Louisville suspends no-knock warrants

Police in Louisville, Ky., will stop entering homes to search them without first notifying the residents, at least for now. Mayor Greg Fischer on Friday announced the city’s police department would indefinitely suspend its use of so-called no-knock warrants. The department had already changed the rules once to require the police chief to sign off on no-knock requests before they went to a judge for approval.

What prompted the suspension? Louisville police officers executing a no-knock warrant in a drug case shot and killed 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, an unarmed African American woman, in March. Police said they announced themselves as they entered the home. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said they did not and he thought it was a home invasion. He allegedly fired a shot at them. The officers opened fire, killing Taylor. Her death and the practice of no-knock warrants have become a flashpoint during protests in Kentucky following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck during an arrest.

Dig deeper: Read Sharon Dierberger’s report on how Floyd ended up in Minneapolis.