No-knock warrants limited in Kentucky
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Gov. Andy Beshear signed a partial ban on no-knock warrants Friday after months of demonstrations set off by the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in her home during a botched police raid last year.
The law signed by the Democratic governor is not the total ban many protesters and some Democratic lawmakers had sought – a proposal that had been introduced as “Breonna’s Law” – but it also doesn’t prevent individual cities and towns from banning the warrants completely.
The measure drew bipartisan support in the legislature, where Republicans hold veto-proof supermajorities in the House and Senate. The law permits the warrants only if there is “clear and convincing evidence” that the crime at hand “would qualify a person, if convicted, as a violent offender.”
Taylor, 26, a Louisville emergency medical technician studying to become a nurse, was shot multiple times in March 2020 after being roused from her bed by police. No drugs were found, and the warrant was flawed.
“This is meaningful change,” Beshear said. “It will save lives, and it will move us in the right direction. I know more needs to be done. I know the fight is not over.”
Members of the Taylor family stood behind the governor during the bill signing at Louisville’s Kentucky Center for African American Heritage. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, shed tears as she accepted the pen the governor used to sign the measure.
“While it’s not the full legislation that they wanted in terms of a complete ban on no-knock warrants, they are satisfied that this is a start and a win in a deeply divided General Assembly,” said the family’s attorney, Lonita Baker.
“Breonna’s Law” would have banned no-knock warrants, set penalties for officers who misuse body cameras and mandated drug and alcohol testing of officers involved in “deadly incidents.”
Under the law that was passed, noknock warrants must be executed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and officers are required to take additional steps to obtain warrants. Judges are also required to sign legibly when approving them and an EMT must now be nearby during execution of the warrant.