Kentucky’s Gov. Andy Beshear signs new bill on Police raid into state law on Friday that restricts the use of “no-knock” police raids to incidents involving serious crime. The new legislation was enacted in response to the murder of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was shot and killed by police.

The proposed legislation comes in response to the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was shot and killed by police during a botched drug search in March 2020. Taylor’s death sparked national protests.

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“This is a significant improvement. It will save lives and drive us forward,” Beshear, a Democrat, said at the bill signing, which was attended by Taylor’s mother, a tearful Tamika Palmer, at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage in Louisville.

Beshear said that he was signing the bill “to ensure that no other mother goes through the agony Tamika Palmer has gone through.”

The current legislation prohibits unannounced, late-night drug searches such as the one that killed Taylor while she slept. There were no drugs found, and it was later determined that the police searched the wrong spot.

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The measure, which Beshear signed into law, restricts no-knock searches by officers to incidents including violent offences such as robbery, robbery, or assault, and prohibits arrests between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. It is not a complete ban on the police tactic that Taylor’s family had hoped for.

“While it is not the complete legislation that they desired in terms of a complete moratorium on no-knock warrants, they are pleased that this is a start and a victory in a highly split General Assembly,” the family’s counsel, Lonita Baker, told The Associated Press.

While no charges were brought against the officers who shot into Taylor’s apartment, the Louisville police department dismissed two officers participating in the raid.

The Louisville chief of police announced his resignation amid public outrage, and the city of Louisville suspended the use of no-knock warrants indefinitely.
In other news, the state of Virginia banned all no-knock warrants last year. In Florida and Oregon, no-knock warrants are not permitted.

The city of Louisville decided to settle a wrongful death case in September by paying Taylor’s relatives $12 million and all via a report on Aljazeera at the time.

The Investigating Panel on the act of Police brutality in the #ENDSARS protest has yesterday awarded about N575.8 million damages against the Nigerian Police after reviewing 20 of the 44 petitions received for right violations by the Police force.

The Investigating panel of the #EndSars petitions headed by retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Suleiman Galadima, heard 20 amongst the 44 petitions set before it in an executive session yesterday being Thursday the 18th day of March 2021.

The National Human Rights Commission while speaking on the matter yesterday, emphasised that a total number of 44 petitions was what was received by the above-mentioned panel, in which they are investigating the various incidents of Police brutality as contained therein and that it’s centred on judgement debts incurred by the Police force as a result of various right violations of petitioners.

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In line with statements per reports, a total sum amounting to N575.8 million were awarded against the Nigerian Police in the judgement (likewise known as Judgement Debt) given by the panel yesterday after considering 20 petitions out of the entire 44.

Hillary Ogbonna, the Secretary of the Panel spoke on the way in which the Judgement debt is to be paid and also brought to light the decision of the Panel Ordering the Nigerian Police to issue apologies to some of the petitioners who have same included as part of their compensation.

In the statement of Mr Ogbonna as reported and quoted by the PremiumTimes, he had the following to say:

Police have to make a “commitment to respect court orders while part of the money will be paid from the human rights compensation funds which are expected to be paid for such purposes”

“Apart from assisting the victims of human rights violations to get their compensation paid, the panel has also taken decision to order the Police authority to issue apologies to some of the petitioners who have the issuance of apology as part of their compensation”.

 

The House of Assembly Enugu State is in the process of passing a Bill, which seeks to pass into law the payment or provision of a Life pension payment scheme for all former governors and deputy governors of the State. The Bill has already scaled through the hurdle of the first reading within the Enugu State House of Assembly.

The Executive bill to provide Life Pension for Ex-governors and their deputies was presented before the house for first reading during the plenary on Thursday the 11th day of March 2021. The bill sought to grant ex-governors and their deputies an entitlement in the form of a life pension for life, after their 4-8 years of service or terms of Office in the state and at the expense of the Enugu State government.

While on the other side, the Bill goes on to provide for medical allowances not exceeding the tune of N12 million per annum for one surviving spouse of an ex-governor or their deputies; so far as the said spouse was married to the governor while in office.

Amongst other things, the Bill seeks to provide adequate security for ex-governors for the entirety of their lifetime, and also would require that the state government provide them with three (3) vehicles which is to be replaced every four years.

The bill likewise provides that the state government must arrange and bear the cost of the burial of an ex-governor and their deputies upon demise. the State government shall in lieu of the same, pay condolence allowance of a sum equivalent to the annual basic salary of the incumbent governor at that time to the next of kin of the deceased ex-governor or their deputies.

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The Bill however comes with a caveat that for any ex-governor or their deputies to be entitled to the benefits of this intended law, he or she must not have been impeached from office.

The Deputy Speaker of the Enugu House of Assembly, Uche Ugwu presided over the plenary and adjourned the said plenary after the first reading to Tuesday the 16th day of March 2021 for further reading before the House.