On March 13, 2020, a short while after midnight, plainclothes Louisville Metro Police officers kicked in an apartment door and shot 32 bullets—blindly—into 26-year-old EMT Breonna Taylor’s home. Taylor was in bed sleeping with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Breonna was struck numerous times and died on the floor in the hallway outside of her bedroom.
Every single thing the Louisville police claimed had happened that night, very quickly unraveled. They did not announce themselves, they got a crap warrant predicated on lazy police work, and they killed an innocent woman. They also tried to claim that Walker was at fault for beginning the firefight that claimed Breonna’s life. That story also fell to pieces as evidence was released to the public (after months of badgering from family, activists, and the press).
On Monday, the city of Louisville settled for $2 million a lawsuit that Kenneth Walker had brought against them over the event. Walker’s lawyer told the New York Times that he and Walker were happy that the case was over, even though he knows the “case has additional value.”
RELATED STORY: Ex-Louisville cop's acquittal of charges related to Breonna Taylor's death should infuriate you
Walker had initially been charged with attempted murder because one of his defensive shots struck a police officer in the leg. But as prosecutors were forced to reckon with all of the mountains of evidence that Walker acted in self-defense, and that the police officers in question should be those being charged with crimes, the charges were dropped.
Walker’s attorney, Steve Raines, read a statement in which he explained that the money doesn’t change the fact that Walker will be haunted by Taylor’s death forever. "He will live with the effects of being put in harm's way due to a falsified warrant, to being a victim of a hailstorm of gunfire, and to suffering the unimaginable and horrific death of Breonna Taylor.”
Walker’s settlement comes years after Breonna Taylor’s family settled for $12 million, before any charges had been filed against the officers responsible for her death. In March, after years of staying out of prison, former police officer Brett Hankinson was acquitted for his part in Breonna Taylor’s death. So far, the only real justice that has come from all of this is the adoption of “Breonna’s Law,” which limits the use of Gestapo-like no-knock warrants.
It took the racist law enforcement apparatus of Louisville until August 2022—after two years and numerous local and national protests—to fire two of the cops involved in Taylor’s death. This was almost 900 days after Breonna was killed. It was about two years since the first officer was finally indicted for “endangerment.”
The “blue lives matter” crowd whine and wring their hands about “Defund the Police,” but the law enforcement apparatus across the country costs taxpayers far more money in lawsuits and settlements than they are worth in safety.
It is not yet clear whether or not this settlement satisfies the state civil rights lawsuit Walker filed as well.
RELATED STORIES:
A year after Breonna Taylor's death at the hands of Louisville police, the world still says her name
'Cannot tolerate this type of conduct': Finally, cops involved in Breonna Taylor's death are fired
Breonna Taylor's family to receive $12 million settlement, but officers still have not been charged
Every single thing the Louisville police claimed had happened that night, very quickly unraveled. They did not announce themselves, they got a crap warrant predicated on lazy police work, and they killed an innocent woman. They also tried to claim that Walker was at fault for beginning the firefight that claimed Breonna’s life. That story also fell to pieces as evidence was released to the public (after months of badgering from family, activists, and the press).
On Monday, the city of Louisville settled for $2 million a lawsuit that Kenneth Walker had brought against them over the event. Walker’s lawyer told the New York Times that he and Walker were happy that the case was over, even though he knows the “case has additional value.”
RELATED STORY: Ex-Louisville cop's acquittal of charges related to Breonna Taylor's death should infuriate you
Walker had initially been charged with attempted murder because one of his defensive shots struck a police officer in the leg. But as prosecutors were forced to reckon with all of the mountains of evidence that Walker acted in self-defense, and that the police officers in question should be those being charged with crimes, the charges were dropped.
Walker’s attorney, Steve Raines, read a statement in which he explained that the money doesn’t change the fact that Walker will be haunted by Taylor’s death forever. "He will live with the effects of being put in harm's way due to a falsified warrant, to being a victim of a hailstorm of gunfire, and to suffering the unimaginable and horrific death of Breonna Taylor.”
Walker’s settlement comes years after Breonna Taylor’s family settled for $12 million, before any charges had been filed against the officers responsible for her death. In March, after years of staying out of prison, former police officer Brett Hankinson was acquitted for his part in Breonna Taylor’s death. So far, the only real justice that has come from all of this is the adoption of “Breonna’s Law,” which limits the use of Gestapo-like no-knock warrants.
It took the racist law enforcement apparatus of Louisville until August 2022—after two years and numerous local and national protests—to fire two of the cops involved in Taylor’s death. This was almost 900 days after Breonna was killed. It was about two years since the first officer was finally indicted for “endangerment.”
The “blue lives matter” crowd whine and wring their hands about “Defund the Police,” but the law enforcement apparatus across the country costs taxpayers far more money in lawsuits and settlements than they are worth in safety.
It is not yet clear whether or not this settlement satisfies the state civil rights lawsuit Walker filed as well.
RELATED STORIES:
A year after Breonna Taylor's death at the hands of Louisville police, the world still says her name
'Cannot tolerate this type of conduct': Finally, cops involved in Breonna Taylor's death are fired
Breonna Taylor's family to receive $12 million settlement, but officers still have not been charged