Courtesy of Rep. LaKeshia Myers Facebook
Rep. LaKeshia Myers (D-Milwaukee) of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Rep. LaKeshia Myers (D-Milwaukee) introduced legislation that would ban the use of no-knock warrants in the state of Wisconsin, which happens to be the first state to authorize the use of that type of enforcement in 1997. According to legal scholars, no-knock warrants remain more prevalent in Wisconsin than any other state.
A no-knock warrant, according to Cornell Law School, is a search warrant authorizing police officers to enter certain premises without first knocking and announcing their presence or purpose prior to entering the premises.
“It is most appropriate for us to begin Black History Month 2021 by introducing ‘Breonna’s Law,’” says Rep. Myers. “Breonna Taylor’s life was taken while she was in the comfort of her own home, through the use of a no-knock warrant. While Taylor was not the subject of the warrant, her life was mercilessly ended through no fault of her own.”
Rep. Myers calls on Wisconsin legislators to end the use of no-knock warrants and sites the recent story of a Milwaukee police officer who lost his life serving one such warrant.
“Milwaukee police officer Matthew Rittner was killed in the line of duty while his tactical unit executed a no-knock warrant in February 2019,” says Rep. Myers. “Because of a no-knock warrant, a wife lost her husband, Milwaukee lost a police officer and a child lost its father. As the state that created no-knock warrants, Wisconsin has the responsibility to be the state to end their use. When you know better, you must do better and this is a step in the right direction.”
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The hope for the legislation to become law rests in the hands of the Republican leadership in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Hopefully this will be seen as the right thing to do, not another idea to be shot down because it comes from the Democratic side of aisle.
