Breonna Taylor’s death sparked additional protests to an already unstable social environment in the U.S. The family of the 26-year-old EMT, who was fatally shot by police in a raid of her apartment in March, has reached a $12 million settlement with the City of Louisville, Ky. in a wrongful death lawsuit.
What We Know:
- Mayor Greg Fischer announced Tuesday that the city of Louisville will pay $12 million to the family of Breonna, along with establishing new police reforms that are a part of a lawsuit settlement. Taylor’s name has become one of the many forefronts of national unrest due to the public’s recent reawakening of racial injustice this year.
- The outcome of this lawsuit follows the state’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, who continues to investigate and pursue criminal charges against the three officers involved in the incident. Ever since the shooting, all the officers involved were placed on administrative reassignment, and one has even been fired. Brett Hankison was the one who was fired and who fired shots at Taylor’s apartment that night. Hankison is reportedly appealing the dismissal.
- Alongside the large payout to Taylor’s family, there are clear messages and promises from the city to reform their police force. Many of the main actions include changes in the process of how search warrants are approved, how to appropriately carry them out, and a commitment to hiring social workers in an effort to assist the police.
Statement regarding the ongoing investigation into the death of Ms. Breonna Taylor. pic.twitter.com/U3BXkNCFhM
— Attorney General Daniel Cameron (@kyoag) September 9, 2020
- Another motion the city announced was offering housing credits to police officers to live in Louisville’s low-income neighborhoods. In another effort to put officers more in touch with the community, they will be paid at least two hours per week to perform community service where they live within or in the surrounding neighborhoods.
- During a press conference in the mayor’s office, Lonita Baker, an attorney for Taylor’s family, described the settlement overall as “multi-layered” justice for Breonna Taylor and that this lawsuit alone is “only a portion of a single layer”.
- Prior to this settlement and reforms, the city already took steps in the right direction by passing “Breonna’s Law,” which bans the use of the no-knock warrants. These particular warrants are primarily used in cases where drugs are involved and there is a concern that any evidence could be destroyed before law enforcement discovers it. No drugs were found in Taylor’s case.
- Back in June, Mayor Fischer fired former police chief Steve Conrad in June and named former deputy chief Yvette Gentry as new interim police chief the past week. The significance of Gentry’s hiring marks the first time that a Black woman has led a police force of 1,200.
Before Taylor’s lawsuit, the largest previous settlement due to Louisville police misconduct was $8.5 million in 2012. A news report states that this case was a man who spent over two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit.
