A drawing of Breonna Taylor held at a vigil for her in Louisville, Kentucky.
New details have been revealed regarding the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT who was killed in her home while police officers conducted a raid on her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment. According to the New York Times, a new court filing says Taylor, who was Black, was alive for six minutes after being shot and was not offered any medical attention.
“In the six minutes that elapsed from the time Breonna was shot, to the time she died, we have no evidence suggesting that any officer made entry in an attempt to check and assist her,” the family’s lawyer Sam Aguiar told the Times. “She suffered.”
Around 1 a.m on March 13, police officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Criminal Interdiction Division used a no-knock warrant to enter Taylor’s home, WDRB reported. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, became frightened and shot at the officers, hitting Sergeant John Mattingly in the leg. The police responded with massive gunfire and shot Taylor five times, the New York Times reported. Walker was charged with attempted murder but those charges were later dismissed after the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened its own case, according to USA Today.
Officer Brett Hankison was fired in June from the LMPD for his role in Taylor’s death, the Courier-Journal reported.
“It’s another good, small step,” Aguiar told the news outlet. “We won’t be satisfied until rightful charges are brought against him, until charges are brought against everyone responsible for Breonna’s death.”
Taylor’s Family Filed a Lawsuit Against the Louisville Metro Police Department
In May, the Taylor family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department claiming the police used excessive force and gross negligence.
“The officers then entered Breonna’s home without knocking and without announcing themselves as police officers,” read the court documents according to CBS. “The Defendants then proceeded to spray gunfire into the residence with a total disregard for the value of human life.”
Police officers claimed that they knocked and announced themselves before entering the home, something that continues to be disputed. When police entered the home using a battering ram, the lawsuit claims that Walker “believed the home had been broken into by criminals and that they were in significant, imminent danger.”
Breonna’s Law Banned the Use of No-Knock Warrants in Louisville
In June, the Louisville Metro Council voted unanimously to ban no-knock warrants with the passing of Breonna’s Law, named after Taylor, NPR reported.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer had expressed being eager to sign the new legislation via Twitter.
“I plan to sign Breonna’s Law as soon as it hits my desk,” he tweeted. “I suspended use of these warrants indefinitely last month, and wholeheartedly agree with Council that the risk to residents and officers with this kind of search outweigh any benefit. This is one of many critical steps on police reform that we’ve taken to create a more peaceful, just, compassionate and equitable community.”
I plan to sign Breonna’s Law as soon as it hits my desk. I suspended use of these warrants indefinitely last month, and wholeheartedly agree with Council that the risk to residents and officers with this kind of search outweigh any benefit. 1/2
This is one of many critical steps on police reform that we’ve taken to create a more peaceful, just, compassionate and equitable community. 2/2
Under Breonna’s Law, police officers are mandated to wear body cameras when serving people with warrants and turn on their body cams five minutes before they do anything.
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