Click the links below to learn more about Breonna Taylor, to donate to the Louisville Community Bail Fund and to sign the petition to arrest the corrupt thugs John Mattingly, Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove, Joshua Jaynes involved in this horrendous act.
Her Story
EMT and aspiring nurse Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot to death by [now former] police officer Brett Hankison, current officer Myles Cosgrove, current officer Jonathan Mattingly in her own home on March 13. In what has been described as a “botched raid,” officers barged into Taylor’s apartment in Louisville, Kentucky on a drug warrant, as she lay sleeping, and fired more than 20 rounds in the apartment, hitting Taylor 8 times. Taylor was not the main target of the search warrant that Louisville Metro Police Department acquired for their drug case. They were investigating two men suspected of selling drugs about 10 miles away from Taylor’s home. However, they obtained a warrant out of Taylor’s apartment because they believed one of the suspects was receiving drug shipments there. No drugs were found; the warrant in question targeted another person, who lived miles away and had already been detained by the time police entered Taylor’s home. After months of protests only ONE officer has been charged with a small crime of wanton endangerment. A bullshit indictment.
Qualified Immunity
In the United States, becoming a police officer is easier than becoming a hairdresser (408 course hours to become an officer in GA, verses the 1500 hours to become a barber in GA). This easy requirement sometimes attracts the most incompetent and racist people to join a force that will protect them if they abuse their power. The United States has a history of protecting and not holding white people, especially white men accountable of any wrongdoings, this continues to be true when it comes to corrupt police officers and the "good," cops who continue to protect them. A little yet harmful doctrine called Qualified Immunity comes into play when it comes to individually holding officers accountably for their crimes. Qualified Immunity is a defense to standing civil trial. It’s raised by the officer well in advance of the actual trial on the merits. If granted, the plaintiff’s claim of excessive force against the officer is dismissed ¹. In short: Q.I is a legal defense that can shield police officers from liability for misconduct. Lack of higher standards required to enter the force, lack of productive and updated training, lack of accountability, lack of repercussions, and lack of actually caring about the people that officers are here to serve and protect all led to the recipe of disaster that we now have in the United States that make people like Breonna Taylor a victim.
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¹ https://www.fletc.gov/sites/default/files/PartIXQualifiedImmunity.pdf