Episode 2: Breonna Taylor
Hello,
I know there has been some time before the first episode and this one. I have been working on other things and needed some time to process. I shot this one in August and a lot has happened in that time. So I have spent the past few months thinking about this and how to move forward and when would be the right time. Honestly, there may never be the right time but this is something that has plagued me so here I am. As many of us know there has been a lot of people being. killed at the hands of the Police Office. The people who are supposed to protect and serve us have been killing people based on their skin color or who they think they are. I’m not saying this is all cops doing this. There are some out there that are doing good, but the bad ones are outweighing the good ones. In this episode I will be talking about the has been one murder recently that I can’t get out of my head. So Let’s Jump in and talk about the Murder of Breonna Taylor.
Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old EMT, who had dreams of going back to school for nursing and starting a family She had started setting her goals and working toward those when she was murdered in her home in Louisville, Kentucky.. Just after midnight on March 13, 2020. Three plainclothes LMPD officers, Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove, who was executing a “no-knock search warrant” entered her apartment. When they entered the apartment it woke up Breonna’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker who was licensed to carry a gun. As anyone would if someone breaks into your house unannounced after midnight you would shot fearing you are in danger. His shot was said to have entered into Johnathan Mattingly's leg. The Offices responding but firing over twenty shots, 8 of which hit Breonna. Her boyfriend was arrest for the attempted murder of a police officer while Breonna laid on the hallway floor dying for 20 minutes.
So you are probably wondering, why did this happen. Well, the whole reason they were even there that night was that they were looking for Jamarcus Glover who was suspected of selling controlled substances. He was Breonna’s ex-boyfriend and her address was included on the search warrant because it was suspected that he had received packages containing drugs there.
Now that you have the full story of what happened and why let’s talk about the issues with this whole story.
The no Knock Warrant- I have heard the different accounts of this so I’m not sure. I heard that the warrant was legal and that it wasn’t. I did see a lot of things that said the judge who signed it also signed 4 other ones in a period of 12 mins. The police stated that they announced who they were however no neighbors heard anything other than the ramming of the door.
Jamarcus Glover, the ex-boyfriend, I have seen that he was actually in custody during the murder and also that it was 2 hours after. I have heard accounts that Glover was offered a deal from the Commonwealth's Attorney's that included naming Taylor as a member of his "organized crime syndicate." If he had taken that He could have seen his 10-year prison sentence drop to only probation. I did hear that she knew about what he was doing and helped with the money. Which even if that was true the relationship had ended so she wasn’t apart of that anymore.
Where was Breonna, there have been claims that she was asleep when she was murder. However, her boyfriend stated that they woke up when they heard someone banging on the door and that both of them asked, really screamed who is it? with no answer. They were in the hallway when the door was busted in which time he shot once injuring the office. Breonna was then hit 8 times in the hallways where she died. An ambulance was brought to the office but Breonna laid there struggling until her boyfriend called 911. Mr. Walker told a dispatcher that “somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend.”
That Breonna was shot with 6 bullets instead of 8. I have seen it listed differently. Ballistics did determine that the bullet that killed her came from Cosgrove.
On the almost blank police report, it said there were no injuries and that they didn’t force their way into the apartment when they used a battering ram to break the door open. Also, there was no bodycam footage from that night, there were recordings of radio calls.
No Drugs were found in the apartment at all.
Sine the murder a. few things have happened
The city officials banned the use of no-knock warrants on June 11.
One of the officers, Brett Hankison, was fired. The other officers involved in the case — Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove — have been placed on administrative reassignment.
Louisville officials agreed to pay $12 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Ms. Taylor’s mother and to institute reforms aimed at preventing future deaths by officers.
On Sept 23, A Kentucky grand jury did indict Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment.
However, the charges stem from the bullets that penetrated a wall of the residence and entered a neighboring apartment, and not the fact that some of those bullets killed someone
One of the officers Sergeant Mattingly, who was the one-shot did sue the Boyfriend for assault and battery. The claim was that he was entitled to compensatory damages for the medical treatment, trauma, physical pain, and, mental destress he had experienced since that night because of Kenneth’s Action. You know of defending himself from someone breaking into his girlfriend's house. The Ballistics report from that night is unclear if the bullet that hit him was actually fired by Kenneth.
Attorney-General Cameron did not even give jurors the option of murder charges against the officers involved. Because he didn’t the charge would actually stick.
Honestly, this could have and should have been handle better than it was. They should have properly knocked and announced themselves. Cause that alone would have prevented all of this. Especially if someone is screaming who is it? How hard is it to answer? Cause if the police really said we yelled who we were then OI don’t think there would have been a problem. I feel like the officer were so excited to just bust a drug lord that they didn’t think it all through completely. Breonna still hasn’t received justice for being murder and Yes she was murder in her own home. A home is a safe place and it’s things like this that ruin it. This story honestly breaks my heart and it’s cause like most murders that have happened this year. It could have been avoided.
Here are the resources that I used.
Breonna Taylor's Wikipedia Page.
If you want to sign the petition for this case I have included it below.
Sign the Justice for Breonna Taylor Petition.
This one is in 2 parts since as I stated I shot the first part in August and there has been new stuff come out about the case since then. The first video is just over 26 mins the second is a little over 13 mins.
Food
I made Tacos. Something simple for a case that was so complex.
I used a roll of Festive Turkey Burger, which is simple and I just like to keep around the house. They also make a version that is already seasoned.
A packet of Great Value Taco Seasoning.
Veggies: Tomato and Lettuce
Toppings: Old El Paso Sheddered Mexican Cheese and Daisy Sour Cream.
Chips: Santitas Tortilla Chips.
I’m not even going to get into how to make Tacos cause it’s simple. You just brown the meat, mix in the seasoning, and mix it together to make Taco Salads.
