Louisville passes ban on no-knock warrants after Breonna Taylor's death
The Louisville Metro Council on Thursday voted unanimously to ban the use of "no-knock" search warrants, CBS affiliate WKLY reported. The bill, "Breonna's Law," was named after Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency technician who was killed by police during a drug raid on her home in March.
Mayor Greg Fischer, on Twitter, said he plans to sign the bill as soon it hits his 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."
The law would require officers to wear body cameras when executing search warrants, WKLY reported.
"I'm just going to say, Breonna, that's all she wanted to do was save lives, so with this law, she will continue to get to do that," her mother, Tamika Palmer, said in a news conference Thursday. "She would be so happy."
Police entered Taylor's home on March 13 with a warrant to search for illegal drugs — but, according to a lawsuit filed by her family, none were found. Taylor was shot eight times. WLKY reports that officials have said the officers were not required to wear cameras because they were plain-clothes narcotics officers.
The officers — Jon Mattingly, 47; Myles Cosgrove, 42; and Brett Hankison, 44 — have been placed on administrative reassignment. None of the officers have been charged in Taylor's death, despite widespread calls from the public to do so.
Mayor Fischer has said the city cannot terminate the officers because the contract between the Fraternal Order of Police and the city stipulates that the officers cannot be fired before the investigation is complete, WLKY reported.