Four police officers from Louisville and Kentucky were charged by US prosecutors on Thursday, August 4, with killing Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, in a March 2020 no-knock raid. The four Louisville Metro Police Department officers — Joshua Jaynes, Kyle Meany, Kelly Goodlett and Brett Hankison — have been charged with violating people’s civil rights, committing illegal conspiracies, using excessive force against them and obstructing law enforcement.
Taylor’s murder had only one officer involved in the raid, Brett Hankison, already charged. However, the two additional officers were not immediately charged. Four officers were involved in the botched home invasion that killed Breonna Taylor, it has now been established. In a report, US Attorney Merrick Garland stated:
Taylor’s death sparked the 2014 #SayHerName campaign, which exposed anti-Black violence and potentially deadly Black women’s interactions with law enforcement.
Investigating the no-knock search conducted by Louisville police at Breonna Taylor’s home
In a no-knock raid on March 13, 2020, Louisville police were investigating suspected drug dealing when they forced open Breonna Taylor’s door. Kenneth Walker, her lover, used a lawfully held gun to shoot at police. Taylor was killed when officers returned fire and fired 22 bullets at the residence.
Prosecutors allege that Brett Hankison shot 10 times through a curtained window and glass door at Taylor’s apartment. Meanwhile, the police officer claimed to a Kentucky grand jury that he started shooting as soon as the shooting began.
Ben Crump, the Taylor family attorney, said it was “outrageous and disrespectful” that no charges were brought directly related to Taylor’s death, after Brett Hankison was charged in September with “endangerment” for being in shot a neighbor’s apartment.
According to Reuters, prosecutors also claimed that Jaynes and Goodlett met at a garage afterwards to fabricate a story and hide the fictional evidence they used to justify the raid.
Activists, protesters and family of Breonna Taylor gathered in Louisville in June 2020 for a vigil to celebrate her birthday and to demand that the killers be charged immediately. Taylor Palmer’s mother, Tamika Palmer, explained at the same vigil over the BBC:
Netizens reacted to recent events
The murder of Breonna Taylor, along with those of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, had already sparked widespread protests in 2020. Every social media user, including celebrities and followers, denounced these killings.
Following the unprecedented decision to arrest four Louisville and Kentucky police officers over the failed crackdown that led to Breonna Taylor’s death, social media users took to Twitter to analyze the decision.
Taylor’s family has settled a $12million (£9.4million) lawsuit against the city of Kentucky in connection with her death.