Bipartisan Kentucky duo makes renewed push to ban no-knock warrants after death of Breonna Taylor

A bipartisan Kentucky duo is renewing a push to ban no-knock warrants in the aftermath of the death of Breonna Taylor, as Congress has struggled to enact policing reforms.

Sen. Rand Paul (R) and Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D), flanked by Taylor’s mother at an event in Kentucky, vowed to keep fighting to ban the practice nearly four years after her death. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who played a key role in prior police reform negotiations, will be the lead Democratic co-sponsor of the bill in the Senate.

“I'm very hopeful that this will move forward. I'm sorry, that took the death of Breonna to get everybody unified,” Paul said. “We might try to see if it can pass unanimously.”

Taylor died in March 2020 after police in Louisville forced entry into her apartment through a no-knock raid.

“We think this legislation is necessary because it will continue to halt the practice of no-knock warrants in Kentucky and nationwide — and it's very effective,” McGarvey said.

The office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to comment on whether he’d back the measure.

Context: There was a surge in police reform talks following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police in 2020. But the talks ultimately collapsed in September 2021, with negotiators saying their differences were simply too vast.

Booker pronounced himself as “sobered” in February 2023 by those talks collapsing, but indicated he thought something short of comprehensive police reform could still get done. There’s been little indication of movement in Congress since that time.

“It's been four years. It's been hard — it continues to be hard — but I still fight and I still make sure that what happened to Brianna doesn't happen again,” said Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer.