Home WORLD NEWS City to pay millions to Breonna Taylor’s family, reform police in settlement: Sources

City to pay millions to Breonna Taylor’s family, reform police in settlement: Sources

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Taylor was shot to death by police in her Louisville home in March.

September 15, 2020, 2:14 PM

3 min read

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor, the emergency medical technician shot to death by police in her own home, sources told ABC News.

The settlement is expected to be announced by city officials and Taylor’s family on Tuesday afternoon and includes a police reform package, sources said.

Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Taylor’s family, has called a news conference for 2 p.m. ET at the Louisville mayor’s office to announce the “significant update in the Breonna Taylor case.” Crump said in a statement that members of Taylor’s family will attend the news conference.

Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping inside their Louisville apartment on March 13 when officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department attempted to execute a “no-knock” search warrant. Three plainclothes officers opened Taylor’s front door and “blindly” opened fire into their apartment, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in April by Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer.

Taylor, a licensed EMT, was shot at least eight times and died, according to the lawsuit filed by Palmer.

Taylor was accused of accepting USPS packages for an ex-boyfriend who police were investigating as an alleged drug trafficker, according to the warrant.

The police said they knocked several times before using a ram to open the door and were allegedly met with gunfire. Walker said he called 911 before firing one shot from his licensed firearm, hitting one of the officers in the leg.

The three officers involved in the shooting, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and detectives Brett Hankinson and Myles Cosgrove, were placed on administrative reassignment pending the results of an investigation. Hankison was later fired for his role in the incident.

According to his termination letter that was shared with local reporters, Hankison violated procedure when he fired 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment while executing the warrant.

“I have determined you violated Standard Operating Procedure … when your actions displayed an extreme indifference to the value of human life when you wantonly and blindly fired ten rounds into the apartment of Breonna Taylor,” the letter stated.

No charges have been filed against the officers. Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s attorney general, released a statement this week saying the investigation was still ongoing.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.


ABC News


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