Breonna Taylor: Award-winning EMT Killed During “Botched” Police Raid

26-year-old Breonna Taylor was sleeping with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker when Louisville Metro Police raided her home on March 13, shooting her eight times, killing her.

Breonna Taylor killed during police raid

Police say they were serving a search warrant on Taylor’s boyfriend for a narcotics investigation. Authorities allege when they entered the home, they were met with gunshots and returned fire, killing Breonna, reports WSH11.

However, Rob Eggert, a defense attorney for Taylor’s boyfriend, said police burst in Taylor’s home without announcing their presence and fired at least 22 times, with bullets going into neighboring apartments, and “it was incredible that Mrs. Taylor was the only one killed.”

“Had Breonna Taylor been killed by anyone except police, the person or persons responsible for her death would have been charged with a homicide,” Eggert said in a court document, also alleging Walker is a “victim of police misconduct.”

“While police may claim to have identified themselves, they did not,” Eggert wrote in the motion.

“Mr. Walker and Ms. Taylor again heard a large bang on the door. Again, when they inquired there was no response that there was police outside. At this point, the door suddenly explodes. Counsel believes that police hit the door with a battering ram.”

Breonna Taylor was not the target of the search 

Walker fired one round in self-defense, but officers “failed to use any sound reasonable judgment” and fired “more than 25 blind shots into multiple homes,” Eggert added. 

Walker is accused of shooting Sgt. Mattingly in the leg, but Eggert claims he did not know he was shooting at police, according to a motion filed in court. He was charged with attempted murder for the shooting, WDRB reported. 

Eggert maintains that Walker was not the target of the search warrant and if he had known police were outside, he would have let them in, Eggert said in the motion.

He wrote that Walker “wishes to exonerate himself. His girlfriend was killed in a hail of police bullets while naked and he himself simply acted to try to protect himself.”

Family demands answers

Taylor’s family described her as a kind and honest person, who loved helping people in her role as an EMT. 

Her family says neither Walker nor Taylor was involved in drugs and believe police were looking for someone else. 

“These are two good kids,” said Bianca Austin, Taylor’s aunt. “This is incompetent police work. My niece lost her life over this.”

“She was already an accomplished and certified EMT for the city of Louisville and currently worked for UofL as a medical tech. This is not a woman who would sacrifice her life and her family morals and values to sell drugs on the street,” said Bonica Austin, Taylor’s aunt, according to WHAS 11.

Taylor’s family has filed a lawsuit accusing the officers of wrongful death and excessive force.

The family’s lawsuit alleges, “The officers then entered Breonna’s home without knocking and without announcing themselves as police officers. The Defendants then proceeded to spray gunfire into the residence with a total disregard for the value of human life.

Attorney Ben Crump has been retained by Taylor’s family

Nationally renowned civil rights attorney and personal injury lawyer Ben Crump, along with co-counsels Sam Aguiar and Lonita Baker, have been retained by the family of Breonna Taylor.

Attorney Crump has issued the following statement in response:

“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.”

Police have said there is no body camera footage of the shooting because the officers involved were members of the department’s Criminal Interdiction division, who do not wear body cameras.

The officers involved in the shooting, including Det. Myles Cosgrove and Det. Brent Hankison, have been placed on administrative reassignment.

This article was updated 05/12/2020