/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f6927b4505a8b2e8785c4de/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=6192&cropY1=70&cropY2=3553&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1 "Louisville Police Declare State Of Emergency Ahead Of Breonna Taylor Decision")
Topline
Louisville’s police chief on Monday declared a state of emergency in anticipation of an announcement from Kentucky’s attorney general in the case of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman whose fatal shooting by police in the city in March fueled nationwide protests.
A man looks over a memorial dedicated to Breonna Taylor on September 15, 2020 in Louisville, … [+]
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Key Facts
In a memo dated September 21, Louisville Metro Police’s interim chief Robert Schroeder announced the department will operate under emergency staffing and reporting guidelines, effectively immediately, in anticipation of the decision.
Taylor was killed on March 13 when three Louisville Metro Police officers executing a no-knock search warrant fired 20 shots into her apartment.
Half a year later, it appears Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is nearly ready to announce whether he’ll file charges against any of the officers involved.
Though Cameron has not indicated when an announcement will happen, a grand jury was empaneled to investigate Taylor’s shooting two weeks ago, according to reports that signaled Cameron’s decision would come soon after.
The Louisville Metro Police Department and the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to Forbes’ requests for comment.
Key Background
The three Louisville officers—Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove—said they knocked and announced themselves before entering, but Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was present, says he and Taylor did not know who was at the door. Thinking someone was breaking in, Walker fired a shot which struck Mattingly in the thigh. The three officers then sprayed bullets in return, hitting Taylor five times. Though Taylor was killed in March, her death only began to gain national attention in May, as the deaths of two other Black men, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, at the hands of police stirred widespread national protests. Hankison was fired in June for “blindly” firing his weapon into the apartment, per the findings of an investigation by the department’s Professional Standards Unit. The other two officers present at the scene are currently being investigated by the standards unit, as well as four other detectives.
Crucial Quote
Benjamin Crump, the attorney representing Taylor’s family, has asked Cameron to file, at a minimum, second-degree manslaughter charges against the involved officers. “We are still demanding that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron bring charges immediately against the police officers that murdered Breonna Taylor,” said Crump.
Big Number
$12 million. How much the city of Louisville is paying Taylor’s family as part of a wrongful death lawsuit, one of the largest payouts to a Black person killed by police.
Quick Tangent
In addition to the lawsuit, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced changes to the city’s policing, such as encouraging officers to live within certain parts of the city and putting a stronger emphasis on community-based policing. Also called for is the addition of social workers on some police calls and the requirement that a police sergeant—or someone higher ranking—approves search warrants before they are presented to a judge. No-knock warrants have been banned in Louisville.
Further Reading
“Louisville Agrees To $12 Million Settlement In Breonna Taylor Case” (Forbes)
“Breonna Taylor’s legacy: Caring, ‘super goofy’ and a devoted paramedic” (NBC)
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