Beyonce called on Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron to “take swift and decisive action” to charge the three Louisville police officers responsible for the death of Breonna Taylor. The 26-year-old EMT was killed by Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officers Brett Hankinson and Myles Cosgrove when they served a no-knock warrant at Taylor’s apartment in the early morning hours of March 13. Although Louisville has passed “Breonna’s Law” to make no-knock warrants illegal in the city, Taylor’s family and protesters across the country have called for the three officers to be charged.
In the three months since Taylor was killed, the police’s investigations “have created more questions than answers,” Beyonce wrote in a letter published on her website. The “Formation” singer noted the police incident report showed Taylor “suffered no injuries,” even though she was shot eight times. The officers have claimed they announced they were police before entering, although Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker and neighbors say that was not the case. Walker claims he fired at the officers because he believed they were home invaders, and the officers returned fire.
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The officers, who have not been arrested or fired, “must be held accountable for their actions,” Beyonce wrote, later adding that Taylor’s family is still “waits for justice.” Her family “has not been able to take time to process and grieve,” she wrote. “Instead, they have been working tirelessly to rally the support of friends, their community, and their country to obtain justice for Breonna.”
Beyonce asked Cameron to bring criminal charges against the officers, agree to be transparent about an investigation into the officers’ conduct, and to investigate the Louisville Metro Police Department’s response to Taylor’s murder “as well as the pervasive practices that result in the repeated deaths of unarmed Black citizens.”
In the end, Beyonce asked Cameron to make sure Taylor’s case does not “fall into the pattern of no action after a terrible tragedy.” She continued, “With every death of a Black person at the hands of police, there are two real tragedies: the death itself, and the inaction and delays that follow it. This is your chance to end that pattern. Take swift and decisive action in charging the officers. The next months cannot look like the last three.”
Taylor’s case has gained national attention during the protests of police brutality and systemic racism inspired by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. Social media users have used the hashtag “Say Her Name” to keep Taylor’s case in the spotlight. Beyonce is also not the only celebrity to call attention to her case. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Cambridge, mentioned Taylor in a commencement address to Los Angeles students earlier this month. “…George Floyd’s life mattered. And Breonna Taylor’s life mattered. And Philando Castile’s life mattered. And Tamir Rice’s life mattered,” Markle said. “And so did so many other people whose names we know and whose names we don’t know.”
