Breonna Taylor
Birth date:
June 5, 1993
Death date:
March 13, 2020
Age at Death:
26
About
Breonna Taylor was one of the most prominent victims of police violence and misconduct in 2020. She was originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan and was raised by her mother, Tamika Palmer. Before she moved to Louisville in her teenage years, she was known to her friends as someone who was a really fun person and was super goofy. She remained close to her good friends even after she moved to Louisville. Breonna and her mom moved to Louisville in 2008, to to rejoin Breonna's mother's sister, where she graduated from Western High School, in 2011. After her move, she continued to excel in school and was an honor roll student. She briefly attended the University of Kentucky and left to pursue a a career as an Emergency Medical Technician for the city of Louisville. She was living with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker at the time of her death. Her true desire was to become a nurse. Before she died, she had begun filling out paperwork to attend fall class at Ivy Tech Community College in neighboring Indiana.
While Breonna was living with Kenneth Walker at the time of her death, she had an ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover. Glover was the target of a narcotics investigation. Police obtained warrants to arrest Glover and search a home miles from Taylor's apartment. A separate warrant, using what was believed to be dated information, allowed police to search Taylor's apartment. The warrants were executed about the same time. On March 13th, three plainclothes officers arrived at Taylor's apartment, armed with a "no-knock" search warrant, which gave them the authority to enter without announcing their presence. Regardless, police insist that they did knock and announce. Many witnesses interviewed, claimed to have not heard any announcement from the officers. The police used a battering ram to enter the apartment. Kenneth Walker called 911 and Breonna's mother stating that someone was trying to break into the apartment. Not realizing it was the police, Kenneth, a licensed gun owner, fired a shot that struck one officer in his upper thigh. The three officers returned fire (one officer fired blindly) and Breonna was shot six times and died shortly after. The police did not find any drugs in the apartment.
Was justice served?
No, unfortunately, none of the officers involved have been charged for Breonna's death on March 13, 2020. The officer who fired a shot blindly, was indicted in September of 2020 on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing bullets into the neighbors' walls and windows, however not charged for the death of Breonna Taylor. Three officers were eventually fired from the Louisville Police Department.