The city of Louisville, Kentucky, must turn over about 20 hours of secure police communications to the family of a woman killed by police during a raid on her apartment, a state judge has ruled in a civil lawsuit against the municipality.
Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman said the city must release recordings from the four hours before 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was killed at about 12:40 a.m. on March 13 until 3 p.m. the following day when police cleared the scene, Louisville Fox affiliate WDRB reported.
Attorneys for Taylor’s family told the judge it was seeking the recordings to determine which police officers were at the apartment during the time of the raid, which could reveal if any of them were wearing body cameras and other details.
The city opposed the release, claiming it was overly broad and called it a “fishing expedition.”
Taylor’s family attorneys claimed in court filings that there were officers assigned to the raid that the city has not confirmed were present. Police have identified three officers who conducted the raid.
The shooting of Taylor, a Black woman, is one of several that have been cited by activists as examples of systemic racism by police and in American society in general. Protests and riots erupted after a Black man, George Floyd, died in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. Taylor’s death has been often cited along with that of Floyd.
Police raided Taylor’s apartment believing it to be a drug drop location. They entered with a “no-knock” warrant but have said they identified themselves before entering.
Taylor was asleep, but her boyfriend claimed he received no response when he asked who was at the door. When police entered, he shot at the police, who returned fire, killing Taylor. No drugs were found in the apartment.
Taylor’s boyfriend, who wounded one officer, initially was charged but that was later dropped. No officer has been charged in the case.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.