Louisville Settles Breonna Taylor Suit for $12 Million, Pledges Police Reforms

Justice for Breonna Taylor

[Family of Breonna Taylor]
CNN: “The settlement comes more than six months after Louisville Metro Police officers broke down the door to Taylor’s apartment and fatally shot her while executing a late-night, ‘no-knock’ warrant”
Photo: YouTube

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, will institute a series of police reforms and pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Taylor’s family and their attorneys announced the settlement in a joint press conference on Tuesday.

Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was killed in her home by police on March 13.

Family attorney Benjamin Crump said he believed the $12 million payout is the largest amount ever paid out for a Black woman killed by police in the US and possibly the most ever for a Black person killed by police.

The settlement comes more than six months after Louisville Metro Police officers broke down the door to Taylor’s apartment and fatally shot her while executing a late-night, “no-knock” warrant in a narcotics investigation.

A CNN review of the shooting found that police believed Taylor was home alone when she was in fact accompanied by her boyfriend, who was legally armed. That miscalculation, along with the decision to press forward with a high-risk, forced-entry raid under questionable circumstances, contributed to the deadly outcome.

Taylor’s boyfriend, who said he believed the home was being broken into, shot and injured an officer, and police killed Taylor in the return fire.

The officers were not wearing body cameras, police said.

Until Freedom, a social justice organization that has protested in Louisville, released a statement Tuesday reacting to the reported city settlement.

“No amount of money will bring back Breonna Taylor,” the group said. “We see this settlement as the bare minimum you can do for a grieving mother. The city isn’t doing her any favors. True justice is not served with cash settlements. We need those involved in her murder to be arrested and charged. We need accountability. We need justice.”

Read rest of story here: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/15/us/breonna-taylor-louisville-settlement/index.html

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