Kentucky Making Search Warrant Changes After Murder of Breonna Taylor

Social Justice

By ShaCamree Gowdy Published: December 23, 2021

Kentucky Making Search Warrant Changes After Murder of Breonna Taylor

Black Lives Matter protesters march, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Louisville. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is bringing changes to the city's search warrant process in light of Taylor's death. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

In Summary

Breonna Taylor's murder sent shockwaves in Kentucky and beyond, prompting a racial reckoning and calls for search warrant reforms across the country.

The murder of Breonna Taylor sent shockwaves through Kentucky and the rest of the country, sparking a racial reckoning and compelling Attorney General Daniel Cameron to change the way search warrants are secured, examined and served.

NPR reported members of Cameron’s Search Warrant Task Force recommended that, in non-emergency instances, a prosecutor should study and approve a proposed search warrant before the investigating agency gets judicial authorization; officers should evaluate the best time of day to conduct a search and in cases when a search warrant may have an impact on a kid, child protective services should be alerted.

“From the beginning, the goal of the Task Force has been to conduct a top to bottom review of the search warrant process and to make recommendations for establishing Kentucky as a national model for how search warrants should be pursued and served,” AG Cameron said in a statement.

Cameron stated the Task Force members carefully and deliberately tackled the responsibility, and their final recommendations reflect law enforcement’s role in enhancing public safety while also acknowledging the constitutionally provided personal safeguards.

“I am proud of the Task Force’s work and appreciate the invaluable contributions of the 18 men and women who gave their time to this process,” he said.

Taylor was killed on March 13, 2020, when three white Louisville police officers used a “no-knock” narcotics warrant to enter her home while she was sleeping. Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend, thought an intruder had broken in and fired a single shot at one of the officers, who retaliated with 32 gunshots—six of which struck and killed Taylor.

Walker was detained and charged with assault and attempted murder of a police officer, but the charges were later dropped. He’s since filed a federal lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department, per ABC News, accusing officers of violating his constitutional rights.

Cameron was previously chastised for failing to charge Brett Hankinson, Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, who were the officers involved in the fatal shooting. Despite the fact that Cosgrove and Hankinson were fired from the department in January, none of the officers have been charged to date.