Her name was Breonna Taylor. She was a ER technician who worked at two different hospitals, a hero on the frontlines during the Covid19 outbreak. She was driven and ambitious. Her mother, Tamika Palmer, remembers her daughters dreams: “She had a whole plan on becoming a nurse and buying a house and then starting a family. Breonna had her head on straight, and she was a very decent person.”
Breonna Taylor was killed by police in what is being referred to as a “botched search warrant.” She was asleep in her bed with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker and awoke to police banging on her door. The men did not identify themselves, and they entered in plain clothes. Walker, who legally owned a firearm, shot in self defense to protect himself and his partner from what he believed to be a home invasion. This led to the couple being sprayed with 20 bullets. Breonna Taylor was unarmed and died after 8 bullets hit her.
The police were investigating a man named Jamarcus Glover. He and Taylor had dated a few years prior. Police believed Glover was using Taylor’s address to receive packages that possibly contained drugs. They found no drugs in the apartment. Glover and his accomplices were already in custody before the deadly raid.
Taylor’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit two months after her death. The three cops involved in the shooting are on administrative leave but have not been charged. However, a step in the right direction has been made. According to CNN, Taylor’s case inspired the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department to require all sworn officers to wear body cameras. The LMPD also said it will change how the department search warrant procedure in the future.
Still, there is more to be done. Tackling the issue of police brutality and disregard for black lives will take much more than a few small policy changes. The men responsible for Taylor’s death should be held accountable and charged appropriately. Prosecutors have dropped charges against Walker who originally had been charged with attempted murder.
June 5th would have been her 27th birthday. Her death was horrific and tragic but she doesn’t have to die in vain. Say her name. Tell her story. Donate to her family’s GoFundMe. Write to Kentucky’s Attorney General and demand justice.