FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 11, 2024
Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343
Dr. Paul to Reintroduce Justice for Breonna Taylor Act with Rep. McGarvey Introducing House Version
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) will reintroduce the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act in the U.S. Senate. Congressman Morgan McGarvey (D-KY-03) will introduce the House version of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation would prohibit no-knock warrants, which allow law enforcement officials to forcibly enter a home without announcing their authority or purpose.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) is an original cosponsor of the Senate version of the legislation. You can read the Senate version of the bill HERE.
“It’s long past time to get rid of no-knock warrants. This bill will effectively end no-knock raids in the United States, and I’m pleased to work with Rep. McGarvey and Sen. Booker on this important legislation,” said Dr. Paul.
“Louisvillians remember Breonna Taylor and are still grieving the tragedy of her inexcusable killing by police. After Breonna’s death, we passed a ban on no-knock warrants at the state and local level — if we can do this in Kentucky, we can do this nationally,” said Rep. McGarvey. “I’m proud to partner with Senators Rand Paul and Cory Booker to move this important bill forward in the House and Senate. The Justice for Breonna Taylor Act is going to protect people and keep our communities safe.”
“Breonna Taylor’s horrific death nearly four years ago was a flashpoint in our country’s conscience for the need for policing reform. No knock entries where police barge into a home unannounced are one of the most inherently dangerous, and often deadly, law enforcement practices for communities and for officers,” said Sen. Booker. “No one should ever experience the horror of being startled from their sleep by police executing a no-knock warrant. Many cities and states, including Louisville, Kentucky where Breonna was fatally shot, have already taken steps to enact legislation prohibiting these unlawful procedures, but we must take action at the federal level. I am proud to work with Senator Paul to introduce and pass the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act, a crucial, long-overdue public safety bill to ensure that such tragedies never occur again in our nation.”
The bill is named in memory and honor of Breonna Taylor, a Louisville resident and EMT who was killed during a police raid on her home in March 2020, which was conducted under the authority of a no-knock warrant.
The Justice for Breonna Taylor Act would require federal law enforcement officers to provide notice of their authority and purpose before they could execute a warrant, and it would require the same of any state or local law enforcement agency that receives funds from the Department of Justice.
Dr. Paul previously introduced the legislation in 2020 after working with the family of Breonna Taylor, Game Changers Executive Director Christopher 2X, and others fighting for criminal justice reform.
Kentucky is a leader nationwide in addressing this issue with the State Legislature passing a limit on the use of no-knock warrants in 2021. Dr. Paul and Rep. McGarvey are continuing those efforts on the federal level. Ahead of traveling to Washington, D.C. this week, Sen. Paul and Rep. McGarvey hosted a press conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
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