Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor
It should also be noted that current global health emergency sidetracked this media outlet from covering the case more deeply until recent days.
First, the facts:
+ LMPD officers went to the home of Breonna Taylor on Springfield Drive on March 13 to serve a warrant related to a drug trafficking investigation.
+ LMPD officials described that warrant as a “no-knock warrant,” meaning the officers were not required to announce themselves upon arriving at Taylor’s home, but they did anyway. Taylor’s family and attorneys dispute that the officers announced themselves.
+ A shootout ensued between a suspect inside the home — Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker — and the LMPD officers. One LMPD officer was struck, and three of them fired back. Taylor was killed in the shootout. Walker has been charged with attempted murder of a police officer.
+ Three LMPD officers — Jon Mattingly, Brent Hankinson and Myles Cosgrove — were all placed on administrative assignment, per department protocol.
+ There is no officer body-camera video of the incident.
+ Police fired shots from the outside into the apartment through closed blinds.
+ Another suspect named in the warrant, Jamarcus Glover, was arrested at another location a short time before the police shootout at Taylor’s home, according to the citation.
+ Breonna Taylor was not armed.
And here are some responses to several inaccuracies the WAVE 3 News team has seen being passed around social media:
+ Statement: Police had the wrong address
Fact: Taylor’s correct address was on the warrant, including her apartment number and pictures of the outside of her apartment and patio.
+ Statement: Breonna Taylor’s name wasn’t on the warrant
Fact: Breonna Taylor’s name was one of three peopled named in the warrant, which included her date of birth.
+ Statement: Police should have knocked and announced themselves before entering the home
Fact: The warrant was a “no-knock” warrant, meaning officers were not required to announce themselves before making entry.
+ Statement: Breonna Taylor was shot while sleeping in her bedroom
Fact: She was not asleep and was shot in the hallway outside of her bedroom when police returned fire, according to police records.
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