By Jeremy Chisenhall
Lexington Herald-Leader
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton has signed into law an ordinance which bans no-knock warrants in Fayette County, she told the Herald-Leader Friday morning.
The Lexington council approved the ordinance Thursday night in a 10-5 vote, but Gorton had the option to sign it or veto it. The council would’ve needed at least nine votes in favor of the ordinance to override the veto. But Gorton signing the document made it law, effective immediately.
Gorton previously voiced opposition to totally banning no-knock warrants in Lexington. But she signed the ordinance into law after hearing from local residents who wanted to ban no-knock warrants during the council’s public comment section Thursday.
“It was democracy in action, and sometimes it’s messy,” she said. “That’s just how it goes ... Sometimes it got divisive. And it’s OK for people to disagree, but then we need to move on.”
She also took into account comments from Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers, who told the council Thursday night that if the community and the council voted to ban no-knock warrants, he would follow their wishes. “If banning no-knocks is what you want, I will do it,” Weathers said.
Lexington police must now knock and announce themselves before entering premises to execute a search warrant, according to the ordinance.
The police department would have to “adjust our tactics to still keep the amount of safety that no-knock warrants provided everybody on both sides of the door” if no-knock warrants were banned, Weathers said last month.
When asked how the tactics would change now that no-knock warrants are banned, Sgt. Donnell Gordon said Friday it’s against department policy “to provide details of tactical changes.”
Gorton enacted a moratorium on no-knock warrants after Breonna Taylor was killed by Louisville police officers who were serving a warrant at her apartment last year. The moratorium put stricter rules on use of those warrants; the mayor’s sign-off was required.
Gorton previously said she would like to keep the rules of the moratorium in place, allowing for no-knock warrants to be accessed only in life-or-death circumstances. She said Friday that there hadn’t been any requests from the police department for a no-knock warrant after she enacted the moratorium.
The Fraternal Order of Police Bluegrass Lodge No. 4 on Thursday resumed its social media attacks on the council members who voted to ban the no-knock warrants.
“These council members voted against the safety of our officers and the community tonight,” the Fraternal Order of Police said in a Facebook post.
The local police union has persistently castigated what it viewed as nonsupportive council members and others. The union previously pressured the council to block the ordinance by getting the Fayette County Republican Party to oppose the ban.
The FOP blasted — on social media — the nine council members who voted in favor of the ordinance earlier in the process, saying, “city leaders are less concerned with your safety than they are with pandering to a small group of radically anti-police protestors.”
Black leaders: No reason for opposite sides to be ‘adversarial’
Rev. Clark Williams is a member of a group of Black faith leaders in Lexington who have pushed for a ban on no-knock warrants for more than a year. He said the enacted ban was a “relief” and the Black faith leaders want to work with those on the other side of the issue.
“I’m hopeful those who are on the other side of the issue can appreciate that we disagreed on the issue, but there is absolutely no reason for this to be viewed as an adversarial situation,” he said. " ... No one in Lexington wants the city to be any safer than we do, and so we all have a vested interest in that.”
Gorton also said “it’s very important to me to continue working with the Black ministers.” She added that she’s “laser-focused” on implementing recommendations made by her Commission for Racial Justice and Equity. The commission recommended 54 ways the city could address systemic racism.
In addition to the 54 recommendations, the co-chairs of the commission suggested it would be “prudent” for Lexington to ban no-knock warrants.
The group of Black faith leaders “will be focusing attention” on how council members voted on the ban, Williams said. They’re also going to shift their focus to other issues of racial equity.
“That was merely just a step,” Williams said of the no-knock warrant ban. “That was not the journey. That was not the battle. That was merely a round in the fight for racial justice and equity.”
The group plans to continue pushing for more public involvement in the police department’s disciplinary processes, Williams said. The group said it has met resistance in that effort because of the police collective bargaining agreement and state law.
The Black faith leaders also want to work with local business leaders and improve economic opportunities for Lexington’s Black residents.
“We believe that’s going to be the linchpin to erasing a multitude of disparities,” Williams said.
(c)2021 the Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.)