Breonna Taylor, Louisville EMT, killed in botched police raid


Attorneys claim LMPD officers killed 26-year-old EMT in 'botched' police raid

1589305578058.png

But an attorney for Kenneth Walker claims police conducted an improper raid, which led to officers shooting an innocent woman eight times, killing her. The woman, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, was a certified EMT working at two local hospitals.

Defense attorney Rob Eggert said police burst in Taylor's home without announcing their presence and fired at least 22 times, with bullets going into neighboring apartments, and “it was incredible that Mrs. Taylor was the only one killed.”

“Had Breonna Taylor been killed by anyone except police, the person or persons responsible for her death would have been charged with a homicide,” Eggert said in a court document, also alleging Walker is a “victim of police misconduct.”

Taylor’s family says neither Walker nor Taylor was involved in drugs and believe police were looking for someone else.

“These are two good kids,” said Bianca Austin, Taylor’s aunt. “This is incompetent police work. My niece lost her life over this.”

Austin said LMPD has not given the family any answers as to what happened.

An attorney representing the family, Sam Aguiar, said police were actually looking for someone else and other officers had picked the suspect up at his home in a separate raid shortly before the shooting.




Breonna Taylor: Louisville EMT Killed in Botched Police Raid, Lawyer Says

Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old emergency medical technician (EMT) who was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police on March 13 during a late-night raid on her home where her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was also sleeping.

Walker, who was arrested and charged with attempted homicide on accusations he shot one of the police officers during the raid, is being defended by attorney Rob Eggert. Eggert told local news station WDBR that Walker was acting in self-defense and said Taylor’s death was the result of “police misconduct.”

Walker has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

1. Taylor, Who Also Worked for Two Hospitals, Wrote That She Loved Helping Others

On her Facebook page, Taylor described her love for helping others. “Working in health care is so rewarding! It makes me so happy when I know I’ve made a difference in someone else’s life!” she said.

2. Taylor Was Shot Shortly After She Was Awakened by the Raid

According to reports from the local WDRB TV station, officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Criminal Interdiction Division used a battering ram to break down the door and rushed into the house on Springfield Drive at 1 a.m., waking Taylor and her boyfriend, Walker. Walker shot at the officers, wounding one, and the three who entered fired some 22 shots back, according to Eggert, Walker’s defense attorney; Taylor was shot eight times and died.

According to Walker’s lawyer, Walker shot back in self-defense because he said police did not announce themselves. His lawyer wrote to the court that Walker “wishes to exonerate himself. His girlfriend was killed in a hail of police bullets while naked and he himself simply acted to try to protect himself.”

3. Walker Is Accused of Attempted Murder

Walker, 27, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault after police say he shot Sgt. John Mattingly; Mattingly survived and underwent surgery for his injuries.

Walker pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer argued that he acted in self-defense because he didn’t know who was at the door.

“Had Mr. Walker known that police were outside he would have opened the door and ushered them in,” Eggert told the Courier Journal, adding that no drugs were found, the home belonged to Taylor and Walker wasn’t even the target of the police’s search warrant.

Sam Aguiar, a lawyer for Taylor’s family, told WDRB that it was a case of misidentification and that he believed officers were looking for someone else connected to a different raid.

4. Taylor’s Death Sparked Sadness and Outrage

Taylor’s sister, Tracy Chapman, has posted messages seeking #JusticeforBree often, and Taylor was recently featured on a Facebook page “The Misidentified 4 – Louisville.”

5. Police Say the Matter Is Being Investigated

In an email to WDRB, LMPD Chief Steve Conrad declined to discuss the “incident that resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death” due to the pending Public Integrity investigation. However, he did note that no camera footage was available for the incident, because Criminal Interdiction Division officers do not wear them.

Mattingly, Det. Myles Cosgrove and Det. Brent Hankison have all been placed on administrative leave. One of them, Cosgrove, was sued for excessive force by a man he shot in 2006 at a Speedway gas station; Cosgrove won the suit.

At a press conference held 15 hours after the shooting, Conrad said, “We are extremely fortunate that our officer John Mattingly was not more seriously injured. We have no body-worn video cameras to share with you … even without the videos, our Public Integrity Unit will conduct a complete review of this case.”https://www.facebook.com/dialog/sha...om/news/2020/05/breonna-taylor/&display=popup
 
So you can fire your weapon recklessly into other apartments, spraying bullets everywhere, with no consequences! Cool!
Police fired into the apartment after they had been fired upon by Breonna Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Johnson. It was an unfortunate event that should not have happened but I don't see the officer as being guilty of wanton endangerment of the neighbors. I agree with this juries verdict.

The city of Louisville agreed to a 12 million dollar wrongful death settlement to Breonna Taylor's family. Maybe these neighbors could seek some compensation for this from the city.
 
Police fired into the apartment after they had been fired upon by Breonna Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Johnson. It was an unfortunate event that should not have happened but I don't see the officer as being guilty of wanton endangerment of the neighbors. I agree with this juries verdict.

The city of Louisville agreed to a 12 million dollar wrongful death settlement to Breonna Taylor's family. Maybe these neighbors could seek some compensation for this from the city.
I agree. There are clearly differing opinions on this one and not so much so in some other cases. This one was not as clear cut for me with an opinion versus some other cases.

Because of that, I do understand people who feel otherwise but I agree with the verdict.
 
Guess he needs to work on his shot then.

You're trained to identify a target and fire at the target. Not spray bullets around and hope for the best. Bullets went into the CEILING! What if children had been present? In any of the neighboring apartments!
They fired more than 30 shots and hit just about everything EXCEPT their target.
I fail to see how that's NOT wanton endangerment. It's extremely negligent. (I'm not saying they shouldn't have returned fire. I'm saying the means in which they did so was unacceptable.)
 
Guess he needs to work on his shot then.

You're trained to identify a target and fire at the target. Not spray bullets around and hope for the best. Bullets went into the CEILING! What if children had been present? In any of the neighboring apartments!
They fired more than 30 shots and hit just about everything EXCEPT their target.
I fail to see how that's NOT wanton endangerment. It's extremely negligent. (I'm not saying they shouldn't have returned fire. I'm saying the means in which they did so was unacceptable.)
The jury and myself disagree. When someone shoots at you it can really affect your aim.
 
Guess he needs to work on his shot then.

You're trained to identify a target and fire at the target. Not spray bullets around and hope for the best. Bullets went into the CEILING! What if children had been present? In any of the neighboring apartments!
They fired more than 30 shots and hit just about everything EXCEPT their target.
I fail to see how that's NOT wanton endangerment. It's extremely negligent. (I'm not saying they shouldn't have returned fire. I'm saying the means in which they did so was unacceptable.)
I think that's part of the problem. "They" did. None inside charged.

I recall this being two very different sets of facts and it made it really difficult to determine what was what. It is why I didn't weigh in as much with an opinion on this one as some others.

I also watched a few people on it who had a better understanding of the details back when and conflicting info. I think one was Duty Ron.

It's a tough one. What happened recently in MN sounds similar to this one in fact...

If this guy was in the wrong then why weren't the guys inside...? I'm not saying that was right or wrong even but he isn't the one that killed her.

Cosgrove wasn't it that the fatal shot came from? And he fired something like 16 of the 32 shots?

I don't know but if Hankison is at fault, wouldn't Cosgrove most definitely be first and foremost?

It isn't an easy one but the full jury must have been convinced.

As always, not to argue, just giving a few of many things that make this one a not as clear picture as some. I do think cops should have a right to defend themselves but one can go from there to the warrant itself, what really happened and more.

As fpr me, my opinion isn't set in stone in this one but it is like they charged one guy and not even the one that the fatal bullet came from...
 

Officer involved in the deadly raid on Breonna Taylor’s home has been terminated​

One of the officers involved in the deadly raid on Breonna Taylor’s home, Sergeant Kyle Meany, has been terminated from the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Louisville Police Chief Erika Shields released the following statement Friday, “I made the decision to terminate Sergeant Kyle Meany after careful consideration and not with ease. I fully respect the judicial process and realize Sergeant Meany has yet to be heard before a jury of his peers. That being said, he is facing multiple federal charges after a lengthy investigation by the DOJ.”

“As an employer, the character of our organization is paramount and it is not reasonable to expect continued employment under such conditions,” her statement continued.

Meany and two other officers, former Detective Joshua Jaynes and Detective Kelly Goodlett, were charged by the US Department of Justice on August 4 with submitting a false affidavit to search Taylor’s home ahead of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department’s raid, and then working with other officers to create a “false cover story in an attempt to escape responsibility for their roles in preparing the warrant affidavit that contained false information,” according to court documents, CNN previously reported.
 

Officer involved in the deadly raid on Breonna Taylor’s home has been terminated​

One of the officers involved in the deadly raid on Breonna Taylor’s home, Sergeant Kyle Meany, has been terminated from the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Louisville Police Chief Erika Shields released the following statement Friday, “I made the decision to terminate Sergeant Kyle Meany after careful consideration and not with ease. I fully respect the judicial process and realize Sergeant Meany has yet to be heard before a jury of his peers. That being said, he is facing multiple federal charges after a lengthy investigation by the DOJ.”

“As an employer, the character of our organization is paramount and it is not reasonable to expect continued employment under such conditions,” her statement continued.

Meany and two other officers, former Detective Joshua Jaynes and Detective Kelly Goodlett, were charged by the US Department of Justice on August 4 with submitting a false affidavit to search Taylor’s home ahead of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department’s raid, and then working with other officers to create a “false cover story in an attempt to escape responsibility for their roles in preparing the warrant affidavit that contained false information,” according to court documents, CNN previously reported.
Wow.
 
A long time since talk here on this case. At no time was I ever as certain on this one as on like Floyd/Chauvin.

I am not surprised they couldn't get it in KY and not in federal charges either. There are a lot of sides to it and a lot that plays in.

A lot of issues from warrants/no knock warrants pus in this one LE under fire at this incident.

I'm not going to go down the entire road as there are VERY different sides and stories in this one but I am not surprised TWO juries now, at least some on each refused to convict. That isn't even an opinion about the case, what it is is there is no clear picture in this one and very different accounts about a number of things.

Pretty sure this one did have a mega million settlement though.
 

Jury convicts former Kentucky officer of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor during deadly raid​

federal jury on Friday convicted a former Kentucky police detective of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor during a botched 2020 drug raid that left her dead.

The 12-member jury returned the late-night verdict after clearing Brett Hankison earlier in the evening on a charge that he used excessive force on Taylor’s neighbors.

It was the first conviction of a Louisville police officer who was involved in the deadly raid.

Some members of the jury were in tears as the verdict was read around 9:30 p.m. They had earlier indicated to the judge in two separate messages that they were deadlocked on the charge of using excessive force on Taylor, but chose to continue deliberating. The six-man, six-woman jury deliberated for more than 20 hours over three days.

Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, celebrated the verdict with friends outside the federal courthouse, saying: “It took a lot of time. It took a lot of patience. It was hard. The jurors took their time to really understand that Breonna deserved justice.”


“It is not lost on us that this event forever altered the fabric of our community, and we acknowledge the pain caused by the death of Breonna Taylor,” the department said. “Our officers are sworn to protect and serve the community, upholding the law with integrity and fairness. We condemn any behavior that runs afoul of the mission to help and protect our citizens.”

“Breonna Taylor’s life mattered,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We hope the jury’s verdict recognizing this violation of Ms. Taylor’s civil and constitutional rights brings some small measure of comfort to her family and loved ones who have suffered so deeply from the tragic events of March 2020.”
 

Forum statistics

Threads
3,009
Messages
240,994
Members
969
Latest member
SamiraMill
Back
Top Bottom