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Breonna Taylor’s Family Hopeful Charges Against Police Coming Soon

Ryland Barton

Family members of Breonna Taylor and their attorneys are renewing their call for the police officers involved in her death to be fired and criminally charged.

Thursday marked 150 days since Taylor, a 26 year-old Black woman and emergency medical technician, was shot to death by Louisville police officers executing a no-knock search warrant on her home in the middle of the night.

Ben Crump, a lawyer representing Taylor’s family, said he expects that the investigation into Taylor’s death will be resolved “sooner rather than later.”

“If no one’s held accountable, we expect people to have an emotional reaction. But what we hope is that the law works for Breonna like it works if she were a young white lady,” Crump said.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, has been overseeing an investigation into Taylor’s death since June. He has not provided a timeline of when the investigation will be complete.

Cameron met with members of Taylor’s family on Wednesday to “express his condolences,” according to a statement from his office.

“The investigation remains ongoing, and our Office of Special Prosecutions continues to review all the facts in the case to determine the truth,” Cameron’s communications director Elizabeth Kuhn wrote.

Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, said on Thursday that Cameron told her he doesn’t want to rush through the case.

“I’m trying to accept that and be patient with that, because I definitely want him to come out with the right answer,” Palmer said.

Taylor’s death has sparked protests in Louisville and across the country. In Louisville, the city recently announced they would no longer allow people to demonstrate using caravans or block traffic.

Police said the change came after an increase in “aggressive behavior” from protesters.

Crump, the attorney for Taylor’s family, said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer needs to listen to protesters and allow them to demonstrate.

“They may not make perfect decisions. God knows the city leadership has not made perfect decisions either, or we would not be here,” Crump said.

Lonita Baker, another attorney for Taylor’s family, said the city of Louisville needs to turn conversations about racial justice and police accountability into action.

“This community isn’t going to accept anything less than true action. And I think that Mayor Fischer knows that,” Baker said.

One officer involved in Taylor’s death, Brett Hankison, has been fired. Two others, Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly, remain on paid leave.

Ryland Barton is the Managing Editor for Collaboratives. He's covered politics and state government for NPR member stations KWBU in Waco and KUT in Austin. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Texas. He grew up in Lexington.

Email Ryland at rbarton@lpm.org.
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