Lexington police use controversial no-knock warrants. But guidelines are ‘stringent’
Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers confirmed that Lexington uses no-knock search warrants after Mayor Greg Fischer suspended their use in Louisville Friday.
But the standards and guidelines for those warrants in Lexington are “pretty stringent,” Weathers said.
“It’s reviewed at several different supervisory levels, and we only have one unit – Emergency Response Unit – that executes those,” Weathers said. “And even before we let a judge see our warrant, the request for a no-knock is vetted several times.”
Lexington hasn’t served a no-knock warrant in the last year, police said later.
A no-knock warrant allows police to enter a residence unannounced. It is legal to execute no-knock warrants when trying to prevent the destruction of evidence. Louisville police were searching for narcotics and a suspect who lived elsewhere in the city when they forced their way into Breonna Taylor’s apartment and shot and killed her in March, prompting public outrage and protests as more information about the officers’ actions has been disclosed. No drugs were found.
Weathers said he doesn’t think the policy in Lexington will change, but he wouldn’t rule out changes because Lexington is “constantly evaluating” its policies.
“Certain situations come up and we have to look at our policy and see if that fits ... what standard protocol for policing is at the time, and if that’s what our community wants at the time.”
He said he’s comfortable with the policy because the department takes other steps to emphasize safety.
“There are some other strategic things that we do to even create more safety, not just for our officers but for the people we’re serving the search warrant on too,” Weathers said.
Although no-knock search warrants permit officers to enter a location without first knocking and announcing their presence, once inside, officers will continually announce that they are police officers and that they have a search warrant, according to Lexington police. That helps “potentially reduce the risk of physical injury to suspects, officers and uninvolved members of the public.”
Multiple supervisors are involved in the decision to seek district court judge authorization of a warrant “on a limited basis due to exigent circumstances.” The officer discusses the case with the unit sergeant. If the sergeant agrees, they discuss it with the unit lieutenant, who will confer with the Emergency Response Unit commander, according to Lexington police. Should all agree a no-knock warrant is appropriate, district judge authorization is sought.
Despite having a court-authorized no-knock warrant, the Emergency Response Unit could use a different approach on scene based on factors it encounters.
As outrage over Taylor’s death grows, protests over police killings of black residents have spread to other cities since four Minneapolis police officers were fired in the death of George Floyd. On Friday, white officer Derek Chauvin — who was seen on video pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck for many minutes before Floyd died — was charged with murder.
At Thursday’s Louisville demonstration over Taylor’s death, violence broke out and seven were shot by someone in the crowd.
Weathers said the department was prepared if protests occur in Lexington.
“We’re always kind of a little bit prepared for some of that stuff,” Weathers said.
To that end, Weathers called Friday’s press conference to address some of the polarizing issues in Taylor’s death and other cases around the country.
‘Why is this happening?’
“Two questions always come up: How and why? I think training is pretty standard across the country for police officers,” Weathers said. “So when you see some things that appear like they go against what we’re being taught, you just naturally go ‘why is this happening? Why is is this continually happening, and how is it being allowed to happen?’”
Weathers said there are never any guarantees that an officer-involved death won’t happen, but he said Lexington police try to build trust with the community and try to be transparent if things go wrong.
“If we don’t build those connections prior to something that happens, people won’t talk to us,” he said. “People won’t tell us what’s going on.”
Weathers said he is focused on protecting and serving everyone in Lexington, including those who have committed crimes.
“If their life is in danger — they can’t breathe, then my job is to make sure they can breathe.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 4:11 PM.