Why haven’t the Louisville police officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor been arrested?
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot eight times and killed after midnight March 13 when three plainclothes detectives burst into her Louisville apartment using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. One officer was shot by Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who said he thought an intruder was breaking into the home.
The warrant to search her home was in connection with a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found.
The alleged target was an alleged drug dealer named Jamarcus Glover, who was arrested on trafficking charges the same night 10 miles away on a separate warrant. Taylor had a previous relationship with Glover.
In the months that followed, Louisville’s police chief was fired and the city’s mayor banned “no-knock” warrants.
Taylor’s killing led to months of protests, and calls for arrests by several prominent figures. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George and Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris are among the many prominent players who have repeatedly expressed support for Taylor’s family.
The Women’s National Basketball Association has also brought national attention to the case.
“We are dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor,” said Layshia Clarendon, a New York Liberty guard and member of the new WNBA Social Justice Council. “We will be a voice for the voiceless.”
One of the three police officers, Brett Hankison, was fired in June. However, none of the three officers have been arrested or prosecuted, a decision that has led to increasing protests on social media networks.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican and Kentucky’s first African-American state attorney general, said that he still has no timeline for when his office will conclude its investigation of the Taylor case.
“At the end of the day, we’re not going to be deterred from doing the responsible thing, which is to undertake a thorough investigation to make sure that we get to the truth of this matter,” Cameron said.
Meanwhile, calls for action against the officers involved in Taylor’s death continue to grow as part of a national reckoning over racism and police brutality.
Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune
About Post Author
