Ky. Supreme Court Debates Whether Cities Can Ban No-Knock Warrants Without Police Input

Did Lexington officials overstep when they banned no-knock search and arrest warrants without discussing it with local police?

That was the question before the Kentucky Supreme Court justices Thursday during oral arguments: whether Kentucky cities can enact such changes for local police departments without input from police unions.

The debate began when Lexington passed an ordinance in 2021 that banned city police from using no-knock warrants — a type of warrant where officers can barge into a home without first knocking on the front door or announcing themselves.

The local police union, which advocates on behalf of police officers, claimed the change was unlawful and ran afoul of the union’s collective bargaining agreement because the union was not consulted about the change.

The ban came a year after public outcry nationwide following the fatal Louisville police shooting of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman and emergency room technician, whose apartment was raided with a signed no-knock warrant. The Louisville Metro Police Department said officers announced their presence before forcing entry with a battering ram.

The warrant aimed to seize evidence related to a suspected drug trafficking ring in Louisville involving Taylor’s ex-boyfriend. After police broke down Taylor’s front door, her boyfriend fired one shot from inside the apartment because he said he believed the officers were intruders, striking a police sergeant. Three officers returned fire, killing Taylor.

The Lexington lawsuit, filed by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #4, which represents Lexington officers, has made its way through Kentucky courts over the past four years.

The union is represented by lawyer Nicholas Oleson, who argued Thursday that Lexington must hear officers’ concerns about how banning no-knock warrants could harm them and affect their employment.

Jason Renzelmann, who represents Lexington, argued the city is not required to consult the union on policy issues that are a matter of public interest and safety.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the issue later this year.

Lexington’s no-knock warrants ban

No-knock warrants are preferred by police in instances where announcing their presence could put them at risk of physical violence or allow a suspect to destroy evidence, according to court briefings.

But critics of the practice have argued that allowing police to barge into a home without announcing themselves presents privacy concerns, as well as a risk of violent confrontations for police and residents alike.

In March 2021, a year after Taylor’s death, the Kentucky General Assembly passed Senate Bill 4, which placed limitations on no-knock warrants statewide and requires an exclusion of evidence collected during an invalid warrant search.

Senate Bill 4 did not ban the use entirely, but it also did not stop cities from banning them.

Lexington and Louisville are among the cities to do just that, Louisville in 2020 with what was called “Breonna’s Law,” and Lexington the following year.

Louisville’s police union denounced the move, while Lexington’s filed suit six days after the city adopted the ban.

Fayette Circuit Judge Kimberly Bunnell sided with the city and dismissed the union’s complaint in December 2021.

The Court of Appeals reversed Bunnell’s decision in June 2023, siding with the union and ruling the city had to speak with the Fraternal Order of Police about whether a ban would undermine or enhance public and officer safety.

City: Collective bargaining does not apply to policy change

State statute requires Kentucky cities to engage in collective bargaining with police unions on “questions of wages, hours, and other conditions of employment.”

But Lexington officials argue the rule does not apply to policy changes like banning no-knock warrants. Rather, the legislature limited the use of such warrants, and the city is allowed to ban them altogether, they say.

Supreme Court Justice Michelle Keller argued Thursday that arguments from Renzelmann, the attorney for Lexington, could be too broad and “ripe for abuse.”

“Whether it be in a government setting like it is here, or a private setting, a hospital setting — all kinds of policies can be made, but it could put a nurse in danger, a steel worker in danger,” she said. “The policy may be, ‘Oh, we are going to be more efficient and lower our prices and make more money, but we are going to put our employees at risk.’

“So, I just don’t think you can make a blanket statement that because it’s a policy, it can’t possibly have been participated in collective bargaining.”

Renzelmann argued the city did not engage with police unions to discuss implementing policies such as stop-and-frisk, unbiased policing or body cameras.

He argued the police union was using their collective bargaining claim to further their political position against the ban on no-knock warrants.

“The union was outspoken to say the least in political opposition to this when it was before the commission,” Renzelmann said. “Their voices were heard. They did not prevail in that political process. The point of the law is that they can’t use collective bargaining to get additional leverage to advance their views and interests that are not directly related to what is supposed to be directly related to bargaining.”

Renzelmann asked the state’s highest court to uphold the decision made by the trial court.

Police: Bargaining required, officers at risk

Oleson argued that the ban on no-knock warrants affects the employment threatens the safety of Lexington police officers.

“If an officer is handed a warrant today, with a ban on no-knock warrants, and is told by a commander, ‘Go serve this warrant,’ and the officer personally believes this is probably a situation that would benefit from no-knock circumstances ... can the officer protest that point without facing insubordination?”

Justice Kelly Thompson questioned Oleson about whether not knocking is more unsafe for officers than announcing an officer’s presence.

Oleson cited a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case where a suspect was heavily armed and threatened to shoot police officers who arrived at his residence.

Under the Lexington ordinance, police would be required to respond to the scene by knocking and announcing themselves — heightening their risk for violent confrontation, Oleson said.

Justices noted that the city hosted public meetings to discuss the ordinance that banned no-knock warrants. Oleson said he could not answer if members of the police union attended the meetings, though the union president did communicate with Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton via email, according to court documents.

Oleson requested the higher court to send the case back to Bunnell, the Fayette circuit judge, and require the city to participate in fact-finding and collective bargaining with the union.

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