Four Louisville and Kentucky police officers were accused on Thursday, August 4 by US prosecutors of killing Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, in a no-knock raid in March 2020. The four officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department—Joshua Jaynes, Kyle Meany, Kelly Goodlett, and Brett Hankison—were accused of violating people’s civil rights, illegal conspiracies, using excessive force against them, and obstructing law enforcement.
Taylor’s killing had only one officer involved in the raid, Brett Hankison, already facing charges. The two additional officers weren’t immediately charged, though. Four officers participated in the botched house invasion that killed Breonna Taylor, it has now been established. In a report, US Attorney Merrick Garland stated:
Taylor’s passing rekindled the 2014 #SayHerName campaign, which exposed anti-Black violence and black women’s potentially fatal interactions with law enforcement.
examining the ‘no-knock’ search that the Louisville police carried out on Breonna Taylor’s house
In a “no-knock” raid on March 13, 2020, Louisville police were looking into alleged narcotics trafficking when they forced open Breonna Taylor’s door. Kenneth Walker, her lover, used a lawfully held gun to fire shots at the police. Taylor was killed when the officers returned fire and fired 22 bullets at the residence.
Prosecutors claim that Brett Hankison shot at Taylor’s residence ten times through a draped window and a glass door. In the meantime, the policeman claimed to a Kentucky grand jury that he started shooting as soon as the shooting started.
Ben Crump, the attorney for the Taylor family, stated that it was “outrageous and disrespectful” that no charges were brought in direct connection to the death of Taylor after Brett Hankison was charged in September with “wanton endangerment” for shooting into a neighbor’s apartment.
According to Reuters, the prosecution also claimed that Jaynes and Goodlett afterwards met in a garage to fabricate a tale and hide the fictitious evidence they had used to justify the raid.
Activists, demonstrators, and Breonna Taylor’s family met in Louisville in June 2020 for a vigil to celebrate her birthday and demand that the murderers be charged right away. Taylor Palmer’s mother, Tamika Palmer, stated via the BBC at that same vigil:
Internet users responded to the recent events
Breonna Taylor’s murder, along with those of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery in the year 2020, had already sparked widespread protests. Every social media user, including celebrities and followers, denounced these murders.
Following the unprecedented decision to arrest four Louisville and Kentucky police officers for the failed raid that resulted in Breonna Taylor’s death, social media users took to Twitter to analyze the decision.
Taylor’s family settled a $12 million (£9.4 million) lawsuit against the Kentucky city related to her passing.