet tobe added to the official toll.
Carolyn Plotts, a 73-year-
old Norcatur resident who
never had symptoms and
only found out she had
COVID-19 when tested for a
medical procedure in Octo-
ber, said two of her former
high school classmates who
live in the county died be-
cause of the virus. Her hus-
band also tested positive.
“It’s been very real to me,”
she said.
Plotts wondered whether
the cancellation notice was
maybe “talking about me.”
During her quarantine she
would only leave her house
— with her doctor’s permis-
sion and wearing a mask,
she said pointedly — to carefor a housebound friend who
still believes the pandemic is
a hoax.
Carl Lyon, the Norcatur
mayor who takes on the an-
nual Santa role, said most
residents are “pretty good”
about social distancing and
wearing a mask, but some
have caught the virus.
“I know a couple of people
had it and they were still
kind of running around and
whatnot,” Lyon said. “Didn’t
seem to bother them that
they infected everybody
else.”
Decatur County Sheriff
Ken Badsky estimated that
5% of county residents who
should quarantine violate
the restrictions and go out.His office has called some
and “insisted they do what
they are supposed to do,”
but has taken no legal ac-
tion.
“I have so much other
stuff to do. I don’t have time
to follow people around,”
Badsky said. “We have 900
square miles, we have three
full-time officers and a part-
time [officer] to take care of
that, and we are busy with
everything else.” Such senti-
ments anger medical pro-
viders as coronavirus cases
surge and it gets more diffi-
cult to find beds for their
sickest patients at hospitals
across the state.
“We need some backing
to stop this virus and we are
looking to people that need
to do their job to do it, ... oth-
erwise this thing is going to
run rampant, and it is going
to put more pressure on our
hospital,” said Kris Ma-
thews, the administrator of
Decatur Health, a small
critical-access hospital in
Oberlin, 19 miles west of Nor-
catur.
Stan Miller, the announc-
er for the Christmas Draw-
ing for more than 25 years,
has mixed emotions about
the decision to forgo it
this year. The 63-year-old
Norcatur resident said he
understands there are
elderly people who are in the
high-risk group for contract-
ing the virus. But it’s also
disappointing.
“I like to see all the joy, es-
pecially the little kids,”
Miller said. “We have Santa
Claus after the drawing is
over, and to see them sit on
Santa’s lap and tell them
what they want for Christ-
mas, you know, always puts
a smile on my face.”Virus cancels Christmas event in rural town
ERIC KUHLMAN,3, helps Stan Miller draw names at the Norcatur Christmas
Drawing in Kansas. The event will not be held this year because of the pandemic.Carolyn PlottsKansas hamlet calls off
a beloved tradition,
another indicator of
COVID’s reach.
associated press