The family of Breonna Taylor, the decorated Louisville, Kentucky EMT, has hired prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump after Taylor was shot eight times and killed by police on March 13. Crump has been in the high-profile cases of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and most recently, Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old shot and killed by two white men in Georgia in late February.
Louisville Metro Police say they were search warrant as part of a narcotics investigation when they entered Taylor's residence. According to a lawsuit from Taylor's family, the officers entered the residence without knocking or identifying themselves as police, which was backed by statements from multiple neighbors. Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were awakened by the officers entering the home, and they thought someone was breaking in. Walker responded to the situation by shooting Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the leg, and while he underwent surgery, Mattingly is expected to survive. Mattingly and two other officers fired more than 20 bullets into Taylor's apartment and into an adjacent residence where a 5-year-old child and pregnant mother were present.
Walker is now facing criminal charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer. However, no drugs were found in the home.
Walker has a license to carry and kept firearms in the home for protection, and Taylor has no criminal history. The lawsuit from Taylor's family states that LMPD executed two search warrants, including one at Taylor's residence, in an attempt to locate a suspect named Jamarcus Glover. Prior to executing the search warrant at Taylor's residence, Glover had already been located and detained at his home, which is 10 miles away from where Taylor was living.
Benjamin Crump commented on taking the case, stating, "We stand with the family of this young woman in demanding answers from the Louisville Police Department. Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding her death, the department has not provided any answers regarding the facts and circumstances of how this tragedy occurred, nor have they taken responsibility for her senseless killing."
The Louisville Police Department spokeswoman Jessie Halladay stated that there is an ongoing investigation in the case, telling USA Today, "We held a press conference about this shooting when it occurred to detail what we were able. The Public Integrity investigation remains ongoing, therefore it would not be appropriate for us to comment."
Source: USA Today
