Kentucky Supreme Court overturns Lexington's no-knock warrant ban

Last week, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that Lexington’s no-knock warrant ban was in conflict with state statute. The ruling means that the Lexington Police Department is now able to serve no-knock warrants in accordance with state law.

The no-knock warrant ban was passed by Council in 2021 after nearly a year of debate. The ordinance was debated after nationwide protests in 2020 following the killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, who was killed by the Louisville Police Department as they served a no-knock warrant.

The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) — the union that represents Lexington’s Police Department — sued LFUCG to overturn the ban, arguing that the policy should have been included in collective bargaining agreements.

The Kentucky Supreme Court's majority opinion did not address the FOP’s argument, instead arguing that the local ordinance conflicted with regulations on no-knock warrants passed by the State Legislature in 2021.

The state regulations require a judge to sign-off on a no-knock warrant before it’s executed, limit no-knock warrants to being used on potentially violent suspects, and require them to be used in certain hours of the day when most people are awake.

The Mayor’s Administration has not issued a statement on the Court ruling as of the writing of this newsletter.