Kentucky governor partially bans no-knock warrants after Breonna Taylor death

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Friday partially banned no-knock warrants in the state following a year of protests and demonstrations sparked by the shooting death of Breonna Taylor.

Taylor was shot eight times and was ultimately killed during a police raid in which law enforcement used a no-knock search warrant. The warrants enable police officers to identify themselves after they have already entered.

Beshear signed a bill into law that will only permit a no-knock search warrant to be used if there is “clear and convincing evidence” that the alleged crime being committed “would qualify a person, if convicted, as a violent offender,” according to The Associated Press.

Under the law, the warrants may only be executed between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m and an EMT must be on standby as the warrant is carried out, the AP noted. Judges will also be required to sign the warrants legibly when they approve them.

Law enforcement officials in Taylor’s case said that they knocked and announced their presence prior to entering the residence, though Taylor’s neighbors and her boyfriend have said that they did not hear a knock or announcement.

Louisville passed “Breonna’s Law” last year, banning no-knock warrants and requiring all officers who are serving warrants to wear body cameras.

One of the officers involved in Taylor’s case in September was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly shooting into the apartment of Taylor’s neighbor. No charges were brought against the officers who shot into Taylor’s apartment.