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Sunday marks two years since Breonna Taylor’s killing at the hands of Louisville, Ky., police officers—a death that contributed, along with the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, to a national outcry on racial injustice and police violence against Black citizens. And, because of the circumstances of her death, the situation also sparked a more specific reckoning, too: on the use of no-knock warrants, which allow police to enter residences unannounced.
Taylor’s death was the result of a no-knock warrant served at her apartment on March 13, 2020, as part of a narcotics investigation. When officers arrived at her residence, they were shot at by her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who believed a break-in was happening. When officers returned fire, she was shot eight times.
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A grand jury declined to bring charges against any of the officers in relation to Taylor’s death. One officer, Brett Hankinson, was charged with “wanton endangerment” for recklessly shooting into Taylor’s apartment and a neighbor’s home as well; he was found not guilty on those charges earlier this month.
A Push to Remove the Tactic
After Taylor’s death, her family and other activists campaigned to ban no-knock warrants in Louisville. Last Spring, the city officially passed “Breonna’s Law,” which banned the use of those warrants. Some other police departments and cities have also started to move away from no-knock warrants. As of February 2022, there are 27 states with some kind of restriction on the use of no-knock warrants and 22 cities that have restrictions as well. A total of four states—Oregon, Connecticut, Virginia and Florida—have outright banned the use of no-knock warrants. Many of these bans and restrictions came after Taylor’s death.
But the tactic is still a significant part of policing practices across the country. According to EndAllNoKnocks, which is part of Campaign Zero, a nonprofit platform for data-driven solutions to end police violence,…
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Source : time
