back Breonna Taylor,” the group said.
Relatives of Breonna Taylor, a black woman killed in
a police shooting in her own home, announced Tuesday they have
settled their wrongful death suit with the US city of Louisville
for $12 million, as well as promises of local law enforcement
reforms.
The civil settlement was substantial and relatively quick,
reflecting the public pressure and emotion surrounding the case of
the 26-year-old, which became a rallying cry for the Black Lives
Matter movement.
After Taylor’s death on March 13, another black citizen, George
Floyd, died on May 25 in Minneapolis while a police officer knelt
on his neck, sparking protests across the country against racism
and police brutality.
Taylor family attorney Ben Crump called the $12 million
settlement “historic” but said the “comprehensive reform” plan was
“equally important.”
Authorities in Louisville and the state of Kentucky pledged to
implement measures that might head off incidents similar to the
botched raid in which Taylor was killed.
Those include more oversight from commanding officers about
search warrants, the hiring of a team of social workers, and
encouraging officers to do community service.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said the city “is not waiting to
move ahead with needed reforming to prevent the tragedy like this
from ever happening again.”
Taylor was killed when three plainclothes police officers
executing a “no knock” search warrant burst into her apartment late
at night.
Taylor’s boyfriend, who was in bed with her, grabbed a gun and
exchanged fire with the officers. He later said he thought they
were criminals.
The officers, who had not activated their body cameras as
required, shot Taylor eight times, killing her. A police sergeant
was also wounded.
The agreement signals an end to the civil proceedings but not to
the criminal investigation, which has yet to lead to any charges,
six months after Taylor’s death.
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The three said they had announced themselves before entering.
They later filed an after-action report that was found to be rife
with errors.
The raid was carried out simultaneously with a handful of others
targeting Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, an alleged narcotics dealer. But
Taylor had broken up with him months before.
“As significant as today is, it’s only the beginning of getting
full justice for Breonna,” said her mother, Tamika Palmer.
“It’s time to move forward with the criminal charges.”
No criminal charges yet Taylor’s family filed a civil complaint
in April seeking redress, claiming that the search warrant was in
error and that the officers had fired blindly and without due
diligence.
One of the three officers, Brett Hankison, has since been fired,
and the other two were suspended. The city has also banned “no
knock” warrants.
The case has sparked international outrage, and earned celebrity
attention.
Oprah Winfrey paid for billboards in Kentucky demanding justice
for Taylor. US Open champion Naomi Osaka wore a face mask bearing
Taylor’s name during her run for the title.
Formula One star Lewis Hamilton wore a t-shirt that read “Arrest
the cops who killed Breonna Taylor” on the podium at Sunday’s
Tuscan Grand Prix.
A portrait of Taylor graced the cover of Vanity Fair magazine’s
September issue.
But so far, none of the officers has been charged — a fact that
has fueled daily anti-racism protests in Louisville for weeks.
Armed militia members, claiming to want to prevent acts of
vandalism, have also been present, notably on the sidelines of the
Kentucky Derby on September 5.