Breonna Taylor was an innocent African American woman that unfortunately was a victim of police brutality. Many cases like this have been made known in recent years. She never got the Justice she deserved. Until recently there has been an ongoing investigation into Breonna Taylor’s case to get to the bottom of her murder. However, only one out of the three police officers involved in her death has been charged with murder.
Her Story
On March 13, 2020, a young twenty-six-year-old Black American woman was shot and killed by the police in her own apartment. This was Breonna Taylor. Taylor was a young woman that worked in the medical field, she was an emergency medical technician. She lived in Louisville, Kentucky with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker. They were both decent people that had no criminal records. While they were asleep Kenneth heard noises coming from the front door and he believed someone broke into their apartment. Kenneth then grabbed his legally owned gun and shot one shot at the door in an effort to scare the intruder.
That shot wounded Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly to which the two other officers, Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison responded by firing back 33 times in the dark. Out of those 33 shots, six of them hit Breonna Taylor. According to The New York Times, the police entered the apartment complex because they had a judged-approved no-knock warrant to search it.
This was because there was an ongoing investigation on her ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover for a suspect of drug trafficking. However, that order was then changed to a “knock and announce” warrant before the police raided their apartment. The police later stated they did make an announcement however Kenneth says otherwise. After Kenneth noticed Breonna Taylor was shot, he immediately called 911.
No Justice
After her death, the officers were put on administrative leave while the investigation was being made. Kenneth Walker was the one getting charged for
attempted murder of a police officer. Thankfully that charge was dropped months later after the FBI began to make their own investigations on his case. It was later found that there were no signs of drugs in Breonna Taylor’s apartment.
It wasn’t until two years later that former officer Hankinson was fired on June 23, 2022, for violating procedure. Then, in March of 2022, he was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment. Unfortunately, Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in returning fire and even though they were fired from the workforce, neither of them was charged on any counts.
Time for Change
After her death was made known, many people were angry at the negligence of the state. There were many strikes and protests that were made in her name to stop police brutality against people of color. There have been many social media campaigns that use the hashtag #sayhername. After many protests and campaigns from the people, Louisville has now passed a law in honor of Breonna Taylor’s death that bans no-knock warrants.
This is now known as Breonna’s Law. The city also agreed to support her family by paying them a $12 million settlement for a wrongful-death lawsuit. Mayor Craig Greenberg that went into office in January, has spoken about this case and has said that from now on “we will not make excuses… we will make changes”.
To many people of color, specifically African Americans, these are empty words that mean nothing because there is still no change. There is still hope that the new generation can make a difference in the future, So people can no longer see color and instead a human beings.
Written by Erika Cano
Sources:
Insider: A Louisville police sergeant ignored that a cop knelt on a man’s neck for nearly 2 minutes — but did note that an officer broke one of their fingernails, DOJ alleges
The New York Times: What to Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death
History: Breonna Taylor is killed by police in botched raid
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Paul Sableman Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of David Geitgey Sierralupe Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
