WHEREAS, On March 13, 2020 Louisville, Kentucky law enforcement officers executed a “No Knock Warrant” on the apartment of Ms. Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician by utilizing a battering ram without announcing themselves;¹ and

WHEREAS, Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, placed in imminent fear of a home invasion and of his life, shot his lawfully possessed firearm, striking a law enforcement officer in the thigh; and

WHEREAS, police officers responded by firing several shots into the apartment, striking Ms. Taylor multiple times; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Taylor died from the wounds inflicted by the law enforcement officers; and

WHEREAS, the police did not find any illegal drugs in the residence; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania follows the Castle Doctrine which permits a person to use deadly force to defend their home against intruders;² and

WHEREAS, a failure of police to announce themselves prior to entering a residence to execute a search warrant places both residents and law enforcement officers in threat of serious bodily harm or death; and

WHEREAS, Senate Bill 319 “Breonna’s Law” would amend Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to require law enforcement offers executing a warrant to physically knock and announce themselves before forcibly entering a home;³ and

WHEREAS, said bill would require law enforcement officers to wear a body camera and record contemporaneous and continuous video beginning at least five minutes before executing the warrant, throughout the entire execution of the warrant and ensuing search, and for at least five minutes after the warrant is executed and the ensuring search is completed; and

WHEREAS, said bill would require law enforcement officers to be in uniform or otherwise wear clothing that identifies the law enforcement officers clearly and immediately as law enforcement officers; and

WHEREAS, said bill would mitigate the risk of deadly confrontations between law abiding citizens and law enforcement officers;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Philadelphia Bar Association calls upon the Pennsylvania legislature to pass Senate Bill No. 319 “Reforming No-Knock Warrant Searches – Breonna’s Law” and similar legislation and calls upon the Pennsylvania governor to sign the bill into law; and

IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Governors authorizes the Chancellor or the Chancellor’s designee to communicate the contents of this Resolution to the Pennsylvania legislature, the Pennsylvania governor, other members of his Administration, members of Congress and the public at large, and to take such other action as may be appropriate.

PHILADELPHIA BAR ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Adopted: February 19, 2026

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¹ https://www.congress.gov/117/meeting/house/111301/documents/HHRG-117-JU08-20210311-SD011.pdf

² https://www.palegis.us/senate/co-sponsorship/memo?memoID=45175

³ https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/text/PDF/2025/0/SB0319/PN0253