The Death of Breonna Taylor

On March 13, Breonna Taylor, a 26 year-old African American woman was brutally shot and killed by officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD). Three officers: Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly, Detective Myles Cosgrove, and Detective Brett Hankinson used a battering ram to charge into her apartment under the authority of a search warrant. The officers and Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker exchanged gunfire as Walker believed that the officers were intruded. Over 20 shots were fired, and Taylor was shot eight times. The investigation administered by the LMPD was a search for two people (already in the custody of the police), who were suspected of using Taylor’s apartment as a drug house. The search warrant was authorized because Taylor’s apartment had been targeted for receiving drugs, and a registered car of Taylor’s had been seen parked in front of Jamarcus Glover’s (one of the people in custody who once had a relationship with Taylor) house several times. However, after a thorough search, no drugs were found in the apartment.

Walker had a license to carry a firearm; however, was the first to fire, and in the process, injured one of the officers. The police then returned fire into the apartment more than 20 times. A wrongful death lawsuit that was filed against the police by Taylor’s family stated that the officers entered Taylor’s residency with no announcement of their identity, and also fired openly without regard for Taylor’s life. Currently, all the officers who are involved in the shooting are placed on administrative reassignment pending the investigation. On May 21, the case was reopened and the FBI’s Louisville office announced that it would conduct a thorough investigation of the crime.

On March 14, photos were released revealing the bullet damage done to Taylor. On May 21, the LMPD announced that it will require all officers to wear body cameras and will change how search warrants will be carried out. While the LMPD has received multiple death threats and fake 911 calls where officers were thrown pieces of concrete at them, no officers were injured. On May 29, Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher suspended the use of “No knock” warrants indefinitely. On May 26, protestors surrounded the Mayor’s office, demanding that the three officers be arrested and charged with murder. Two days later, around 600 protestors marched to Downtown Louisville chanting “No justice, no peace, prosecute police!” to raise awareness to Breonna’s case and bring change to the justice system.

In June of 2020, Democrats in Congress introduced the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, a bill that has measures to end racial bias in policing incidents. If the bill was passed, no-knock warrants would also be prohibited.

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Credits

Whitney Curtis/The New York Times