Justice at last!
For two years, Breonna Taylor’s family had no closure. A young woman-someone’s sister, someone’s daughter-succumbed to injuries inflicted by those who are supposed to serve and protect. She was home, enjoying an evening off from her job as a paramedic, when four police officers stormed her home in a fake drug raid.
The cops claimed that they announced, but Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, never heard an announcement. All he heard was someone breaking into the apartment, and he fired a warning shot, which struck one of the officers in the leg. In return, they fired 22 shots, and according to Attorney General Merrick Garland, one struck Breonna Taylor in the chest, killing her instantly.
Since that time, nothing has been done to bring these murderers to justice. As we found out today, they had no right to break into Taylor’s apartment, and Walker shooting a warning shot is what anyone would have done in his place. That warning shot did not give them the right to shoot a young woman in cold blood. Worse, they walked away from that killing. Now, the wait for justice is over. Associated Press announced that the DOJ has charged the four officers in Breonna Taylor’s murder with civil rights violations. The state of Kentucky allowed these killers to go free, but the feds are having none of that.
AG Garland announced the charges live. During that announcement, we learned that the warrant leading to Taylor’s death was based on a falsified affidavit, which falsification violated federal law. He further charged that the four officers involved-Joshua Jaynes, Brett Hankison, Kelly Goodlett, and Sergeant Kyle Meany-knew the affidavit was false, yet they acted upon it anyway.
Specifically, AG Garland shared, the officers claimed to have verified that drug packages had been delivered to Taylor’s home when they knew full well it was a lie. The DOJ further alleges that Meany and Jaynes, knowing the affidavit was false, knew that armed officers would storm the home, putting anyone inside in danger. Making matters worse, the officers who falsified the affidavit covered up their lies after Taylor was killed, indicating that they knew what they did was not only wrong but that it led to a young woman’s death.
Garland went on to share that two of the officers met privately and agreed to falsify documents to cover up what they had done. He then told the jaw-dropping story that after the cops broke into Taylor’s apartment and shot her, Brett Hankison went to the side of the house and fired 10 more shots into the apartment through a window and sliding glass door. He was additionally charged with the use of excessive force.
After all this bombshell information, AG Garland reminded us that these officers are “innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” but we know better. They are guilty as hell. Hopefully, a federal jury will see through the lies and deceit and put these four men in jail where they belong. While these charges won’t return Breonna Taylor to her family, they deserve justice for her brutal, unlawful killing.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years