Breonna Taylor’s family gets $US12m payout after she was killed by police

The 26-year-old was shot at least eight times in her home during a bungled police raid, sparking protests across the US.

Breonna Taylor at her graduation ceremony. Picture: AFP

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, will pay $US12 million ($16m) to the estate of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman killed by police during a raid on her apartment, as part of a legal settlement with her family.

The settlement, which was announced by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and attorneys for Ms. Taylor’s estate Tuesday, also requires the city to implement police reforms, including a mandate for supervisors to sign off on search warrants.

Ms Taylor was killed on March 13 by Louisville police officers executing a no-knock warrant, which allows officers to storm a residence without announcing their presence.

“In order for the community to heal and move forward, there needs to be legitimacy and trust between the community and the police force,” said Mr. Fischer, a Democrat. “We hope that these are steps that are going to begin that process.”

Other plans he laid out include pairing social workers with police officers on some calls and developing an early-warning system to track officers’ use of force incidents and citizen complaints.

Tamika Palmer, Ms. Taylor’s mother, along with the family’s attorneys and activists speaking at the Tuesday news conference, called for the state attorney general, who is conducting an investigation into the killing, to bring criminal charges against the officers who took part in the raid.

Attorney Ben Crump and Tamika Palmer, mother of Breonna Taylor. Picture: AFP

“It’s time to move forward with the criminal charges because she deserves that and much more,” Ms. Palmer said. “Her beautiful spirit and personality is working through all of us on the ground, so please continue to say her name, Breonna Taylor.”

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is leading an investigation into the killing over possible violations of state law. Separately, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe into Ms. Taylor’s death over potential civil-rights violations.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Cameron, a Republican, said the investigation is ongoing but declined to give more details.

Ms Taylor’s death has fuelled protests nationwide and focused attention on issues of race and law enforcement, as have other high-profile cases, including the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.

Ms Taylor, who had worked as an emergency-room technician, was in bed with her boyfriend, 27-year-old Kenneth Walker, when three plainclothes police officers broke through her apartment’s front door early in the morning on March 13, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by her family against the officers.

Investigators said an alleged drug dealer they were pursuing had received packages at Ms. Taylor’s home, according to a search-warrant affidavit.

Attorneys for Ms. Taylor’s family said police burst in without warning, leading the couple to believe they were intruders. Police said that although officers had a no-knock warrant, they still knocked several times and announced themselves.

Mr. Walker, who has a license to carry a firearm, shot at them, according to his attorney, and struck one of the officers, according to police.

Officers responded by firing more than 20 bullets, at least eight of which hit and killed Ms. Taylor, according to the family’s attorneys. No drugs were found at Ms. Taylor’s home, and she had no criminal record, the attorneys said.

“I’m a little shocked it’s so early in the process that the mayor’s office decided to settle it,” said David James, president of the Louisville Metro Council.

“There’s not even been any depositions given.”

In late June, one of the officers involved in the raid was fired for violating procedures when he “wantonly and blindly” fired 10 rounds into Ms. Taylor’s apartment, according to the Police Chief Robert Schroeder.

The chief said the officer, Brett Hankison, fired into a patio door and window covered with material that prevented him from verifying whether someone was an imminent threat. Some of the rounds entered the neighbouring apartment, endangering the three people there, the chief said at the time.

The $12 million settlement is relatively large compared with similar payouts.

In 2015, North Charleston, S.C., agreed to pay $6.5 million to the family of Walter Scott, who was fatally shot by police. That same year, Baltimore settled for $6.4 million with the family of Freddie Gray, who died after sustaining a broken neck in a police van.

And New York City reached a $5.9 million settlement with the estate of Eric Garner, who died after being put in a police chokehold.

WSJ