A New Law Named After Breonna Taylor Will Ban No-Knock Warrants
The Louisville, Ky. police department has voted unanimously to ban no-knock warrants in the wake of the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT who was killed in an unannounced police raid on her boyfriends apartment.
The legislation, titled Breonnas Law, will officially ban the practice of no-knock warrants, or warrants that allow police to enter a suspects apartment without warning or notice. Such warrants are typically granted to police on drug cases, on the grounds that providing notice could give suspects time to destroy evidence.
The practice of no-knock warrants drew nationwide criticism when Louisville police officers killed Taylor at her apartment with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker in March. According to Walkers lawyers, Walker, a legal gun owner, mistook the police for robbers and opened fire, causing the police to shoot into the apartment. Taylor, who was sleeping in bed at the time, was shot multiple times.
The raid was part of a drug investigation, even though no drugs were found at Taylors home. The three officers involved in the raid have all been placed on administrative leave, and the Louisville police department has come under fire after releasing a four-page report related to Taylors death that was virtually empty.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/breonna-taylor-police-killing-louisville-no-knock-warrants-1014142/