Thanks to the unanimous vote of all 26 members of the Louisville Metro Council, the “Breonna’s Law” has been passed.
The vote to ban no-knock warrants comes after the March 13 death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old former licensed EMT who was shot and killed by Louisville police during a raid related to a narcotics investigation.
The ordinance will require any Louisville Metro Police Department or Metro law enforcement to knock and wait at least 15 seconds for a response. The bill will go into effect as soon as Mayor Greg Fischer signs, which he has assured the public he will immediately do.
“I plan to sign Breonna’s Law 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 tweeted on Thursday. “This is one of many critical steps on police reform that we’ve taken to create a more peaceful, just, compassionate and equitable community,”
Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, has praised the law named after her daughter and told media that all Breonna wanted to do “was save lives.” Thankfully, the new ban will help. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
However, many people would like to see further actions beyond the new law and have called on the mayor to arrest the police involved in Taylor’s death. There are still questions and concerns surrounding that fatal day. According to the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Taylor’s family, police did not knock or identify themselves. Detective Joshua Jaynes, who is not part of the suit, has been placed on administrative reassignment as officials investigate how he secured the no-knock warrant.
Taylor’s family has filed suit against officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove-accusing the three of “blindly firing” 20 shots into Breonna’s apartment. Taylor was shot eight times.
Taylor nor her boyfriend Kenneth Walker had a criminal history or any drug convictions. No drugs were discovered during the raid.
#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor
