FBI opens independent investigation into fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor
The FBI is now investigating the death of Breonna Taylor,
who was killed by police during a raid at her home in Louisville, Kentucky.
Taylor, 26, was at home with her boyfriend on March 13 when
three plainclothes officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department arrived
to execute a search warrant in a drug case. The couple thought their home was
being broken into, according to a lawsuit from Taylor's family.
The FBI’s Louisville branch announced Thursday that it was
investigating the shooting after numerous media requests.
“The FBI will collect all facts and evidence and will ensure
that the investigation is conducted in a fair, thorough, and impartial manner,”
the statement said.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron previously said
that he was asked to serve as a special prosecutor.
Gov. Andy Beshear called on Cameron last week to
"carefully review the results of the initial investigation to ensure
justice is done at a time when many are concerned that justice is not
blind."
"The public reports concerning the death of Breonna
Taylor are troubling," he said in a statement.
Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad announced his
resignation, after eight years on the job, amid the investigation into Taylor’s
death, the Courier-Journal reported Thursday.
According to The Courier-Journal, a judge had approved a
"no-knock" search warrant, meaning police could enter the home
without identifying themselves.
Though the lawsuit filed by Taylor’s family alleges that
police did not knock or identify themselves before entering the apartment,
police Lt. Ted Eidem said during a March 13 news conference that officers had
knocked on the door several times and “announced their presence as police who
were there with a search warrant.”
After forcing their way in, they “were immediately met by
gunfire,” Eidem said.
Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, 27, had a license to
carry and kept firearms in the home. Walker called 911 at the time of the raid,
believing it was a break-in, and grabbed his gun in self-defense, according to
the family lawsuit. Walker, who shot an officer in the leg, was arrested and
charged with assault and attempted murder on a police officer.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who also represented the
family of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, was hired by Taylor’s family. Crump called
Taylor’s death a “senseless killing” and condemned the police department for a
lack of transparency.
"We stand with the family of this young woman in
demanding answers from the Louisville Police Department," the attorney
said in a statement on Twitter last week.
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