Breonna Taylor

Unarmed EMT Shot And Killed By Police Looking For Suspect Who Was Already In Custody

Breonna Taylor, a black female EMT worker, was killed by police after they entered her apartment looking for a suspect who not only didn’t live there, but was already in police custody. The lawsuit filed by Taylor’s family alleges that the cops broke into the apartment without announcing themselves in the middle of the night, leading Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, to believe they were being burgled. When he fired on them in self-defense, they fired blindly into the apartment, hitting her eight times and killing her.

The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) claims that they knocked several times and that they “announced their presence as police who were there with a search warrant” and that they only began shooting only after Walker fired first.

However, the lawsuit alleges police did not identify themselves, and that Walker—a licensed gun owner—believed someone was breaking in. Records also show that the officers involved obtained a “no-knock” warrant for the raid, which allows them to enter a home without announcing themselves. The lawsuit says the cops arrived at 1 am in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles.

The Louisville police are claiming that the apartment had some connection with the suspect they were after. The suspect’s actual residence was 10 miles away from Taylor’s home and was already in police custody at the time they raided her apartment.

The killing, which occurred on March 13, gained national attention after the family hired the same attorney leading the case for Ahmaud Arbery, who was pursued, shot, and killed by two non-police white men in Georgia.

“You can’t walk while black. With Ahmaud, you can’t jog while black. Driving while black,” said attorney Ben Crump. “But Breonna Taylor was sleeping while black in the sanctity of her own home.”

The officers who raided Taylor’s apartment were put on administrative leave and none of them have been charged in the shooting, while Walker has been arrested and charged with the attempted murder of a police officer and assault in the first degree. He hit one of the officers in the leg while firing in self-defense.

With the Arbery case still fresh in people’s minds, many are calling for justice for Breonna Taylor.

According to Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, the case is currently under investigation by the police department’s Public Integrity Unit, and will then be handed over to the Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, which could pursue charges against the officers.