LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Friday signed a partial ban on no-beat warrants after months of protests launched by the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in her home during an illegal police raid last year.
The law signed by the Democratic governor is not the total ban sought by many protesters and some Democratic lawmakers – a proposal introduced as ‘Breonna’s Law’ – but it also does not prevent individual cities and towns from passing the warrants completely forbidden.
The measure has garnered dual support in the legislature, where Republicans hold veto-resistant super-majorities in the House and Senate. The law only allows warrants if there is ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that the crime under investigation “would qualify a person as a violent offender, if convicted.”
Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville medical emergency technician studying to become a nurse, was shot several times in March 2020 after being pulled out of her bed by police. No drugs were found, and the warrant was later found to be defective.
“This is significant change,” Beshear said. ‘It will save lives, and it will move us in the right direction. I know more needs to be done. I know the battle is not over. ”
Members of the Taylor family stood behind the governor during the signing of the bill at Louisville’s Kentucky Center for African American Heritage. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, shed tears as she accepted the pen the governor used to draw the bar.
“While this is not the complete legislation they want in terms of a complete ban on warrants, they are satisfied that it is a start and a victory in a deeply divided General Assembly,” the family’s attorney said. , Lonita Baker, said.
Baker added that the family is looking forward to working with lawmakers on future legislation to further limit warrants and increase police accountability.
‘Breonna’s law’ would have banned all warrants, set out fines for officers abusing body cameras and ordered drug and alcohol tests of officers who were in ‘fatal incidents’.
According to the law passed, no-beat warrants must be executed between 06:00 and 22:00 and officers must take additional steps to obtain warrants. Judges must also sign legibly if they approve it, and an EMT must now be close by while executing the warrant.
In the Taylor case, a beating warrant was approved as part of an investigation into drugs in Louisville Metro. Nevertheless, officers said they knocked and announced that they were present before entering Taylor’s apartment, although some witnesses disputed the claim.
In September, a grand jury charged one of the officers on charges of threatening to shoot at a neighbor’s apartment, but no one was charged in connection with Taylor’s death. It was based in part on the submission of Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who did not recommend any charges against the officers who shot into Taylor’s apartment.
One of those officers, Myles Cosgrove, was fired. Federal ballistics experts said they believe the shot that killed Taylor came from Cosgrove. Police also fired officer Joshua Jaynes, who secured the warrant.
Virginia passed a ban on all warrants last year. The warrants are also not allowed in Florida and Oregon.
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Hudspeth Blackburn is a corps member for the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that puts journalists in local newsrooms to report on national issues.