Kentucky Democratic senate candidate Mike Broihier, a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel who is currently a farmer, is calling for the end of “no knock” warrants.
The shooting death of Breonna Taylor may forever impact the way in which warrants like the one issued the night the Kentucky EMT was killed are approved by authorities, a senate hopeful told InsideEdition.com.
Taylor, 26, was shot to death when three officers opened fire at her Louisville apartment in the middle of the night on March 13. Police obtained a no-knock warrant before using a battering ram to enter Taylor's apartment at around 1 a.m. as part of a narcotics investigation, according to court documents obtained by Louisville-Courier Journal.
“I just can't imagine that judge ever looking at an affidavit for a warrant the same way ever again, and sadly, it was because of the result of the loss of life in this particular case,” Kentucky Democratic senate candidate Mike Broihier told InsideEdition.com.
Broihier, a farmer and retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, is calling for the end of “no knock” warrants. And he's not alone. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul said on Tuesday that “no knock” warrants should be forbidden.
"No one should lose their life in pursuit of a crime without a victim, and 'no-knock' warrants should be forbidden," Paul told the Louisville-Courier Journal. "Let’s hope the investigation provides justice."
"Rarely do I find myself agreeing with Rand Paul," Broihier said, "[But] even a broken clock is right twice a day.”
Broihier pointed to the trajectory of the bullets fired the night Taylor was killed. "I mean, [they] traveled through walls, traveled through floors, into adjoining apartments,” he said. “Breonna was at home in her bed. I don't know if you can assume a more innocent position of being at home, asleep in your bed.
"I cannot imagine what would happen in my house if someone burst [through] my door at one o'clock in the morning with flashlights yelling, screaming, ‘get on…’ My first assumption wouldn't be that it's a cop," he said.
Taylor's family has filed a lawsuit against three officers with the department alleging Taylor and her boyfriend were home in bed and thought they were being burglarized when officers showed up at their home after midnight. Taylor’s boyfriend, 27-year-old Kenneth Walker, allegedly opened fire on cops with his licensed weapon and one officer was shot in the leg, police said. The lawsuit says police then fired more than 20 round into the home “blindly.”
Louisville police claim they knocked on Taylor’s door several times while executing their warrant before entering and identified themselves as police before they were “immediately met by gunfire,” according to Lt. Ted Eidem.
Neighbors of Taylor and Walker, however, said police did not identify themselves, according to the family’s lawsuit. Walker called 911 during the ordeal and police informed him he’d shot an officer.
Taylor’s boyfriend, 27-year-old Kenneth Walker, allegedly opened fire on cops with his licensed weapon and one officer was shot in the leg, police said. Walker has been charged with assault and attempted murder on a police officer. Walker has pleaded not guilty and has been released to "home incarceration."
Neither Taylor nor Walker were the investigation's target. Police had suspected, though, that Taylor’s home was used by another person to receive drugs. Neither Taylor nor Walker had any criminal history and no drugs were located in the home.
On Monday, Louisville Metro Police Department will change its search warrant policy and officers will be required to wear body cameras, Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher announced. Fisher said that “no-knock” search warrants will now need a sign-off from the police chief before they are sent to a judge for approval.
“This is a step, but we know there needs to be more conversation on the use of these warrants,” the mayor said.
The mayor also announced that plainclothes officers, like those involved in the Taylor case, will also have to wear body cameras while executing a search warrant.
Still, more needs to be done, Broihier said, noting the shootings like that of Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery signals that in America, the lives of black people are “not worth ... the life of another person. And sadly, I think that it is going to require a huge cultural shift in law enforcement in this country, before it starts making a difference.”
Broihier pointed to the calling into question of Arbery's reputation especially, saying, “what we've seen is this narrative coming out again and again, and again, is ‘This person was no angel. They were kind of asking for it.’ Citing examples “with Trayvon Martin, ‘he was no angel,’ and the same thing with Ahmaud Arbery, ‘He's suspicious.’ And so this narrative's allowed to be built because some people assume that it's going to fly.
"It needs to change.”
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