The one-year anniversary of the police killing of Breonna Taylor was on Saturday, and activists, lawmakers, and Taylor’s household spent it by r
The one-year anniversary of the police killing of Breonna Taylor was on Saturday, and activists, lawmakers, and Taylor’s household spent it by renewing requires felony justice reform.
In Louisville, Kentucky, members of Taylor’s household and neighborhood activists convened a rally to mark the anniversary of Taylor’s dying and to name for accountability for the officers concerned in her taking pictures. Lots of of demonstrators chanted Taylor’s identify, reportedly shouting, “You’ll be able to’t cease the revolution.”
Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was killed in her house in Louisville on March 13, 2020, after three white cops compelled entry into her house utilizing a “no-knock” warrant as a part of a narcotics raid, on the lookout for a suspect who now not resided at Taylor’s deal with.
Officers opened hearth after Taylor’s boyfriend — a authorized gun proprietor who stated he didn’t know the individuals forcing their means into the condo have been police — fired one shot in self-defense. Taylor was shot six occasions and killed.
Taylor — together with George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis about two months later — grew to become an emblem of the racialized and excessively violent nature of legislation enforcement within the US. Her identify, and the mantra “Say her identify,” have been rallying cries at protests that swept throughout america in the summertime of 2020 and triggered a broader cultural reckoning with racism in American life.
Whereas the town of Louisville reached a $12 million settlement with Taylor’s household in September 2020, not one of the officers concerned within the botched raid have been charged along with her dying. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, initially confronted an tried homicide cost for the shot he fired the night time of her dying, which is believed to have hit an officer within the leg. These costs have been dropped in Could 2020, however solely completely dismissed final Monday.
Taylor’s household — and Democratic lawmakers — are calling for reforms
On Friday Walker filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Louisville metropolis authorities and the cops within the raid, arguing that his constitutional rights have been violated — and that the warrant to enter the home was based mostly on false claims.
And Breonna Taylor’s mom, Tamika Palmer, has filed an inner affairs criticism in opposition to six officers within the Louisville Metro Police Division.
“We imagine a radical investigation of those allegations will expose the rotten underbelly of a rogue police division and the lengths that investigators went to guard the officers,” Palmer’s lawyer, Sam Aguiar, instructed CNN. “And when it does, LMPD wants to indicate that it’s going to clear home, get Tamika Palmer the solutions she’s been owed for a 12 months and honor the oaths sworn to guard our residents.”
Palmer lately spoke with WLKY, Louisville’s CBS station, and expressed frustration with the place issues stand one 12 months later.
“To not say all officers are dangerous, however there’s no accountability,” Palmer stated. “So, [police] don’t really feel like they’ve to alter their actions or their behaviors.”
Many Democratic lawmakers echoed Palmer’s sentiment Saturday, marking the event by calling for police reform.
Freshman lawmaker Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who was a Black Lives Matter organizer in and round Ferguson, Missouri, earlier than coming into Congress, tweeted, “As we speak marks 365 days of injustice. Breonna Taylor’s homicide was an injustice. The following cover-up was an injustice.”
A Black lady was murdered by the police in her house, in the course of the night time, and nothing has essentially modified.
That is why we can’t cease saying her identify. That is why we’ve got to legislate in protection of Black lives in Congress.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) March 13, 2021
And Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer tweeted, “As we speak marks one 12 months since Breonna Taylor was killed in her house by police executing a no-knock warrant. Breonna Taylor and her household deserve justice. It’s previous time for complete policing reform. We’re working to cross the Justice In Policing Act within the Senate.”
President Joe Biden additionally advocated for the passage of that invoice, writing, “As we proceed to mourn [Taylor], we should press forward to cross significant police reform in Congress.”
Breonna Taylor’s dying was a tragedy, a blow to her household, her neighborhood, and America. As we proceed to mourn her, we should press forward to cross significant police reform in Congress. I stay dedicated to signing a landmark reform invoice into legislation.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 13, 2021
The Democratic-controlled Home handed the Justice in Policing Act for the second time in early March, and it incorporates plenty of provisions geared toward reforming policing on the federal degree, starting from ending certified immunity (a follow that protects cops from lawsuits) to banning the kinds of no-knock drug warrants that led to Taylor’s dying.
When the Home handed the invoice in 2020, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to take it up, advocating as a substitute for a GOP-crafted plan that proposed extra restricted reforms. Democrats now management the Senate, and leaders together with Schumer have signaled optimism about passing the invoice. Nonetheless, the Democratic caucus would want 10 Republican senators to vote for the Justice in Policing Act to ensure that it to succeed in Biden’s desk. Up to now, there was no indication that many Republicans may be keen to take action.