Internal Probe Into Death Of Breonna Taylor Says Louisville Officers Shouldn’t Have Fired Into Her Home
An internal probe into the death of Breonna Taylor that was conducted by two investigators determined that the three Louisville Metro Police Department officers involved, should not have fired shots into her apartment on March 13, 2020.
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ABC News obtained documents that said Sgt. Andrew Meyer from the department’s Professional Standards Unit determined that the three officers should have held their fire after Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a shot. Meyer’s report was supported by Lt. Jeff Artman: “They took a total of thirty-two shots when the provided circumstances made it unsafe to take a single shot. This is how the wrong person was shot and killed,” Meyer wrote in his report. He added that the officers involved in the raid that resulted in Taylor’s death – Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove – violated the department’s use-of-force policy when they ignored the risk of hitting someone who did not pose a threat, ABC reported. Meyer said deadly force should have only been used against Walker after he fired a shot.
He went on to say, Mattingly “should not have taken the shot” when Walker was not a clear, isolated target, having ducked into a bedroom at the end of a dimly lit hallway, noting that “Taylor’s safety should have been considered before he [Mattingly] returned fire,” Meyer added. Of course, their assessment contradicts what has been said by others in Kentucky law enforcement, ABC noted. As we previously reported, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said that Cosgrove and Mattingly were justified in using force because Walker fired a shot.
Lonita Baker, an attorney for Taylor’s family, told local station WHAS-TV, “It’s disappointing that Chief Gentry went against the recommendation of the investigators. Only she knows the reason that she did that,” Baker added, referring to former interim Louisville Police Chief Yvette Gentry’s decision to not discipline Mattingly.
Gentry retired back in January after former Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields was appointed to fill her position: “I fired people that some believe should have been suspended, I reprimanded people some people (said) should have been exonerated and I overturned what was believed was not appropriate for the situation,” Gentry said in a statement released on Friday, adding, “I still believe in my soul Breonna Taylor should be alive,” ABC News notes.
Only Hankison was charged for his actions in the raid on Taylor’s apartment, but not for her death. He was charged with multiple counts of wanton endangerment for firing three shots into a wall of her neighbor’s. Both Hankison and Cosgrove were fired from the department for violating its policies.
As the Daily Mail notes, the documents were released this week to the newspaper after parts of the investigative file were withheld in April.
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