Family of Louisville woman killed by police in her apartment hires lawyer from Ahmaud Arbery case
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The family of Breonna Taylor, a decorated Louisville EMT who was fatally shot by police, has hired a prominent civil rights attorney with the Black Lives Matter movement in their lawsuit against three officers.
Taylor, 26, was shot eight times by Louisville Metro Police officers who entered her apartment around 1 a.m. March 13. Police have said the officers were serving a search warrant as part of a narcotics investigation, but no drugs were found at the home.
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove entered Taylor's residence without knocking or identifying themselves as police, according to the family's lawsuit, which cited statements from multiple neighbors.
Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were awakened by the officers' entry and believed their home was being broken into, the suit says.
Police say Walker shot Mattingly. Walker faces criminal charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer, but no drug charges. The suit states that Walker has a license to carry and kept firearms in the home for protection.
Taylor had no criminal record.
The lawsuit alleges that police fired more than 20 rounds into Taylor's home, striking objects in the living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, both bedrooms and into an adjacent residence where a 5-year-old child and pregnant mother were present.
"Breonna had committed no crime, posed no immediate threat to the safety of the defendants and did not actively resist or attempt to evade arrest prior to being repeatedly shot and killed by the defendants," the suit says.
The suit alleges wrongful death, excessive force and gross negligence on the part of the officers. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal fees through a jury trial.
Demanding answers from the police
Taylor's family is calling on lawyer Benjamin Crump, a Tallahassee, Florida-based attorney who has become known for his involvement in high-profile cases of black Americans killed in controversial shootings, including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice.
Crump also is representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was shot and killed by two white men in Georgia in late February. The case has drawn national attention after a video of Arbery's death surfaced online last week.
In an announcement Monday morning, Crump called Taylor's death "inexcusable" and said no one from Louisville police has been held accountable for her death.
“We stand with the family of this young woman in demanding answers from the Louisville Police Department," Crump said. "Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding her death, the department has not provided any answers regarding the facts and circumstances of how this tragedy occurred, nor have they taken responsibility for her senseless killing."
Crump joins local attorneys Sam Aguiar and Lonita Baker in representing the family.
Aguiar told The Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Monday that people across the country are "demanding justice on this case, and they have good reason."
A spokeswoman for LMPD declined to answer Courier Journal questions about the case, citing an ongoing internal investigation.
"We held a press conference about this shooting when it occurred to detail what we were able," spokeswoman Jessie Halladay wrote in an email. "The Public Integrity investigation remains ongoing, therefore it would not be appropriate for us to comment."
According to the lawsuit, LMPD executed at least two search warrants — including one at Taylor's home — in the early morning of March 13 in an attempt to locate a suspect named Jamarcus Glover.
But police had already located Glover at his home and detained him before executing the warrant at Taylor's residence, the suit says.
Glover's home is more than 10 miles from Taylor's home on Springfield Drive, records show. He faces drug and gun charges.
Calls for mayor, governor to act
Taylor's family members said she was kind, hardworking and honest and that they were angry she was dead at age 26. The Jefferson County coroner confirmed she was killed in the shooting.
"She really did not deserve to end her life so horrifically," Taylor's aunt, Bianca Austin, said in an interview.
She said Taylor became a certified EMT in 2017 and loved her work as a part-time nurse at Norton Healthcare and an ER technician at University of Louisville Health Jewish East.
After the shooting initially occurred, police described Taylor as a suspect.
No body camera footage is available because officers in the Criminal Interdiction Division who conducted the search warrant do not wear cameras, LMPD Chief Steve Conrad previously said.
Mattingly, the injured officer, underwent surgery. He and the two other detectives have been placed on administrative leave as police conduct an investigation into the shooting, according to Conrad.
Though Taylor was killed nearly two months ago, her case gained national attention over the weekend after prominent activist Shaun King posted her story on social media.
King called on charges to be filed immediately against the officers and for Mayor Greg Fischer to intervene in the investigation, writing "It's shameful that he hasn't."
King also called on Gov. Andy Beshear, whom he called a "good man," to break his silence on the case and "step up since nobody else will."
A Change.org petition supporting Taylor and demanding charges against the officers had collected more than 2,000 signatures before 4 p.m. Monday.
Representatives for Beshear did not return a request for comment Monday.
Fischer called for a "thorough investigation" on Tuesday and said he would monitor the case closely.
"Police work can involve incredibly difficult situations. Additionally, residents have rights," Fischer wrote in a statement posted on Twitter. "These two concepts will and must be weighed by our justice system as the case proceeds."
Other city officials, including Metro Councilwoman Jessica Green, D-1st District, have called for leaders to condemn what occurred.
"The reality is, LMPD was wrong in this situation. An innocent woman was murdered in her home," Green said. "If that isn't the type of thing to sicken somebody, then I don't know what would be."
"Leadership requires getting out in front of things, and not just acting like it never happened or letting it play out," she added.
Another councilwoman, Keisha Dorsey, D-3rd, posted on Facebook that she's calling on the prosecutors to drop all charges against Walker, and on Fischer to demand that LMPD create a clear policy on executing warrants and police identification, as well as for all police divisions to wear body cameras.
Green said she took her 10-year-old son, who loves running, out on Friday to run 2.23 miles in honor of Arbery, who was killed Feb. 23.
"It is not easy to be a black person in this country, even in Louisville, Kentucky. People sometimes forget that," she said. "The idea that you can be killed, even when you are doing everything right, is just sickening."
Follow Tessa Duvall on Twitter: @TessaDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor killing: Family hires attorney from Ahmaud Arbery case
Op Ed: The only people who will ultimately pay for this murder, maiming and false arrest are the taxpayers. That's how it works in a Nazi style Police state. The piggies have what's called qualified immunity which means all the have to do is say after they murder someone is, "I was in fear for my life". Nazi loving judges give out search warrants like they are Monopoly money. The piggies, in their lust to kill, violate rights, destroy property, terrorize people, confiscate drugs that they can resell and use no knock raids just like in Nazi Germany.
This needs to stop but it won't stop because the incarceration depends on false arrests to fill their jails and prisons.
The murderous piggies and prosecutors and judge will get away with this as the taxpayers foot the bill.
If Blacks start arming themselves with sniper rifles cops would think twice before doing shit like this. Fear of American fighting back may end their reign of terror.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, 26, was shot eight times by Louisville Metro Police officer in her apartment at 1:00am in the morning on March 13th. Police have said the officers were serving a search warrant as part of a narcotics investigation, but no drugs were found at the home.
ReplyDeleteThis is completely unacceptable for anyone, anywhere, anyhow. America is supposed to be a democratic republic and not a police run state!
America is a police state. There's no arguing that. Cops and judges will keep this shit up as long as they have immunity from the law. For all intents and purposes judges, prosecutor and cops are above the law. That need to change.
DeleteThe media wants you to believe that this is only a racial thing bit the fact remains, this stuff happens to ALL Americans all the time.
Unless there's something not in the article, how is Walker being charged? At least the Indiana Supreme Court made a good decision applying to these cases.
ReplyDeleteHow many gun owners would grab their weapons when someone kicks in their door unannounced? What are those targeted by mistake supposed to do? You aren't expecting police so you are in fear for your life and the lives of your family. In the end it's the taxpayers that are held responsible for paying out lawsuits. While the cops responsible take a taxpayer funded vacation.
ReplyDeleteCriminal cops are placed on paid administrative leave. The pig unions are responsible for that.
DeleteThere still are some good cops but the rarely make it to the top because DA want scumbags running the show. It's all about the money and the bribes.
In America, there is no accountability for police officers or politicians. They are above law.
ReplyDeleteI’m really starting to think our men and women in blue are either real training, logic, or accountability. Something is wrong here. I’m constantly reading about the failures, and in professionalism of officers. I know several ex officers, from different states, and their stories are alarming. Not saying all, or most of our officers are a problem. I’m just saying that there is more than enough that needs to be re-evaluated.
ReplyDeleteThese executions are not mistakes. Breonna Taylor was executed for some reason.
ReplyDelete