Key Takeaways
- The revival of the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act would federally ban no-knock warrants and require officers to announce themselves before entering a premise.
- The legislation was first introduced in 2024 and is named after Breonna Taylor, who was killed during a botched police raid in 2020.
- Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, says the bill is about saving lives and preventing future tragedies.
Lawmakers are renewing the fight for a federal ban on no-knock warrants with the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act. The legislation named in honor of Breonna Taylor, a Louisville EMT who was fatally shot during a home raid in March 2020, was first introduced by Kentucky Congressman Morgan McGarvey last year. Its return was announced on Wednesday (Dec. 10) during a press conference in Washington, D.C.
“There is nothing about no-knock warrants that keeps anyone safer… We know they can be deadly,” McGarvey said. The proposed law requires state and local agencies that receive funds from the Department of Justice to identify themselves and their purpose before forcibly entering a premise. Federal law enforcement would follow the same guidance before executing a warrant.
New York Rep. Yvette Clarke noted that in the wake of Taylor’s death, “The need to confront the issue of no-knock warrants has only intensified. Reporting suggests that police carry out tens of thousands of no-knock raids every year nationwide, but very few agencies monitor this practice.” She further explained, “Lives are on the line. What happened to Breonna Taylor was a profound failure of our justice system … Each day that Congress does not act to put an end to no-knock warrants is another day that justice will be denied for Breonna and her family.”
Also, on hand for the announcement was Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother. She said, “Banning no-knock warrants is not about politics; it’s about protecting human life. It’s about ensuring that what happened to Breonna never happens again to another daughter, son or family … We owe it to our future to choose safety, accountability and justice.”
Justice for Breonna Taylor Act fits into the broader fight for police reform
In July, former Kentucky officer Brett Hankinson was sentenced to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his involvement in the botched raid. He was one of four officers charged for their involvement in the deadly situation. A jury found him guilty of violating the 26-year-old’s civil rights in November 2024.
The disgraced cop fired 10 shots that entered Taylor’s apartment and a neighboring unit, though none of the bullets resulted in injuries. Law enforcement was in pursuit of her ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, in connection with a drug investigation. He was in custody when the home invasion took place. The tragic killing of Taylor and George Floyd, who died two months later during an arrest in Minneapolis, ignited nationwide demands for police accountability and reform, fueling causes like the Black Lives Matter and Say Her Name movements.