Breonna Taylor: Killed by Police in her Own Home

Nandiinii Gupta discusses the circumstances surrounding Breonna Taylor's death, as she was killed in her own home by Louisville police. This article explores the public's reaction to the aspiring nurse's death; millions have signed petitions, some have written letters, and others have taken to the streets. The officers involved in her death have been placed on administrative reassignment, while many have welcomed the introduction of "Breonna's Law".

On the 13th of March 2020, Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by members of the Louisville Metro Police Department. Taylor was a 26-year-old African-American emergency medical technician, and was at home when she died. Shortly after midnight, the police allegedly forced entry into her home, where she and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker lived together; officers used a battering ram, and opened fire without announcing their arrival or identifying themselves.

Image credit: Terence Faircloth, mural by HIERO

On May 15, Taylor's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit which stated that Taylor and Walker were sleeping in their bedroom before the incident happened. The police officers were in unmarked transport and none of them were wearing body cameras, as all three were plainclothes narcotics officers. Taylor and Walker thought their home had been broken into by criminals and that "they were in significant, imminent danger." The lawsuit alleged that "the officers then entered Breonna's home without knocking and without announcing themselves as police officers. The defendants then proceeded to spray gunfire into the residence with a total disregard for the value of human life." They proceeded to shoot twenty times, out of which Breonna was hit a total of eight times.

It was recently revealed that the LMPD had released a near-blank incident report wherein the injuries sustained by Breonna were labelled “none.” The police had also checked "no" next to the checkbox marked "forced entry" on the form- a clear deviation from the accounts given by the witnesses and crime scene photos, which showed officers used a battering ram to force entry into the apartment while Taylor was asleep. The original LMPD investigation had been in pursuit of two people who were already in police custody, and were suspected of selling controlled substances from a drug house more than 16 km (10 miles) away. Officers had been issued a “no-knock warrant” signed by Jefferson County Circuit Judge Mary M. Shaw.

Jamarcus Glover, one of the suspects in custody, had been in a prior relationship with Taylor; the search warrant included Taylor's residence because it was suspected of receiving drugs, and because a car registered to Taylor had been seen parked on several occasions in front of Glover's house. However, no drugs were found in the Taylor/Walker residence. The suspected drug dealer had allegedly been seen walking into Taylor's apartment one January afternoon with a USPS package before driving to a known drug house and the US Postal Inspector confirmed that the man had been receiving packages at the apartment. However, Postal Inspector Tony Gooden stated that his office had told police there were no packages of interest being received there.

All three officers involved in the shooting- Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove- were placed on administrative reassignment, pending the outcome of an investigation. Walker initially faced criminal charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer. According to the statement given by LMPD officers, Walker discharged his firearm first, injuring an officer. Walker's lawyer said his client thought that someone was entering the residence illegally and, thus, had acted only in self-defense. The 911 calls were later released to the public, in which Walker was recorded, telling the 911 operator, "somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Louisville office announced it had opened an investigation on the 21st of May - two months after Breonna’s funeral. Robert Brown, the special agent in charge of the office, said, "The FBI will collect all available facts and evidence and will ensure that the investigation is conducted in a fair, thorough and impartial manner."

Taylor's name has become renowned in the recent protests stirred by the killing of George Floyd, and some of the demonstrations have been specifically in her memory. On May 26, a protest, attended by Taylor’s loved ones, took place in Louisville, as demonstrators stood outside Mayor Greg Fischer's, and called for the arrest of the officers involved in her killing. This very demand has also been amplified on social media, as a Change.org petition has been promoted by influential voices such as Janelle Monae, and currently holds more than 3.5 million signatures.

Writer Cate Young called for several action items to be carried out on Taylor's birthday on June 5, using the tag #BirthdayForBreonna. The list included signing the aforementioned petition, donating to legal aid funds or the GoFundMe campaign for Taylor's family, and sending birthday cards to Kentucky's Attorney General, demanding her killers be charged.

Most recently, in Louisville, Kentucky, the Metro Council unanimously voted to pass a law on Thursday evening, outlawing "no-knock" warrants and requiring body cameras be turned on throughout searches. The legislation has been named “Breonna’s Law”, in honor of the victim.

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