Who Broke The Law? Breonna Taylor's Case

The tragic death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American medical worker, at the hands of the police has sparked widespread protests and raised questions about police brutality and racial injustice in the United States. While the circumstances of her killing are still being debated, with some claiming that the police were conducting a raid at the wrong address, it is clear that the events of that night in March 2020 resulted in a devastating loss of life that has left an indelible mark on the nation.

Did the police announce themselves before entering Breonna Taylor's apartment?

The police claim that they announced themselves before entering Breonna Taylor's apartment. However, this has been disputed by Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was inside the apartment with her, and several neighbours.

Taylor's boyfriend, Walker, has said he heard pounding at the door but did not hear anyone announce they were police. Walker fired a warning shot, mistaking the police for intruders, and wounded officer Jonathan Mattingly. Walker was later charged with assault and attempted murder of a police officer, but these charges were dismissed with prejudice a year later.

According to the New York Times, only one of the dozen neighbours they interviewed heard the officers shout "Police!" once and knock at least three times. The other neighbours heard no announcement, including one who was outside smoking a cigarette.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron declared that Louisville Metro Police knocked and announced themselves, as the officers at the scene told investigators they had identified themselves as police, and one of Taylor's neighbours said he heard them do it. However, this same witness had previously said the opposite. On March 21, Aaron Sarpee told Louisville Metro Police investigators, "No, nobody identify themself." It wasn't until nearly two months later, on May 15, that Sarpee said he heard officers knock and announce, "This is the cops."

In addition, the police officers involved have testified that they announced themselves multiple times before using a battering ram to enter the apartment.

The controversy surrounding Taylor's death led to the passing of "Breonna's Law" in Louisville in June 2020, which bans no-knock warrants and requires officers to wear body cameras when carrying out search warrants.

Was the no-knock warrant justified?

The use of no-knock warrants has been a contentious issue in the US, with concerns raised over police brutality and racial injustice. No-knock warrants allow law enforcement to enter a property without announcing their presence, which can lead to deadly and violent encounters. In the case of Breonna Taylor, a no-knock warrant was obtained and approved by Jefferson Circuit Judge Mary Shaw.

The validity of the no-knock warrant in the Breonna Taylor case has been questioned, with conflicting accounts of whether officers announced themselves before entering her apartment. Louisville Metro officers claim they knocked and identified themselves, while Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, who was with her inside the apartment, stated that he heard pounding but did not hear anyone announce they were police. Several neighbours also claimed they did not hear the police announce themselves.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron asserted that the warrant was not served as a no-knock warrant, stating that evidence showed officers knocked and announced their presence, which was corroborated by a witness near Taylor's apartment. However, this witness's account has been disputed, with their lawyer stating that the police announced themselves "only in passing" and that the witness may have been quoted out of context.

The use of a no-knock warrant in this case has been criticised, particularly as Taylor had no criminal history, and the main suspect in the drug investigation, Jamarcus Glover, had already been arrested. The validity of the warrant was further called into question when the US postal inspector in Louisville publicly announced that they had not collaborated with law enforcement, contrary to what was stated in the warrant.

The tragic death of Breonna Taylor has sparked nationwide protests and petitions calling for an end to no-knock warrants, police reform, and accountability to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Did Kenneth Walker know the intruders were police?

On the night of March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were at her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, when police officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) forced entry into her home. The officers were dressed in plain clothes and had a "no-knock" search warrant as part of a narcotics investigation.

Walker has stated that he heard pounding at the door but did not hear anyone announce they were police. He called his mother and then dialled 911 before arming himself. He and Taylor believed intruders were breaking into the apartment. Walker fired a warning shot downward, which he said was meant to scare away intruders. This bullet struck Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the leg, requiring surgery to repair his femoral artery. Walker was unharmed.

The police officers involved have testified that they announced themselves multiple times before using a battering ram to enter the apartment. This has been corroborated by a civilian witness who was near Taylor's apartment and one of her neighbours, who was on the exterior staircase immediately above Taylor's apartment. However, several other neighbours have said they did not hear the police announce themselves before forcing entry.

Walker was initially charged with the attempted murder of a police officer and first-degree assault. However, these charges were later dismissed, and he was released from jail. In September 2020, Walker filed a lawsuit against the LMPD and the City of Louisville, accusing them of misconduct and asserting that he did not fire the bullet that injured Mattingly. He was seeking immunity under Kentucky's "stand your ground" law and compensation for assault, battery, false arrest, imprisonment, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and negligence. In 2022, Walker reached a $2 million settlement with the City of Louisville.

Did the police mishandle the investigation?

The investigation into Breonna Taylor's death has been marred by allegations of mishandling and cover-ups by the police.

The police officers involved in the raid—Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove—were placed on administrative reassignment pending the outcome of an investigation by the police department's internal Professional Integrity Unit. However, no officer has ever been charged with shooting Ms. Taylor.

In September 2020, after four months of investigation, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and his team of prosecutors presented the shooting to a grand jury, which indicted only Hankison on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for shots that went into a neighbour's apartment. No one was charged in Taylor's death. Several jurors accused Cameron of covering up what happened.

In August 2022, the Justice Department charged four current and former police officers with federal civil rights violations, including lying to obtain a search warrant for her apartment. A judge dismissed some of those charges in August 2024.

A New York Times examination of video footage from the scene, witness accounts, statements by the police officers, and forensics reports showed that the raid was compromised by poor planning and reckless execution. It found that the only support for a grand jury's conclusion that the officers had announced themselves before bursting into Ms. Taylor's apartment—beyond the assertions of the officers themselves—was the account of a single witness who had given inconsistent statements.

In addition, the police filed an incident report that falsely claimed that Taylor had no injuries and that no forced entry occurred. The police department said that technical errors led to a nearly entirely blank malformed report.

The police also claimed to have verified with postal inspectors that Taylor's ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, was receiving packages at her address. However, in May 2020, the U.S. postal inspector in Louisville publicly announced that the purported collaboration with law enforcement had never occurred, and the postal office said it was asked by a different agency to monitor packages going to Taylor's apartment, but after doing so, it concluded, "There's [sic] no packages of interest going there."

Could the officers have acted differently?

The events leading up to the tragic death of Breonna Taylor raise several questions about the conduct of the police officers involved. Here are some ways in which the officers could have acted differently:

Obtaining the Warrant

The officers could have conducted a more thorough investigation before applying for the search warrant. Detective Joshua Jaynes, who applied for the warrant, stated that he saw Jamarcus Glover, a convicted felon, enter Taylor's apartment in January and leave with a package, which he then took to a known drug house. However, this was the only documented activity regarding Taylor's residence, and no evidence of any illegal activity in March was presented. Obtaining a "no-knock" warrant is supposed to be reserved for specific circumstances, such as when suspects may try to destroy evidence or are considered a danger to officers. In this case, the officers assumed that Taylor was home alone, but she was accompanied by her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was legally armed. This miscalculation contributed to the tragic outcome.

Execution of the Warrant

The officers could have taken more precautions when executing the warrant. Although there is dispute over whether the officers announced themselves before forcing entry, Walker contends that he and Taylor asked "Who is it?" several times after hearing a loud bang at the door, but received no response. The officers then used a battering ram to break down the door, and Walker, believing that there were intruders, fired a warning shot, which struck Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly in the leg. The officers returned fire with more than 25 bullets, some of which entered other apartments, including one with a young child. This reckless discharge of firearms demonstrates a lack of regard for the safety of others.

Conduct During the Operation

The officers involved in the operation, particularly Brett Hankison, could have exercised better judgment and restraint. Hankison was accused by his own department of "blindly" firing 10 rounds into Taylor's apartment from an outdoor patio, endangering the lives of Taylor, Walker, and their neighbours. He was subsequently fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) for violating departmental policies on the use of deadly force.

Transparency and Accountability

The officers and the LMPD could have been more transparent and accountable in the aftermath of the incident. Initially, the LMPD filed an incident report claiming that Taylor had no injuries and that no forced entry had occurred, which was later attributed to technical errors. Additionally, there were discrepancies in the accounts provided by the officers involved. For example, Mattingly claimed that Walker was not shooting at the ground, while Walker's attorney stated that his client's gun was pointed downwards when he fired. The LMPD's handling of the investigation and its failure to provide many details about the shooting contributed to the public outcry and criticism the department faced.

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