Four months after Louisville police officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove open-fired into the apartment of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, a disturbing new detail has emerged: Police offered no aid or assistance to Breonna Taylor for five to six minutes after she was shot.
The Louisville Courier-Journal previously reported Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, immediately called Taylor’s mother, initially unaware who had tried to enter their apartment and then open-fired on the couple. Walker told investigators Taylor was still alive during the call.
"(Police are) yelling like, 'Come out, come out,' and I'm on the phone with her (mom). I'm still yelling help because she's over here coughing and, like, I'm just freaking out," Walker said in a recorded police interview 3 hours after the shooting.
The Courier-Journal also reports the coroner disputed Walker’s claim, saying she likely died almost instantly, but the official police report did note there was no effort whatsoever to revive her.
Nationwide, there is still growing outrage that the officers have not yet been arrested and only one officer, Brett Hankison, has been fired.
On Tuesday, 87 people were arrested for protesting at the home of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. They were arrested and received unduly harsh felony charges. In one small bit of bright news Friday afternoon, the felony charges have been dropped.
Breonna Taylor had previously worked as an EMT in Louisville and neither she nor Kenneth Walker had a criminal history. Police claim she had an association with an area drug dealer as justification for using a “no-knock” warrant to enter her home on March 13. No drugs were found in her apartment and even worse, the person they were seeking was already in custody elsewhere in Louisville that night.
In the aftermath of Taylor’s murder, the city of Louisville has banned no-knock warrants.
Sign and send a petition to Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer: Fire all the officers involved in Breonna Taylor's murder
