Breonna Taylor’s Family to Receive $12M settlement from city

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Due to a botched police operation, the city of Louisville will pay a $12 million settlement for Breonna Taylor’s death.
• Together with the settlement are reforms in the police department to safeguard against or lessen the risk of errors in enforcement.
• Palmer’s mother, Tamika, will still work for the filing of criminal charges for the cops involved in her daughter’s death.

Breonna Taylor was a black EMT who died when cops barged in on her apartment under a no-knock warrant.  She was unarmed and was not even the subject of the search but her ex-boyfriend who authorities believed stashed drugs and cash in her apartment. They did not find anything illegal either.

Taylor’s death sparked outrage and now the city of Louisville, Kentucky, will be paying a hefty amount of $12 million as settlement for a raid that was carried out so carelessly by its enforcers.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, “For those who knew her, Breonna’s death was personal, the pain is visceral.” He also revealed a series of sweeping reforms in the law enforcement to lessen the risk of repeating the errors in the past.

Among the reforms for the Louisville Metro Police Department are: for commanding officers to be required to review all affidavits and search warrants before execution; implement an early warning system to monitor civilian complaints, use of force measures, and out-of-control cops, and financial incentives for cops to be available to buy homes and volunteer community service.

This is not the first time that Louisville pays a huge sum for police misconduct. In 2012, the city paid $8.5 million to a wrongfully imprisoned man.

A tearful, Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, said “As significant as today is, it’s only the beginning of getting full justice for Breonna. Her beautiful spirit and personality is working through all of us on the ground, so please continue to say her name: Breonna Taylor. We’ve finished the first mile in a marathon, and we got a lot more miles to go.”

She added, “We must not lose focus on what the real drive is. It’s time to move forward with the criminal charges, because she deserves that and much more.”

Source: New York Post