LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After eight months of meeting and deliberating, the state's search warrant task force has released its final report with eight recommendations.
The 18 member task force was created a year after Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) officers kill Breonna Taylor while executing a warrant at her apartment.
On Tuesday Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced the Search Warrant Task Force approved the following recommendations to advance public safety:
- All state and local agencies should handle search warrants electronically
- Agencies should track the locations warrants are served and should be published and made available for the public.
- Prosecutors should review and approve a proposed search warrant before agencies seek judicial authorization.
- Law enforcement officers should receive search warrant-related training at the beginning of their careers and updated training throughout.
- All law enforcement bodies should adopt, enforce, and regularly update written policies and procedures managing the execution of search warrants.
- The best time of day should be considered when requesting a search warrant.
- Child protective services should be notified when a search warrant may impact a child.
- Law enforcement agencies should adopt some form of a toolkit that includes best practices for search warrants.
"We wouldn't have this conversation if this didn't happen to Breonna, we definitely wouldn't have this conversation," says Chanelle Helm with Black Lives Matter in Louisville.
Helm tells WHAS11 implementing some of the recommendations as law will better protect citizens
"I see the implementation of more training, I see very detailed specific ways to report and hoping that these get amended into law, which is what I did not see anything that said it would be amended into law or specific law," Helm said.
St. Matthews Chief of Police Barry Wilkerson said they are already implementing some of the recommendations, but he knows there could be some challenges.
"Anytime we get extra training that only makes us better and the more training we get only makes us better officers.
"It's not gonna hurt to have that extra step but it will be a little more demanding on our prosecutors to do that, Chief Wilkerson said.
For more information on the task force's final report click here.
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