The detective who issued the warrant that ended in the death of Breonna Taylor has been put on administrative reassignment. Following the March incident, Taylor’s family, their attorney, along with the U.S. postal inspector, have all raised questions on how and why the warrant was approved. As a response, the Louisville, Kentucky interim police chief said the officer will be on administrative reassignment until questions can be fully answered.
“This is all part of the process of getting to the truth of what happened that night and leading up to that night,” Chief Robert Schroeder said in a statement, according to CNN. Just a few months before the death of George Floyd, police shot Taylor, who was 26-year’s old and an EMT, at least eight times after breaking down her door for an attempted drug raid. According to their family attorney, Lonita Baker, the action “further” proves “our position that everything about the search warrant needs to be scrutinized.” Taylor’s family filed a lawsuit alleging battery, wrongful death, excessive force, and negligence and gross negligence.
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The warrant officers used alleged that one of the men may have been keeping narcotics at Taylor’s address. Although local police checked with multiple databases whether drugs could have been going in or out from that address, Baker referred to an article written by a local media outlet, WDRB, where local Postal Inspector, Tony Gooden said Metro did not use his office to verify anything despite police stating that they did.
More controversy surrounds the “no knock” entry and even has Louisville’s Mayor Greg Fischer sounding off as he demands change. According to the warrant, the “no knock” style entry was requested “due to the nature of how these drug traffickers operate,” with having “a history of attempting to destroy evidence, have cameras on the location that compromise detectives once an approach to the dwelling is made,” and “have history of fleeing from law enforcement.” The department stated that they only returned gunfire when Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, started shooting. However, as a result of her death, Fischer said that no-knock warrants were being suspended, which is just one of several police changes now being made.
“Breonna devoted her own life to saving other lives, to helping others, to making people smile and to bringing people together,” her mother Tamika Palmer wrote in a statement. “Changes are being made, but it’s not enough. We will not stop until there is truth, justice and accountability. Her legacy will not be forgotten… .”
