Frustrated Black leaders rebuke Lexington mayor ‘unwilling’ to ban no-knock warrants
Lexington’s Black faith leaders criticized the mayor Thursday for failing to listen to their campaign to ban no-knock warrants.
The Black faith leaders gathered Thursday morning outside St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church to reiterate their positions on no-knock warrants, more than a month after the group demanded the city take “immediate steps” toward banning the documents which allow officers to enter a location unannounced. The city hasn’t prohibited them.
But the Black faith leaders feel momentum is mounting in their favor. A committee of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council unanimously voted earlier this month to advance an ordinance that would ban no-knock warrants. The ordinance is expected to be voted on by the full council in June.
Nevertheless, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton still supports the limited use of no-knock warrants.
“She is still unwilling to go beyond the moratorium that she put in place almost a year ago,” Rev. David Peoples said Thursday. “Therefore, Mayor Gorton’s position appears to be unaffected by the citizens who have cried out for her to lead Lexington toward a permanent ban on no-knock warrants.”
Under the mayor’s moratorium enacted last year, no-knock warrants can only be used in life-or-death situations and those warrants have to be approved by Gorton who earlier this month repeated her support for those guidelines.
Gorton said in a statement to the Herald-Leader Thursday that the decision to impose a moratorium was made after listening to input from police and citizens on all side of the issue.
“In Lexington, a no-knock warrant is about life and death situations,” she said. “These warrants are rare, and they can be misunderstood.” Police Chief Lawrence Weathers “has said there are times and situations where no-knock warrants offer more protection for police and for citizens because they involve violent situations, and he has expressed his concerns about eliminating them completely. I understand how difficult this decision is for council members as they hear from many different voices in our community.”
The Black faith leaders maintain that officers can now enter a building — without a warrant — if they feel someone is in imminent danger. That’s allowed by the “exigent circumstances” exemption to unlawful searches and seizures in the Fourth Amendment, they said.
Exigent circumstances are situations where “no-knock warrants — or warrants in general — are not even required,” Rev. Clark Williams said. “That is not a good or legitimate basis for not supporting what we’re calling for.”
The Black faith leaders from Lexington and surrounding counties said some Lexington council members have revealed their positions on no-knock warrants as the group previously requested, and the unanimous committee vote indicated the majority of the council supports the ban.
Gorton’s moratorium on no-knock warrants “is simply not enough,” Peoples said. It “does not carry the permanence of an ordinance, and the lack of a willingness to support an ordinance certainly gives the appearance that very little has really changed.”
The Black faith leaders aren’t alone. In October the Lexington Commission for Racial Justice and Equality, which was assembled by Gorton, recommended the city enact a permanent ban on no-knock warrants. It was one of 54 recommendations the commission made to address systemic racism in Lexington.
Lexington’s proposed search warrant rules also an issue
The faith leaders were not entirely happy with the rules for other searches included in the ban approved by the council committee.
The ordinance states police officers executing a search warrant must knock and wait a reasonable amount of time before entering. The Black faith leaders said the language is too subjective, and they’d prefer the ordinance require officers to wait 30 seconds after knocking.
The ordinance’s language previously stated that officers must wait 15 seconds or a reasonable amount of time before entering, but the 15-second minimum was deleted in a council committee meeting. Louisville has a 15-second minimum wait.
Louisville banned no-knock warrants and implemented the wait time last year after after Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville police during a botched raid of her apartment.
‘People are beginning to’ pressure local leaders on no-knock warrants
The Black faith leaders said Thursday they plan to continue calling for the city to ban no-knock warrants as the time nears for the council to vote on the proposed ordinance. Residents who want a ban enacted were urged to email and call the mayor’s office and local council members.
“People are beginning to do that in support of this particular issue,” Williams said.
Williams said the Black faith leaders plan to take additional action when the vote gets closer, but he said the action wouldn’t be announced until later.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 1:53 PM.