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Breonna Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, along with Senator Rand Paul and Democratic representative Morgan McGarvey, reintroduced their effort to ban no-knock search warrants.
According to WLKY News, the legislation will be called ‘The Justice for Breonna Taylor Act.’
Senator Paul first introduced the bill in June 2020. However, it received little support. Paul partnered with McGarvey and Democratic Sen. Corey Booker of New Jersey. He hopes the bill will now garner more attention and support.
The two-page bill states officers “may not execute a warrant until after the officer provides notice of his or her authority or purpose,” per Courier Journal.
The bill would apply to any state and local agencies that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, including federal law enforcement. This would cover most police departments in the United States.
Louisville and many Kentucky cities banned or restricted no-knock warrants in 2020, just months following Breonna’s death.
Breonna Taylor died in March 2020 at the hands of Louisville Metro Police officers. She was shot after they entered her home in the middle of the night unannounced. They were attempting to serve a search warrant on her apartment in connection with Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, per WLKY.
As previously reported, Kelly Goodlett was accused of falsifying that search warrant and filing a false report to conceal it.
After MPD officers entered her apartment, Kenneth Walker fired a shot, assuming the officers were burglars. Law enforcement failed to disclose their identity. One officer, Jonathan Mattingly, was wounded in the leg. Breonna was killed after the officers returned fire.
Breonna’s mom spoke during a press conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
“It’s been four years. It’s been hard. It continues to be hard. But I still fight, and I still make sure that what happened to Breonna doesn’t happen again. And that’s really what’s important here.”
The grieving mother continued, “I don’t know a better way to commemorate coming up on the fourth year of Breonna’s murder. I’m so grateful to have people in the room who continue to understand how important that what happened to Breonna never happens again.”
Senator Paul stated that the bill was created to protect citizens and police officers.
“There’s a better way of doing things,” Senator Paul said. “I do this not only because I care about the people behind the door. I also care about the police… [and] think it’s a very dangerous risk for police to take. And, you know, there’s a lot of better ways to arrest people that don’t involve going in in the middle of the night.”
Democratic Representative McGarvey expressed his sympathy for the pain Taylor’s mother has endured since the tragedy.
He stated, “It’s hard for me right now standing here with Tamika Palmer, with Breonna Taylor’s mom, who endured a pain that, while many of us share, cannot fathom.”
None of the MPD officers who discharged their firearms during the incident have been convicted of Breonna’s murder.
