Breonna Taylor is one of the names on the long list of unarmed black people who died at local authorities’ hands. Her tragic death and the recent outcome of her case sparked unrest. The “Say Her Name” movement came about when people realized that the death of black women was not attracting as much awareness as other cases.
Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old EMT from Louisville, Kentucky. She is described as uplifting and outgoing by those closest to her. Taylor lived with her younger sister and was working towards a nursing degree. She set professional and personal goals and really wanted to turn her life around. Her family was very close-knit, and she loved cars and cooking. Breonna Taylor would have turned 27-years-old on June 5, 2020. She deserves to be remembered for her life before becoming a hashtag or headline in the daily news.
Unfortunately, her chance to live out the rest of her life and achieve her goals was taken away on March 13, 2020. Breonna Taylor had just finished a date night with her boyfriend and was asleep in her apartment. Police officers then stormed into her home, and she was fatally shot during a “botched drug raid.” Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired his gun in self-defense, and the police fired back but did not stop even after they were no longer in danger. Walker also claimed that he did not hear the police announce themselves before entering the apartment. Police claimed to have declared themselves before the raid. However, this aspect of the case is highly controversial, and we do not know for sure what happened concerning the police announcing themselves. Video recordings from the night of the shooting have continued to be released and have revealed some missing information. The most recent was a bodycam video that showed that the SWAT team left Breonna Taylor’s body unattended for several minutes after she was shot and one of the officers stated “She’s done. We’ll keep one person here on her. She’s done.” These videos have simply displayed the heartbreaking and confusing situation that surrounded the death of Breonna Taylor.
In April 2020, two attorneys filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother. The end result of the case is that criminal charges were placed on only one of the three officers involved, angering those in Louisville and other cities. Detective Hankison was charged on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, but not for the actual shots fired. Wanton endangerment only accounts for how the detective punched the door down. None of the police officers have been reprimanded for the homicide that occurred in March.
Breonna Taylor’s death has led to a rallying cry against racial injustice and systemic racism. Her name was also chanted in the recent protests in response to the killing of George Floyd. It is very disappointing that justice was not served for her death, but rather only the moments before the incident.