Cincinnati, other cities look to Breonna's Law after Louisville bans no-knock warrants

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville's ban on no-knock search warrants, the kind used in the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor, may be the start of something bigger — both in Kentucky and around the U.S. 

State Rep. Attica Scott, D-Louisville, said Friday afternoon she expects to prefile within the next week a bill to ban no-knock warrants in Kentucky. 

Cincinnati, too, will soon have an ordinance filed that would ban their use in that city.

And U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has already said is filing a bill he's calling the "Justice for Breonna Taylor Act" that effectively would end no-knock warrants in the U.S.

Scott said she started working on her no-knock bill several weeks ago, calling it one of the central demands protesters have raised during two weeks of rallies in Louisville.

She's also working prefiling a package of bills concerning police accountability, she said, including independent reviews of police shootings and subpoena power for civilian review boards.

"On this (Breonna Taylor) case, it’s just the sheer volume that's been very different from other issues," she said, saying residents across the state have reached out to her. 

Democratic state Sen. Morgan McGarvey said a draft of a Senate bill has been requested, adding that the unanimous vote by the Louisville Metro Council shows there's clearly an appetite for it. 

"I’ve been involved in many conversations about no-knock warrants," he said. "What I like is right now there’s a bipartisan push for no-knock warrant (legislation) in Frankfort."

Cincinnati explores a no-knock warrant ban

In Cincinnati, City Council member Chris Seelbach, who is from Louisville, said he's preparing an ordinance banning their use as well.

During an interview on Friday afternoon, Seelbach said he's been talking with his family in Louisville and following the Taylor case, which, along with his own research, led to his decision.

Seelbach said with a majority of Democrats on the City Council he expects his ordinance to pass, along with other police-accountability measures that have been introduced recently. 

Lt. Steve Saunders, spokesman for the Cincinnati Police Department, said the no-knock warrants are "very, very infrequently" used by the department and there is a "very high bar" needed to obtain them. 

He said the department will wait to comment on Seelbach's ordinance until it makes its way to the City Council.

Justice for Breonna Taylor Act:Sen. Rand Paul filing bill to ban no-knock warrants following Breonna Taylor death

How Breonna Taylor was killed

All of these actions came in response to Taylor's death. 

The 26-year-old ER technician, who was Black, was unarmed when she fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police in her apartment in the early morning hours of March 13. Police were attempting to serve a no-knock search warrant as a part of a narcotics investigation.

Court records show that police obtained a warrant with a no-knock provision for Taylor's apartment approved by Circuit Judge Mary Shaw, though officials have said that officers knocked and announced their presence before knocking in the door.

But Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker, who was in the apartment, has said he did not hear anyone announce that they were police, and fired at what he thought were intruders, hitting an officer in the leg.

Neighbors identified by attorneys for Taylor's family also said they did not hear police announce themselves.

Taylor died when three officers returned fire, hitting her at least eight times. No drugs were recovered from her apartment.

Minute by minute:What happened the night Louisville police fatally shot Breonna Taylor

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove have been placed on administrative reassignment pending the results of the investigation.

Additionally, Detective Joshua Jaynes, who obtained the search warrant for Taylor's apartment, has also been reassigned while the investigation remains ongoing.

Taylor's death has been central to the more than two weeks of protests in Louisville. 

On Thursday night, Louisville Metro Council passed, by a 26-0 vote, an ordinance called Breonna's Law, which had been introduced two weeks earlier. It started as a partial ban but during a special meeting June 8, more than a half-dozen council members said would favor an outright ban.

Mayor Greg Fischer, who had already suspended the use of no-knock warrants, signed the ordinance Friday. 

No-knock warrants do not mean that police don't announce their presence, but rather that they identify themselves as police only after gaining entrance.

No-knock search warrants are allowed in every state except Oregon, where they are prohibited by state law, and in Florida, where they are banned under a state Supreme Court decision.

Their use has been heavily scrutinized in recent weeks.

Scott said every house member of the Kentucky Black Legislative Caucus has agreed to co-sponsor her bill to ban no-knock warrants, and many house members of the Women's Caucus have as well.

Once the bill has been prefiled, she said she'd begin to share it with Republicans.

Other cities holding off on banning no-knock warrants

Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson said while there’s been no discussion to ban them there, they’re not something the Bowling Green Police Department utilizes. 

"I’m a retired police officer and when no-knock warrants came in, in the late '80s or early '90s, we used these once or twice," he said. "They were not, as perhaps as reported as, a good idea. We haven’t used them (since) and they’re not part of our bag of tools."

In Nashville, Tennessee, Councilman Russ Pulley, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said he's not aware of any discussions to ban no-knock warrants.

Pulley said during his more than 30 years in law enforcement the warrants were a "seriously infrequently used tool" and that he would want time to research and discuss the issue before taking any action.

"I’m hesitant to take a tool away from law enforcement that might be necessary, although I recognize there are risks that go with that," he said.

Follow Tessa Duvall on Twitter: @MattMencarini.