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Tag Archives: Breonna
Review After Breonna Taylor’s Death Finds Police Discrimination in Louisville – The New York Times
- Review After Breonna Taylor’s Death Finds Police Discrimination in Louisville The New York Times
- DOJ issues scathing rebuke of Louisville police in report launched after Breonna Taylor killing CNN
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Ex-officer Brett Hankison was found not guilty of endangering Breonna Taylor’s neighbors in a botched raid
The former Louisville Metro Police Department detective was the only officer charged in connection with the March 2020 shooting, but the charges were not for her death.
Hankison was tried for firing bullets through Taylor’s window and sliding glass door that went into a neighboring apartment where three people were present. The defense argued that Hankison acted to defend his fellow officers — including one who had been shot — in a chaotic situation.
“Justice was done. The verdict was proper and we are thrilled,” defense attorney Stewart Mathews said.
Prosecutors said they respected the verdict but declined to speak further to the media.
Had he been convicted, Hankison faced one to five years in prison for each charge.
The charges stemmed from the botched raid in which police fatally shot Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, in her own home. Combined with the killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, her death set off widespread protests about how the legal system treats Black citizens as well as particular criticisms about the dangers of no-knock warrants.
In court, prosecutors called 26 witnesses as they argued that Hankison shot blindly into a window from outside the apartment in a direction perpendicular to where the shot originated. His gunfire went through Taylor’s apartment and endangered a man, a pregnant woman and her 5-year-old son who lived next door, prosecutors said.
“One or two more inches and I would have been shot,” testified the neighbor, Cody Etherton.
Jurors heard a nearly hourlong taped interview the former officer gave an investigator on March 25, 2020, in which he described officers as “sitting ducks.” He also took the stand to testify on Wednesday and said he believed his fellow officers were being gunned down by someone with a rifle as they tried to help a wounded colleague.
“I knew they were trying to get to him, and it appeared to me they were being executed with this rifle,” Hankison said. No rifle was found at the scene. In opening statements, the prosecutor said only a Glock pistol was found inside the apartment.
Hankison said he did not realize at the time that there was another apartment positioned directly behind Taylor’s.
Two other officers who were part of the botched raid, former Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and former Detective Myles Cosgrove, asserted their Fifth Amendment rights not to testify. They were not charged in the case but could be in an ongoing federal investigation.
How we got here
The incident began on March 12, 2020, when as part of a narcotics investigation, a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge approved five search warrants for locations linked to Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, including at Taylor’s home.
Early the next morning, Hankison, Mattingly and Cosgrove carried out a warrant at her home and rammed in the front door, startling Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker III.
Thinking they were intruders, Walker grabbed a gun he legally owned and fired a shot when the officers broke through the door, hitting Mattingly in the leg. That triggered a volley of fire from the officers, including Hankison, who was moved to the parking lot where he fired.
Taylor, who was standing in a hallway with Walker, was shot multiple times. Walker was not injured.
“Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend,” Walker said in a 911 call.
Walker was at first charged with attempted murder of a police officer and first-degree assault but prosecutors later decided to drop the charges.
In September, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that Cosgrove and Mattingly would not face charges, saying their use of force was justified because they were shot at first.
None of the officers still work for the police department. Hankison was fired in late June 2020, Cosgrove was fired in January 2021, and Mattingly retired in April 2021.
In June 2020, the Louisville Metro Council unanimously passed an ordinance called “Breonna’s Law,” banning no-knock search warrants. The city of Louisville also agreed to pay Taylor’s family $12 million as part of a settlement.
CNN’s Theresa Waldrop contributed to this report.
Brett Hankison trial: Former Louisville Metro Police officer cries on stand describing fatal Breonna Taylor raid
Former Detective Brett Hankison testified that when a team of officers rammed into the home to execute a search warrant, his former colleague Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was shot by what appeared to be a shadowy figure with a rifle in the dark apartment.
Hankison testified he heard a number of gunshots and saw muzzle flashes and believed his fellow officers were being gunned down as they tried to help Mattingly. He said he fired to protect himself and his fellow officers.
“I knew they were trying to get to him, and it appeared to me they were being executed with this rifle,” Hankison said, pushing through tears and wiping his nose. “I returned fire through the sliding glass door, and that did not stop the threat.”
His testimony comes a day after the prosecution rested its case, as jurors heard from 26 witnesses in the trial.
The charges stem from the botched raid on the early morning of March 13, 2020, in which police fatally shot Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, in her own home.
The officers had battered down the door to execute a search warrant related to a drug investigation. Thinking they were intruders, Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker III grabbed a gun he legally owned and fired a shot, hitting Mattingly in the leg. That triggered a volley of fire from the officers, including Hankison, who was standing outside the apartment.
Taylor, who was standing in a hallway with Walker, was shot multiple times. Walker was not injured.
Hankison is the only officer charged in connection with the shooting, and the charges are not for Taylor’s death, but for endangering her neighbors. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron declined to press charges directly related to Taylor’s death, saying the officers were justified in their use of force.
Combined with the killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, Taylor’s death set off widespread protests about how the legal system treats Black citizens as well as particular criticisms about the dangers of no-knock warrants.
Hankison says he felt ‘helpless’
In court Wednesday, Hankison described his career with the Louisville Metro Police Department from 2003 to 2020. On the night of March 12, 2020, he volunteered to be a part of a team executing a search warrant at Taylor’s home, but he did not participate in the investigation itself.
The incident went awry when the gunfire began, and Hankison testified that he believed the person inside the home had a rifle.
“I felt helpless knowing that I had a handgun and I was facing rifle fire,” he said. “Even though I had a tactical vest on, I knew that was no match for if the shooter came out with the rifle.”
No rifle was found at the scene. In opening statements, Kentucky Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley said only a Glock pistol was found inside the apartment.
Hankison testified that Walker later came out of the house with his hands up and said that his girlfriend was dead inside.
“That kind of shook me because there was only supposed to be one person in that apartment, and now there was allegedly a girl inside, and that wasn’t why we were there,” Hankison said.
He did not learn until later that his bullets had gone through Taylor’s apartment and into the neighboring home.
“I was pretty shook because I found out later that (the neighbor) Ms. (Chelsea) Napper testified that she had a small child in there, and I felt horrible,” he testified.
He said he did “absolutely” nothing wrong during the raid. Still, he said he felt empathy for the neighbor’s experience, and then spoke to Taylor’s family.
“Ms. Taylor’s family, she didn’t need to die that night –” he said, before he was cut off by an objection.
The words caused some members of the public sitting in the gallery to gasp and sob.
The prosecution’s cross-examination of Hankison will take place after lunch, and closing arguments might come as early as Thursday morning.
How the trial has gone so far
In court, prosecutors argued that Hankison shot into a window from outside the apartment in a direction perpendicular to where Walker’s shot originated.
“This case is about Cody (Etherton) and his partner Chelsea (Napper), who was seven months pregnant at the time, and their 5-year-old son, who was sleeping in the bedroom closest to the front door when the bullets ripped through the apartment and out their sliding glass door, into the night,” the prosecutor said.
Hankison’s testimony is not the first jurors have heard from him. Prosecutors earlier in the trial played an interview with Hankison that was recorded March 25, 2020, in which he gave similar descriptions of the incident.
In that interview, he said he retreated from the tight breezeway to the parking lot and started firing.
During the interview played in court, Hankison is heard saying: “I was almost under the impression at the time they were all being sprayed with bullets. I had already seen where the threat was. … He was straight ahead as the door came open, he was all the way back in that hallway. I returned fire at the angle that I believed him to still be shooting from because I could see the muzzle flashes.”
He said he fired through a glass door and a window with his pistol and when he did so the threat stopped.
“I thought the guy was actually advancing, by the last shot I heard, that he was advancing toward us,” he said. “And I felt pretty helpless, like there is no way we can challenge this guy with an assault rifle.”
“I kind of felt they were sitting ducks,” he said, referring to the officers.
Two other officers who were part of the botched raid, Mattingly and former Detective Myles Cosgrove, asserted their Fifth amendment rights not to testify. They were not charged in the incident but could be in an ongoing federal investigation.
Several prosecution witnesses have testified only one gun was found in the apartment — Walker’s legally owned 9 mm. Other officers have testified they didn’t fire because they couldn’t locate a target.
Napper, Taylor’s neighbor, testified that the family went to bed around 10 or 10:30 p.m., but she woke up suddenly.
“It seemed like a bomb,” she said of a loud noise she later learned was a ram with gunshots “all together.”
“I just froze for a second, and I think he (Etherton) said our apartment was getting shot up,” she testified. “He said there was bullets flying everywhere.”
None of the three officers in the raid still work for the police department. Hankison was fired in late June 2020, Cosgrove was fired in January 2021, and Mattingly retired in April 2021.
In June 2020, the Louisville Metro Council unanimously passed an ordinance called “Breonna’s Law,” banning no-knock search warrants. The city of Louisville also agreed to pay Taylor’s family $12 million as part of a settlement.
CNN’s Theresa Waldrop contributed to this report.
Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend files federal lawsuit against Louisville police violated his rights during raid
The lawsuit stems from the flawed forced-entry raid at Taylor’s apartment on March 13, 2020. Walker, thinking officers were intruders, fired one shot as officers broke down the door, hitting Sgt. John Mattingly in the leg, authorities said. The officers returned a barrage of gunfire throughout the apartment, killing Taylor and, according to a statement from the state Attorney General’s Office, nearly hitting a family in another apartment.
Walker was arrested and charged with shooting at an officer, but those charges were initially dismissed last year and then dismissed with prejudice, or permanently, last week.
Filed in US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on Friday, Walker’s lawyers allege in the suit that LMPD officers violated Walker’s Fourth Amendment rights when they executed the search warrant on Taylor’s residence.
The suit alleges that the warrant was based on fabricated assertions; the raid was unnecessarily conducted in the middle of the night; the officers did not announce they were police; and the officers responded with excessive force. The lawsuit also alleges that officers carrying out the raid did not coordinate with Louisville Metro Police SWAT team, which, the lawsuit says, typically handles no-knock raids.
Further, the lawsuit levels broader criticisms at the LMPD, saying it permits officers to execute late night search warrants and routinely does so “regardless of circumstances.” The lawsuit alleges that late night search warrants “predictably leads to dangerous situations in which the targets of searches mistake police for intruders.”
LMPD said it does not comment on pending litigation. However, the officers involved in the raid have told investigators they repeatedly knocked and announced themselves before bursting through her front door with a battering ram.
Georgetown University Law Center professor Cliff Sloan, one of the lawyers representing Walker, told CNN in a statement Saturday that the lawsuit was important to vindicate Walker’s rights.
“We are seeking to ensure that there is justice and accountability for the tragic and unjustified police assault on Kenneth Walker and killing of Breonna Taylor in her home in the middle of the night,” he said.
Taylor’s death has led to widespread protests against the ways police and the criminal justice system can devalue Black people’s lives. Her death has also sparked a wider recognition of the dangers of forced-entry raids, both for a home’s occupants and for police. The Louisville Metro Council unanimously passed “Breonna’s Law” last June banning no-knock search warrants.
No officer involved was directly charged with Taylor’s death. Former detective Brett Hankison, one of the officers who opened fire the night of the raid, was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for allegedly blindly shooting into the apartment, endangering a neighboring family of three, according to a September 2020 statement from Attorney General Daniel Cameron. He has pleaded not guilty.
Joshua Jaynes, who had written the search warrant for the raid, was fired in January. His attorney said he planned to appeal the termination. Another detective involved in the raid, Myles Cosgrove, was also fired in January.
West Coast cities erupt in violence on Breonna Taylor anniversary
Major cities on the West Coast were among those seeing riots and protests Saturday night as demonstrators marked the one-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death in a police raid in Louisville, Kentucky.
Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland all saw clashes between crowds and police, with numerous arrests reported.
In Los Angeles, some demonstrators smashed store windows and threw rocks at police officers in Hollywood.
Social media videos showed police officers in riot gear near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street near the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One social media video showed a protester jumping on a police cruiser as it sped away.
At least one officer was injured in the clashes, police said, according to an on-air report from KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. The officer’s condition was not reported.
It was unclear if any protesters were injured.
BREONNA TAYLOR ‘ARMED’ PROTESTERS PROMPT LOUISVILLE POLICE TO DECLARE ‘UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY’
Bed Bath and Beyond, a CVS pharmacy and an Asian restaurant were among the businesses vandalized by rioters, according to KNBC and social media videos.
Police did not immediately report if any protesters have been arrested.
Earlier, hundreds of protesters had marched and celebrated Taylor’s life peacefully in Hollywood and other parts of the city.
Seattle
In Seattle, videos posted to social media early Sunday showed police moving aggressively against demonstrators.
In one video, police on bicycles are seen making arrests, while another video showed police in a van as they followed a group of marchers.
Earlier, a violent clash broke out as police used pepper spray while moving in against a crowd.
A downtown Starbucks shop was seen with smashed windows and spray-painted messages on the outside.
Police were also monitoring a group that they believed had been dragging construction signs and other items into the street in an apparent bid to block vehicles.
The Seattle Police Department tweets about 4 a.m. Saturday ET that they had made 13 arrests.
Portland
In Portland, a federal courthouse in the downtown area appeared to be the main staging area for another faceoff with authorities.
Just one night earlier, police had made 13 arrests and “kettled” about 100 demonstrators before allowing them to leave one by one, according to reports.
Last week’s protests outside the courthouse came soon after authorities removed a barrier that had been in place outside the building.
On Saturday night and into Sunday morning, new messages were seen spray-painted outside the courthouse, including, “Police are murderers.”
Taylor, who was Black, was killed on March 13, 2020, when a group of Louisville Metro Police Department officers entered her apartment on a no-knock raid.
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Taylor’s boyfriend fired at the officers, thinking they were burglars, he later told police, and the officers fired back. Taylor was shot and killed by officers in the crossfire.
The officers later said they had announced their presence in the apartment. No drugs were found inside.
Taylor’s family and their supporters have been seeking the prosecution of city police officers who participated in the raid that led to Taylor’s death. Three police officers have been fired and one detective was charged for allegedly shooting into adjacent apartments during the raid but none has been charged in connection with Taylor’s death.
Authorities in Kentucky stress that their investigation is continuing.
There were also protests and celebrations of her life in Louisville Saturday.
“Eyes are on Louisville, Kentucky, today so let’s show America what community looks like,” Taylor’s aunt, Bianca Austin, told a group in the city Saturday, KABC-TV in Los Angeles reported.
Breonna Taylor ‘armed’ protesters prompt Louisville police to declare ‘unlawful assembly’
A protest in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday night, on the one-year anniversary of the death of Breonna Taylor, was declared an unlawful assembly, according to police.
Some protesters, “while armed,” blocked vehicular traffic and forced motorists to turn around, the Louisville Metro Police Department wrote in a Twitter message.
“Arrests will be made to those that refuse to disperse,” the police message said.
The tweet included a photo of protesters gathered along the city’s Ohio River waterfront.
No arrests had been made as of 11 p.m., police spokesman Dwight Mitchell told Louisville FOX station WDRB-TV. He added that police had not needed to use tear gas or any other chemical agents on the crowd.
MOTHER OF BREONNA TAYLOR FILES COMPLAINTS AGAINST 6 LOUISVILLE POLICE OFFICERS
A woman who was seen handcuffed by police was later released, according to the FOX station.
Earlier in the evening, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer had thanked the crowd for being peaceful during the weekend’s demonstrations.
Protesters in Louisville, Kentucky, call for justice for Breonna Taylor, Sept. 25, 2020. (Associated Press)
“Breonna’s death devastated her family, friends and coworkers, and it has deeply shaken our community and our country,” the mayor said, according to the Courier-Journal of Louisville. “Her death, along with those of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and too many others, serve as painful reminders for Black Americans of the injustice, discrimination and violence they’ve faced for centuries – and too often still face today.”
President Biden also posted a Twitter message, acknowledging the anniversary of Taylor’s death.
“Breonna Taylor’s death was a tragedy, a blow to her family, her community, and America,” Biden wrote. “As we continue to mourn her, we must press ahead to pass meaningful police reform in Congress. I remain committed to signing a landmark reform bill into law.”
Gatherings were held in Louisville and other cities across the U.S. as protesters pushed for authorities to prosecute police officers who were involved in a raid at Taylor’s home on March 13, 2020, that resulted in the shooting death of the 26-year-old woman.
“Until a jury trial tells us that these officers are not guilty, there’s always time to indict, arrest and convict the cops that murdered Breonna Taylor,” attorney Lonita Baker, one of the lawyers involved in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Taylor’s family, said at an afternoon rally at Jefferson Square Park, according to WDRB.
This undated photo shows Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. (Courtesy of Taylor Family attorney Sam Aguiar via AP)
During the raid, Taylor was struck by six shots and died in her hallway as police confronted her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who told authorities afterward that he fired at police, thinking the officers were intruders trying to break into the home.
Walker has since been cleared of wrongdoing and three police officers linked to the raid have been fired but none has faced criminal charges, WDRB reported.
Walker on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department, ABC News reported.
Four days earlier, Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, filed complaints against six police officers in connection with her daughter’s death, alleging police misconduct.
The complaint names Sgt. Kyle Meany, Det. Anthony James, Det. Mike Nobles, Sgt. Amanda Seelye, Det. Mike Campbell and Lt. Shawn Hoover.
Former Det. Brett Hankison was charged with wanton endangerment last September for firing into an apartment next to Taylor’s and showing “extreme indifference to human life.”
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A man, a pregnant woman and a child were inside the other apartment at the time, authorities have said.
In September, Taylor’s family reached a $12 million settlement with the city in a separate legal case. The terms included the city’s pledge to make changes in police policies and procedures.
Louisville police have told Fox News the case remains under investigation and they take Palmer’s ongoing concerns seriously.
“The department places the highest priority on conducting thorough and impartial investigations, and the complaints received from Ms. Palmer’s attorney are no exception,” the LMPD told Fox News in a statement. “We are committed to being as transparent as possible within the confines of those limitations outlined by law of the Commonwealth.”
Breonna Taylor: Prosecutors want trial of detective in shooting held in Louisville
The Kentucky Attorney General’s office asked a judge this week to keep the trial for one of the officers involved in the Breonna Taylor shooting in Louisville, citing a “large and diverse” pool for jurors, according to a report.
Former Det. Brett Hankison was charged with wanton endangerment last September for firing into an apartment next to Taylor’s and showing “extreme indifference to human life.” A man, a pregnant woman and a child were inside the apartment. He also shot into another empty apartment.
Taylor’s death became an integral part of the fight against police brutality and racial justice protests that swept the nation last year, stirred by the police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May after an officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes.
Last month, Hankison’s attorney, Stew Mathews, argued his trial should take place in another county because he claimed the former detective has been portrayed in a negative light by the media, which could prejudice his jury and “irreparably harm” his chance for a fair trial, WDRB-TV in Louisville reported.
BREONNA TAYLOR DEATH: LOUISVILLE POLICE DOCUMENTS SHINE LIGHT INTO INVESTIGATION DETAILS
Former Det. Brett Hankison was charged last fall with wanton endangerment.
(Louisville Metro Police Department)
He told Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Ann Bailey Smith the “media circus” and portrayed his client in a “false and negative light.”
The request was denied by Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office, saying Matthews had not shown conclusively “public opinion is so aroused in the county as to reasonable preclude a fair trial” and noting that potential jurors will be questioned about potential bias before the trial.
The Kentucky Supreme Court recently upheld a judge’s decision to keep the trial in Jefferson County, adding that moving it to another county would likely cause “hardship” for lay witnesses and victims, all of whom live in Louisville, WDRB reported.
Hankison and two other Louisville Metro Police officers, McKenzie Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, were involved in the fatal shooting of Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room tech, in her apartment on March 13, 2020, following a no-knock drug raid. No drugs were found inside.
None of the officers were indicted for Taylor’s killing, setting off another wave of protests and criticism.
Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a warning shot when officers entered because he thought he and Taylor were being robbed, his attorney said. The officers, who later said they had announced their entry, fired back, hitting Taylor. Walker shot one of the officers in the leg.
FBI ballistics experts determined one of Cosgrove’s bullets had killed her.
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Jefferson County, which includes Lousiville has the highest percentage of Black residents in the state, around 22%, WDRB reported, compared to less than 13% in every other county in the state.