No-Knock Warrants are Banned in Killeen After City Council Vote

The Killeen City Council has voted to ban no-knock warrants with a 6-1 vote.

According to our news partners at KWTX, the Tuesday evening vote came a week after a proposed ordinance that would ban a peace officer employed by the city from requesting, executing or participating in a no-knock warrant.

The ordinance was proposed by Killeen Police Chief Charles Kimble, who also said that his department would accept the results of the vote and change the way they operate.

The ordinance reads in part, “No peace officer employed by the City of Killeen, including the Chief of Police as provided in section 22-26, may request, execute or participate in the execution of any search warrant that does not require the officer to knock and announce his or her presence prior to execution.”

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Following the 90 day hold, which ended in October 2020, a judge would have to approve the no-knock warrant if one was requested.

The vote to ban no-knock warrants in Killeen comes at a time when the practice is under the national microscope. The biggest unrest came after Louisville police shot and killed Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March of 2020, which led to nationwide protests.

Killeen has seen some issues with no-knock warrants in the past as well. A Killeen officer was killed in 2013 while serving a no-knock warrant. In 2019, James Scott Reed of Killeen was killed during a no-knock raid.

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Reed's sister, Jumeka Reed, led a petition calling for the no-knock ban back in December of 2020 saying, “No-knock warrants are too risky and usually the suspect pays the price.”

Personally, I think stopping the no-knock warrants is a step forward in protecting the lives of KPD officers and innocent bystanders.

What do you think?

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