Kentucky Rep. Attica Scott proposes 'Breonna's Law,' legislation banning no-knock warrants statewide

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott on Sunday morning announced legislation known as "Breonna's Law," which would end the use of no-knock warrants statewide. 

Speaking alongside members of the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression at Jefferson Square Park, Scott, a Democrat who represents a portion of Jefferson County, outlined three major points the proposed legislation will address. 

First, Breonna's Law would ensure any law enforcement officers executing a search warrant would have to physically knock and verbally announce themselves. The proposed legislation would also mandate alcohol and drug testing in the event someone is shot and killed by police. It also calls for officers' body cameras to be turned on five minutes before serving a warrant and for five minutes after.

Breonna's Law is named after Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police officers who were serving a no-knock warrant at her apartment in the early hours of March 13 as part of a narcotics investigation. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, has told investigators that he heard banging on the apartment door but did not know police were outside the residence. Walker fired a shot, which hit an officer in the leg, when police used a battering ram to break down the door.

Officers returned fire, striking and killing Taylor in her hallway. 

Scott filed Breonna's Law on Thursday, Aug. 13, the five-month anniversary of Taylor's death. The bill is co-sponsored by State Reps. Charles Booker, George Brown, Kelly Flood, Joni Jenkins and others and will be considered by the Kentucky General Assembly in January 2021.

Taylor's death has sparked months of protests in Louisville, during which demonstrators have called for criminal charges to be brought against the officers who fired their weapons during the raid on Taylor's apartment. 

"Louisville is showing all of Kentucky that this is a brand new day; that docile Black person you're used to is gone, long gone," said Scott, the only Black woman currently serving in the state legislature. "So I anticipate that in whatever way we are able to roll up on Frankfort come January 2021 when the session begins, if we're not able to convince the governor to have a special session to address this issue, then we're gonna roll up."

Scott also called on Gov. Andy Beshear and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who in June signed similar legislation known as Breonna's Law banning no-knock warrants citywide, to support her proposed statewide bill. 

"... To be honest, I expect more from the governor; I expect more from the person who some still consider their mayor — he's not mine; he should resign," Scott said. "But I expected them to say that they support Breonna's Law for Kentucky. There's no reason for either of them to be silent on this, and we cannot allow them to be silent."

Scott was joined at Sunday's announcement by Sam Aguiar, one of the attorneys representing Taylor's family in a wrongful death lawsuit against the LMPD officers who fired their weapons during the raid on Taylor's apartment, and Keturah Herron, a policy strategist with ACLU Kentucky.

"When cops go out there in plain clothes and invade homes and beat down doors, bad things happen," Aguiar said. "This legislation needs to be passed. People die because of this. Breonna died because of this." 

"We're gonna pass Breonna's Law statewide here in Kentucky," Herron added. "All eyes are on Kentucky."

Kentucky's state FOP, whose members are local law enforcement officers, posted a response to Scott's proposed bill on its Facebook page today. The post says, in part, "The unintended consequences will be so severe, likely a mass exodus of great cops all across this Commonwealth."

Breonna's Law, banning the use of no-knock warrants in Louisville, unanimously passed Metro Council in June. The law requires officers executing any search warrant to knock on an entry door at the premises and "clearly and verbally announce as law enforcement having a search warrant in a manner than can be heard by the occupants," according to a news release from Metro Council. Barring pressing circumstances, officers must then "wait a minimum of 15 seconds or for a reasonable amount of time for occupants to answer the door, whichever is greater, before entering the premises."

Louisville's version of Breonna's Law also requires that body cameras be worn and activated by all officers present for at least five minutes before and after a warrant is served. The body camera footage must also be retained for at last five years.

When Breonna's Law passed in June, one of its co-sponsors, Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith, said that if such a ban can be passed in Louisville, it can be passed across the nation. However, the president of River City FOP, Ryan Nichols, said he believes the local ban was an overreach by Council and that no-knock warrants serve as a "valuable tool" for police.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has filed legislation, known as the "Justice for Breonna Taylor Act," which would prohibit the use of no-knock warrants around the country.

Related Stories: 

• Mayor Fischer signs 'Breonna's Law,' banning no-knock warrants in Louisville
• Metro Council passes 'Breonna's Law,' banning no-knock warrants in Louisville
• Sen. Rand Paul files legislation, named after Breonna Taylor, to ban no-knock warrants nationwide
• Separating facts from fiction in the Breonna Taylor case

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