Breonna Taylor

On the eve of the last day of BreonnaCon, family members of Black people killed by police and gun violence rallied in Louisville to show their support for a bill that would ban no-knock warrants in Kentucky and to let it be known that they’d like to see a nationwide ban. 

BreonnaCon wraps up Tuesday with what organizers, the social justice group Until Freedom, says will be big direct action event on “Good Trouble Tuesday.”

Until Freedom held a press conference Monday, focusing on a push for “Breonna’s Law for Kentucky,” a statewide ban on no-knock warrants.

Democratic Senate candidate Amy McGrath traded words with Kentucky’s 

 Republican Attorney General, Daniel Cameron on Friday over the pace of his investigation into the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor.

Cameron’s office took on the case in May, two months after Taylor was shot in her home during a middle-of-the-night raid linked to a broader narcotics investigation. McGrath said in a statement Friday that he was taking too long.

“The AG has failed to convey to the public that his office is making this investigation a priority,” she said, according to a news release. “In fact, he has failed to communicate much at all with the public about this case. This shouldn’t be political, but Cameron is drawing out this process as faith in his ability to conduct a proper investigation continues to erode. With more than 200 employees, including some of the top investigators in the state, why, after 100 days, don’t we have a final report by the AG’s office?”

Kentucky’s statewide police union is speaking out against a proposal to ban no-knock search warrants and penalize officers who don’t activate body cameras while executing search warrants.

Louisville Democratic Rep. Attica Scott proposed the measure, which she named “Breonna’s Law” for Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by Louisville police executing a no-knock search warrant in March.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police said that the bill was “based on an incomplete investigation and no facts” and that it didn’t provide due process for officers.

State Rep. Attica Scott unveiled proposed legislation Sunday morning that would ban no-knock warrants statewide. 

Scott, a Democrat who represents part of Jefferson County, was joined by several of her colleagues as well as local community organizers and activists in Jefferson Square Park for the announcement. She said the bill is to ensure that what happened to Louisville resident Breonna Taylor never occurs again. Taylor was killed in March by Louisville Metro Police officers executing a warrant with a provision that allowed them to enter without knocking.

“There was never a need for no-knock search warrants like the one used in Breonna’s case,” she said. “While this type of warrant is now banned here in Metro Louisville and appears to have little use elsewhere, I want to make sure statewide law keeps it from ever coming back.”

Family members of Breonna Taylor and their attorneys are renewing their call for the police officers involved in her death to be fired and criminally charged.

Thursday marked 150 days since Taylor, a 26 year-old Black woman and emergency medical technician, was shot to death by Louisville police officers executing a no-knock search warrant on her home in the middle of the night.

Ben Crump, a lawyer representing Taylor’s family, said he expects that the investigation into Taylor’s death will be resolved “sooner rather than later.”

The Jefferson County Attorney will not proceed with felony charges against protesters who demonstrated outside Kentucky Attorney Daniel Cameron’s home earlier this week.

Louisville Metro Police arrested 87 peaceful protesters on charges that included a felony — intimidation of a participant in a legal process — police spokespeople said this week. County Attorney Mike O’Connell said he came to the decision after reviewing the law, according to a news release from his office.

“While we do believe the LMPD had probable cause for the charge, in the interest
of justice and the promotion of the free exchange of ideas, we will dismiss that charge for each protestor arrested this past Tuesday,” he said, according to the release. “We continue to review the misdemeanors and violations for prosecution at a later date.”

Police arrested 87 protesters participating in a sit-in on the lawn of Attorney General Daniel Cameron Tuesday evening, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.

LMPD released a statement saying protesters were arrested for trespassing at Cameron’s request. 

“All were given the opportunity to leave, were told that remaining on the property would be unlawful, and chose not to leave,” said Sgt. Lamont Washington in a statement.  

One by one, officers detained protesters dressed in white as they called for the swift conclusion of the investigation into the shooting death of Breonna Taylor.

An armed counter protest to “restore order” in Louisville scheduled for Saturday is organized by a member of the Kentucky National Guard, according to social media posts.

“On the morning of June 27, armed freedom fighter patriots will march upon Louisville Kentucky to restore order,” the original post reads. “These Patriotic Americans will remain peaceful unless they find it necessary to defend themselves from opposition.”

The rally comes after weeks of protests against racism and police violence in Louisville after Louisville Metro Police officers killed 26 year-old Breonna Taylor in her home while serving a warrant. Gov. Andy Beshear activated the National Guard and sent members to Louisville to assist local law enforcement with the protests from May 31. The National Guard was withdrawn on June 2, the day after LMPD and Guardsmen shot at local restaurant owner David McAtee while enforcing a curfew. An investigation later determined McAtee was killed by a round fired by a member of the National Guard.

Mayor Greg Fischer announced Friday morning that Brett Hankison is getting fired after the chief found he “displayed an extreme indifference to the value of human life” when he shot Breonna Taylor.

Hankison was one of three officers who has been on paid administrative leave since the March 13 shooting, when Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot and killed by plainclothes LMPD officers while they were executing a warrant. Fischer said interim chief Robert Schroeder is initiating termination proceedings.

Mayor Greg Fischer has announced a more thorough review of sexual assault allegations against Louisville Metro Police officer Brett Hankison, and has asked that he be removed from his role on the Louisville Police Merit Board.

Hankison is one of three officers who fired on Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman killed by police in her home in March. He’s currently on paid administrative reassignment while the investigation into that shooting continues.

Last week, two women came forward on social media to accuse Hankison of sexual assault, and claimed there were several other victims as well.

The plain-clothes officers who killed Breonna Taylor while executing a search warrant at her home on March 13 had previously worn body cameras, a lawyer for the Taylor family claims.

In court documents filed on Tuesday, Louisville attorney Sam Aguiar alleges officers from Louisville Metro Police Department’s Criminal Interdiction Unit had been assigned body cameras, evidenced by footage from previous cases and by previous citations issued by the officers which identify the use of body cameras.