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A black woman was asleep in her Louisville, Kentucky, home when three police officers forced their way inside, "blindly fired" and killed her, according to a lawsuit filed by the woman's family.
Breonna Taylor, an EMT worker, died on March 13 after officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department executed a search warrant at the wrong home, the suit states.
Police at the time said the officers knocked on the door several times and “announced their presence as police who were there with a search warrant.” The officers forced their way in through the door and “were immediately met by gunfire,” Lt. Ted Eidem said at a March 13 press conference.
Breonna Taylor was a qualified EMT. Family photo via NBC12
Taylor's death gained national attention this week after the family hired attorney Ben Crump, who is also representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery, the black man in Georgia who died on Feb. 23 after being pursued and shot by two white men.
Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael were arrested last week and charged with murder and aggravated assault in the Arbery case.
Crump called Taylor's death a "senseless killing."
"We stand with the family of this young woman in demanding answers from the Louisville Police Department," he said in a statement Monday on Twitter.
The attorney called out the police department for not taking responsibility and not providing "any answers regarding the facts and circumstances of how this tragedy occurred."
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Crump joins Sam Aguiar and Lonita Baker in representing the family.
The lawsuit states that Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were asleep in the bedroom when police in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles arrived at the house around 12:30 a.m.
The officers were looking for a suspect who lived in a different part of the city and was already in police custody.
The three officers entered Taylor's home "without knocking and without announcing themselves as police officers," the suit states.
The lawsuit says Taylor and Walker woke up and thought criminals were breaking in. Walker called 911 and, according to The Courier-Journal, police said he opened fire and shot an officer.
"The defendants then proceeded to spray gunfire into the residence with a total disregard for the value of human life," the lawsuit alleges. "Shots were blindly fired by the officers all throughout Breonna's home."
The suit states that Walker had a license to carry and kept firearms in the home for protection.
Taylor, 26, was shot eight times and died. Walker, 27, was arrested. According to jail records he's been charged with assault and attempted murder on a police officer. An attorney for Walker could not immediately be reached.
"Breonna had posed no threat to the officers and did nothing to deserve to die at their hands," the suit says, adding that she was unarmed.
"Neither of the two had any criminal history for drugs or violence," it states. No drugs were found in the home.
The gunfire from the officers struck objects in the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, bathroom and both bedrooms, according to the lawsuit.
"The officers failed to use any sound reasonable judgment whatsoever when firing more than 25 blind shots into multiple homes and causing the wrongful death of Breonna," according to the suit.
Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, filed the lawsuit in April in Jefferson Circuit Court alleging wrongful death, excessive force and gross negligence.
A spokesperson for the Louisville Metro Police Department said, "Due to an ongoing internal investigation into this situation, we are not able to comment at this time."
The officers were identified by the police department at the March 13 press conference as Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove. All three were placed on administrative reassignment pending the outcome of an investigation.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement Tuesday that he was monitoring the case and talked to the police department's chief to ensure a thorough investigation.
"As always, my priority is that the truth comes out, and for justice to follow the path of truth," he said in a statement posted on Twitter. "The Breonna Taylor case is currently under investigation. Therefore, expansive comments are not appropriate until all the facts are fully known."
rojanofkevlar on May 13rd, 2020 at 02:38 UTC »
Similarly, Police in Houston did a no knock raid, shooting and killing a couple after obtaining a warranty based on totally fabricated evidence from an informant that didn't even exist. They broke in, plain clothes, shot the dog, shot the couple, shot each other, and claimed that the old guy that they killed managed to shoot 5 of them with a revolver vs all of them with guns blazing. The union president (and current national FOP vice president, Joe Gamaldi) went on to say:
"Enough is enough. And if you're the ones that are out there spreading the rhetoric that police officers are the enemy, just know, we've all got your number now. We're going to be keeping track of all ya'll, and we're going to make sure that we hold you accountable every time you stir the pot on our police officers."
Other Houston police union officials have tweeted things such as that the couple are "still dirtbags" even after the fabricated warrant came to light (and untagged drugs were found in the lead officers car, used to plant).
The officer most responsible for the raid had a 34 year career, with hundreds of cases now under review, and several overturned after it came to light he has made arrests and got convictions for years on completely fabricated evidence (as well as pocketing money for fake informants). He has since been charged with murder of the couple in the Harding street raid.
So when you think about how bad no knock raids are, just remember, some of the top officials of the national fraternal order of police not only support them, they actively threaten anyone that speaks against such tactics (or really anything that isn't licking police officers boots). Since the DA has pressed charges against the officers, the local union has become increasingly vocal about "activist DAs"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecan_Park_raid
paintitblack37 on May 13rd, 2020 at 01:57 UTC »
So the boyfriend is being charged for shooting a police officer but he was in plain clothes? How was he supposed to know the intruder was a cop and not someone trying to kill him and his girlfriend?
FactCheckingThings on May 12nd, 2020 at 23:48 UTC »
" ... Louisville Metro Police Department executed a search warrant at the wrong home, the suit states."
"The officers were looking for a suspect who lived in a different part of the city and was already in police custody after he was arrested earlier."
So they went to wrong home, looking for someone who was already in custody, and prompted a gunfight where they shot up the house indiscriminantly (another quote said bullets were food in pretty much every room). It's crazy that stuff like this happens. Like don't you double check an address 100x before you bust in? Wouldnt you radio in before going? Giving them a chance to tell you "hey we already got him." When your job involves serious stuff like this wouldnt you check everything constantly to avoid any mistakes?
Edit - bullets were FOUND in pretty much every room