While the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis unleashed a wave of protests across the country, fury over the killing of Breonna Taylor, an African-American medical worker in Louisville, Ky., by the police also drove tense demonstrations in that city and beyond.
Since the protests began in late May, Louisville officials have banned the use of no-knock warrants, which allow the police to forcibly enter people’s homes to search them without warning, and, on Tuesday, fired one of the officers involved in the shooting.
What happened in Louisville?
Shortly after midnight on March 13, Louisville police officers, executing a search warrant, used a battering ram to enter the apartment of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American emergency room technician.
Ms. Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, had been in bed, but got up when they heard a loud banging at the door. After a brief exchange, Mr. Walker fired his gun. The police also fired several shots, striking Ms. Taylor at least eight times.
According to The Louisville Courier Journal, the police had been investigating two men who they believed were selling drugs out of a house that was far from Ms. Taylor’s home. But a judge had also signed a warrant allowing the police to search Ms. Taylor’s residence because the police said they believed that one of the two men had used her apartment to receive packages. The judge’s order was a so-called no-knock warrant, which allowed the police to enter without warning or without identifying themselves as law enforcement.
No drugs were found in the apartment, a lawyer for Mr. Walker said.
Ms. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said her daughter had had big dreams and planned a lifelong career in health care after serving as an E.M.T.
“She had a whole plan on becoming a nurse and buying a house and then starting a family,” Ms. Palmer told The Courier Journal. “Breonna had her head on straight, and she was a very decent person. She didn’t deserve this. She wasn’t that type of person.”
Why did the police fire their weapons?
The Louisville police say that they only fired inside Ms. Taylor’s home after they were first fired upon by Kenneth Walker, Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend. They said that Mr. Walker wounded one of the officers, who was hit in the leg but was expected to make a full recovery. Mr. Walker was subsequently charged with attempted murder of a police officer, though the charge was dismissed last month.
The police also assert that, despite having a no-knock warrant, they knocked several times and identified themselves as police officers with a warrant before entering the apartment. Mr. Walker has said he and Ms. Taylor heard aggressive banging at the door and asked who it was, but they did not hear an announcement that it was the police.
The police said that the officers “forced entry into the exterior door and were immediately met with gunfire.” The officers returned fire, the police said.
One of the officers, Brett Hankison, was fired. The other officers involved in the case — Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove — have been placed on administrative reassignment. None of the officers face criminal charges.
The Kentucky attorney general, Daniel Cameron, is now leading the investigation. The F.B.I. is also investigating.
Mr. Hankison appealed his firing, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
Is the police account disputed?
Yes, hotly. Ms. Taylor’s relatives and their lawyers say that the police never identified themselves before entering — despite their claims. They also say that Mr. Walker was licensed to carry a gun.
And Mr. Walker, 27, has said that he feared for his life and only fired in self-defense, believing that someone was trying to break into the home.
“He didn’t know these were police officers, and they found no drugs in the apartment. None,” said Rob Eggert, Mr. Walker’s lawyer. “He was scared for his life, and her life.”
In a 911 call just after the shots were fired, Mr. Walker told a dispatcher that “somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend.
The police’s incident report contained multiple errors. It listed Ms. Taylor’s injuries as “none,” even though she had been shot at least eight times, and indicated that police had not forced their way into the apartment — though they used a battering ram to break the door open.
Ms. Taylor’s family also said it was outrageous that the police felt it necessary to conduct the raid in the middle of the night. Their lawyers say the police had already located the main suspect in the investigation by the time they burst into the apartment. But they “then proceeded to spray gunfire into the residence with a total disregard for the value of human life,” according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Ms. Taylor’s mother.
There was no body camera footage from the raid. And, for now, prosecutors have said they had dismissed the charges against Mr. Walker, adding that they would let investigations into the killing run their course before making any final decisions. Some legal experts said the fact that prosecutors dropped charges after a grand jury indictment suggested that they may have doubts about the version of events told by the police.
Why did this take so long to receive national attention?
Lawyers for Ms. Taylor’s family have suggested that the intense focus on the coronavirus pandemic over the past few months most likely dampened the initial response from people in the community and in the news media.
Has there been other fallout?
Plenty — even aside from the continuing protests.
On Tuesday, the Louisville Metro Police Department released a letter of termination that it sent to Brent Hankison, the former officer who “blindly fired” 10 rounds into a covered patio door and a window, according to the termination letter.
Chief Robert Schroeder accused Mr. Hankison of violating the Police Department’s policy on use of deadly force, saying his actions were “a shock to the conscience” that discredited the Police Department.
Also, city officials banned the use of “no knock” warrants on June 11.
Mayor Fischer has announced other changes to ensure “more scrutiny, transparency and accountability,” including the naming of a new police chief; a new requirement that body cameras always be worn during the execution of search warrants; and the establishment of a civilian review board for police disciplinary matters.
Are there concerns about other cases in Louisville?
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The David McAtee Shooting: Did Aggressive Policing Lead to a Fatal Outcome?
The Times analyzed videos of the shooting by the police and National Guardsmen of David McAtee in Louisville, Ky., on June 1 to show how the episode unfolded — and how questionable policing tactics played a role.
[gunshots] Police and National Guardsmen in Kentucky are under investigation after David McAtee, a restaurant owner in Louisville, was shot and killed during a heightened moment in the city, when people were protesting police violence. Crowd: “Breonna Taylor!” Kentucky’s governor released videos of the incident, and says police were responding to gunfire when McAtee was shot. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. The Times analyzed those videos, police scanner audio and a livestream filmed by a bystander. We synchronized the videos precisely by lining up key moments, allowing us to see — and most critically, hear — what happened from four different angles. We’ll see how the episode started, and how questionable policing tactics resulted in a fatal outcome. It’s just after midnight on Monday, June 1, when police and National Guardsmen arrive at a busy intersection in West Louisville. They’ve been sent to enforce a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed by Louisville’s mayor. David McAtee, also known as Yaya, is in his barbecue stand, smoking food for customers. Across the street at Dino’s Food Mart, a local resident, Chris Smith, is livestreaming to Facebook as he hangs out with friends. “We out here. We out here.” His video will provide us with audio of critical moments. “Hold on.” “Police just came.” “Go. In the car and leave, just go.” “I‘m gone, soon as I get my keys.” As the area by Dino’s is cleared, a police officer and guardsman cross the street toward Yaya’s. One police officer readies a weapon as they approach the area. It appears to be a modified paintball gun which the Louisville police used to fire pepper balls, like you see in this footage from a previous incident. “… at us, like, directly at us.” While crossing the street, the officer aims it at the bystanders near Yaya’s, and fires a pepper ball into the curb. Immediately, diners to the front of Yaya’s hurry back along the alleyway, and take shelter inside the building through a side door. McAtee, who hasn’t seen what happened, approaches the doorway from inside. He appears to have a gun holstered on his right hip. McAtee and his niece stand by the door and peer outside. There appears to be no immediate threat to the officers at this moment, but one of them immediately fires at least two pepper balls at them. Let’s watch this back, side by side. McAtee and his niece are by the door. A police officer is aiming the pepper-ball gun at the door. As they peer out, one pepper ball pierces a soda bottle, which falls from the table. Another strikes the doorway, and just misses the head of McAtee’s niece. She ducks and falls back inside. In response, McAtee appears to fire his handgun out the side door. It’s unclear where he’s aiming. [gunshot] “Front door.” We’ll replay this moment from different camera angles to show what happens. The livestream from Dino’s picks up this gunshot. “Where you going? I saw you at the site.” [shouting] The police and guardsmen nearest the restaurant immediately retreat. The officer who fired pepper balls now draws a handgun. “Shots fired, shots fired.” Another officer radios into dispatch, and others take cover in the area. “Shots fired northwest side.” Eight seconds later, McAtee peers out again, and again raises his arm. [gunshots] The same police officer, two guardsmen and another officer fire 18 rounds at McAtee. He stumbles inside, drops a handgun and collapses to the ground. One bullet hit his chest. Louisville police guidelines say officers must avoid the use of force when trying to disperse nonviolent crowds. They must also ID themselves, issue a dispersal order and give people reasonable time to disperse. None of that appears to have happened here. A day after the shooting, the assistant police chief described how officers use pepper balls. “It is police policy when we use pepper-ball spray to actually shoot at the ground.” That also did not happen. Pepper balls were fired into the doorway where people were standing. Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear, said the investigation will continue, and urged the public to examine the video footage frame by frame. “And people can see with their own eyes, and make determinations with their own eyes.” “What do we want?” “Justice.” “When do we want it?” “Now.” “What do we want?” “Justice.” “When do we want it?” “Now.”
There are also calls for justice over the death of David McAtee, the owner of a Louisville barbecue restaurant, who was killed by the police amid nights of national unrest on June 1.
The killing occurred when the police and the National Guard confronted curfew violators. The authorities say the police and the National Guard were returning Mr. McAtee’s fire in the commotion. But video showed that the police had first fired at least two pepper balls from outside the restaurant toward Mr. McAtee and his relatives. One of the balls struck a bottle on an outdoor table, and another nearly hit his niece in the head just before Mr. McAtee fired.
The use of pepper balls was intended to disperse a crowd outside of the restaurant in violation of the curfew. However, the gathering was not of protesters, those who were there said, but of residents who were out enjoying a Sunday night. The pepper balls may have been indistinguishable from other ammunition.
Mr. McAtee was killed by a single shot to the chest. Two police officers and two Guard members had discharged their weapons, firing about 18 rounds.
His death is being investigated by federal and state authorities in Kentucky.
How has social media reacted?
On June 5, what would have been Ms. Taylor’s 27th birthday, many people used the hashtag #SayHerName to remember her and raise awareness about her case.
“Her life was tragically taken by police and we will not stop marching for justice until it’s served for her and her family. #SayHerName,” Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, tweeted on June 5.
Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat of California, said on Twitter that Ms. Taylor’s life was “horrifically” taken by officers who had not been charged 84 days after her killing. “Keep up the calls for justice. #SayHerName,” Ms. Harris wrote.
The “Say Her Name” movement also brings awareness to other black women whose similar stories may not have garnered as much national attention, including Tanisha Anderson and Atatiana Jefferson.
“‘Say Her Name’ attempts to make the death of black women an active part of this conversation by saying their names,” Kimberlé Crenshaw, an activist and creator of the hashtag, told ABC. “If black lives really do matter, all black lives have to matter. That means black lives across gender have to be lifted up.”
Will Wright and Sarah Mervosh contributed reporting.