(Jacquelyn Martin/AFP via Getty Images)

The City of Louisville will pay the family of Breonna Taylor $12 million after her killing sparked national outrage and became a rallying cry over the summer's intense protests against police brutality.

The payout is one of the largest ever paid in a police-related wrongful-death lawsuit, and the city of Louisville pledged to police reform changes, including more scrutiny on officers during the execution of search warrants and make mandatory safeguards that were common practice in the department but were not followed the night of the fateful botched raid.

Taylor's family sued the city for wrongful death after police invaded the home of her boyfriend Kenneth Walker on a no-knock warrant and shot her eight times while she slept. Louisville police obtained the warrant for a drug search, but the suspects were already apprehended ten miles from Walker's home. The officers who raided Walker's home did not identify themselves as police, and Taylor's family alleges that Walker shot at them believing they were burglars, leading to the violent encounter.

Though the payout is massive and the city promised police reform, activists online are not satisfied, as they have long called for criminal charges against the officers who killed Taylor.

An investigation by the state attorney general's office into the case remains ongoing, and its findings are expected to be released "soon," according to the New York Times. The results will likely have a dramatic impact on the social unrest raging in America as a result of police violence.


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Comments 5 total

Paradoxed

"While the settlement is massive, the police officers who killed her still haven't been arrested."

Considering nothing illegal was done by the police in this incident, this would be considered a rather normal outcome. Hard-hitting journalisming as always, Adam. It's almost like this was a tragic and unintended killing of a woman caught in the crossfire between a drug dealer and police lawfully attempting to make an arrest, as opposed to rAciST pIGs mUrDEr bLacK. Just the tinniest drop of nuance in your worldview goes a long way.

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Alex Reynard

I'd heard that the reason they haven't been charged is that, strictly by the letter of the law, nothing they did was illegal. No DA is going to bring a case they cannot win. If so, this would be a cruelly tragic example of how the law is not morality. Anyone can see this was wrong. So if it was legal, the law itself needs to change. And thanks to Rand Paul for getting exactly that started.

1

Blootfol

I remember there being an update to the Breonna Taylor case a week or so ago
The cops had a warrant for a no-knock raid on the home, due to evidence it was being used as part of a drug trafficking ring run by Taylor's boyfriend.
Despite having a warrant for no-knock, the police clearly announced themselves before entering, and they were met with fire from Taylor's boyfriend. Breonna was struck accidentally by return-fire.
It's a tragedy, and Breonna didn't deserve to die, but the circumstances don't line up for charges against the police, who were acting completely in self-defense and who gave more leeway to the inhabitants of the home than was legally necessary.

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Panuru

Gonna need a source on that, chief. The update I can find from about a week ago is "The Killing of Breonna Taylor Part 2" by the NYT. That article says the warrant was based on seeing a drug dealer enter and leave the apartment, which isn't "a drug trafficking ring run by her boyfriend." It also says that neighbors heard knocking but not the police identifying themselves. It actually is a tragedy for a number of reasons, and BOTH parties believe they were acting in self defense. One party because he thought someone was trying to break in, and the other because they were fired at. I'm sure there's a good explanation for this, but I'm personally not sure why self defense from the police equated to firing blindly into an apartment rather than just backing away.

3

Timey16

This is why in many countries out of court settlements or "deals" for criminal cases are downright illegal: they prevent the carry out of actual justice and lets many criminals get away with only a slap on the wrist. Especially those that commit crimes while in official positions. Then tax money will pay their crimes.

The idea of the criminal justice system is that everyone is treated equally in the eyes of the law. This doesn't work when deals are made.

If a suspect opens up and gives out information in hopes that it will make them look repentant then it must be entirely voluntary and under no promises of preferred treatment.

And if a reply to that is "but without deals the criminal court system would fall apart", then I answer that your society and legal system must be pretty fucking fucked if the only way for it to keep existing is if it ignores it's own purpose and you should look at fundamentally reforming it.

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