Louisville council unanimously passes ‘Breonna’s Law’ banning no-knock warrants

Louisville, Ky., city council unanimously passed a ban on no-knock warrants Thursday, ending a practice that led to the police-involved shooting of Breonna Taylor nearly three months ago.

Dubbed “Breonna’s Law,” the measure also ensures that body cameras must be worn by all police officers executing a warrant for at least five minutes before and after the warrant is executed.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said on Twitter he would sign the measure “as soon as it hits my desk.”

“I suspended use of these warrants indefinitely last month, and wholeheartedly agree with Council that the risk to residents and officers with this kind of search outweigh any benefit,” he wrote.

Taylor, a Black woman, was shot in her apartment on March 13 after police executed a so-called no-knock warrant, allowing officers to enter the home without obtaining permission from the residents or identifying themselves as law enforcement.

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The 26-year-old first responder was shot eight times when officers opened fire after Taylor’s boyfriend — who told police he thought the couple was being robbed after being startled out of bed — fired at the officers first, hitting one in the leg.

The police were investigating two men accused of selling drugs at a home more than 10 miles from Taylor’s apartment, according to records reported by the Louisville Courier Journal.

Taylor’s case has since been among those mentioned by protesters who took to the streets in Louisville and around the United States after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in police custody on May 25.

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While the four officers involved in Floyd’s death have been arrested and charged, the same has not happened for the officers who shot Taylor.

The passage of “Breonna’s Law” was one of several demands from local protesters.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said shortly before the passage of the measure that he has filed legislation that would prohibit the use of no-knock warrants across the U.S.

Paul said on Twitter that he drafted the legislation, called the “Justice for Breonna Taylor Act,” after speaking with Taylor’s family, though the Republican senator has brought up the issue repeatedly as talk on Capitol Hill shifts towards policing reform.

The Justice for Policing Act, which was drafted and sponsored by Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate on Monday, also calls for a ban on no-knock warrants for drug cases. It would also disqualify state and local police from jurisdictions without a no-knock ban from receiving federal grants.

The legislation is currently being debated by judiciary committees in both chambers of Congress.