Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old African- American emergency medical technician, a frontline worker and dedicated public servant. She was fatally shot by officers Myles Cosgrove, Brett Hankison, Jonathan Mattingly, who belonged to the Louisville Metro Police Department on March 13, 2020. The three were plainclothes LMPD officers executing a no-knock search warrant in error, broke into Taylor’s apartment in Louisville, Kentucky.
There was an exchange of gunfire between the officers and Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Walker stated that he believed that the officers were just intruders, for they did not have a uniform or anything to identify them. The LMPD officers made over twenty shots where Taylor was shot eight times, and an LMPD based Seargent Jonathan Mattingly was injured by gunfire. There was also another police officer and an LMPD Lieutenant when the search warrant was being executed.
During the search warrant, the primary target for the LMPD officers was Jamarcus Glover and Andrian Walker. They were being suspected of selling some controlled substances from a drug house that was ten miles away. Glover was known to have had a prior relationship with Taylor. The search warrant included Taylor’s residence. It was suspected that Glover used to receive packages with the drugs at Taylor’s house because a car bearing a registration name of Taylor had been parked in front of Glover’s home. After an extensive search, no drugs were found in the apartment.
Kenneth Walker was subsequently charged with a crime himself, after shooting the original officer in the leg, because he was shooting a shotgun at him. But those charges were brought as if Walker had been the criminal and was shooting a police officer. When in fact the officers had not answered him when repeatedly yelled at to identify themselves by a innocent civilian. Then broke down the door and began shooting wildly at Kenneth Walker.
Plainly this warrant was wrongfully brought, not completely checked for accuracy, the source of the information was cookie cutter, and because the individuals involved were Black. The entire chain of evidence and probable cause, as well as the level of risk were completely disregarded for a quick confirmation and approval. As happens in these situations then everyone covered for everyone else, when it all fell apart as racist assumptions in policing does, all the time.
