It has been over eight months since officers—not in uniform—fatally shot Breonna Taylor on March 13, an emergency room worker, six times while seeking an unrelated narcotics suspect. The suspect was already in custody and did not reside with Taylor at the time. No drugs were found at the home, but what happened was quickly viewed as a crime scene by the public because of the killing of Taylor. The raid has been referred to as a botched raid since then, and relentless protests and petitions for justice in Taylor’s case carried on for months following her killing.
To add fuel to the fire, it has also come out that five of the officers involved in Taylor’s killing were also involved in another botched raid. This raid produced no charges and has an ongoing lawsuit over the destruction and trauma caused to couple Mario Daugherty and Ashlea Burr. The track record of the officers involved is alarming as it leads people to wonder how many officers have a history of excessive violence or misconduct. This has come up in national discourse recently, over this summer, when two of the officers involved in George Floyd’s killing were found to have had violent records.
The FBI first opened an investigation on Taylor’s case in May and public outrage has continued on through the recent court hearing this past September when the officer involved in her shooting was only charged with “wanton endangerment.” This charge was for the shots that were fired into a neighbor’s property – not for the ones that killed Taylor.
After this devastating news, protests and outrage have continued as many in the Black community, as well as allies, feel devastation and wonder when the death toll will stop and when accountability will be taken in the killing of Black lives.