Breonna Taylor

When will Breonna Taylor receive her justice?

It is no secret that America’s judicial system is flawed, and it hurts that Black and Brown communities always seem to receive the short end of the stick. Breonna Taylor’s case is a great example of the frustration and pain that is evoked when a system claimed to protect the public fails. Breonna Taylor has not received true justice for her death, which has made more and more people recognize just how racial injustices affect nearly every aspect of Black people’s livelihood. 

To briefly recap the events of Breonna Taylor’s case, three officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department were tasked with conducting a raid for suspected drugs in Taylor’s apartment. Despite the warrant being “no-knock” at first, it was changed to a “knock-and-announce” warrant. While the officers reported that they knocked and announced themselves, Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, claimed that they heard banging at the door, but no announcement. The story gets a bit blurry here, as Kentucky’s Attorney General claims that Walker shot one of the officers, who then shot back. However, the claim that Walker shot an officer is not supported by Kentucky State Police’s ballistics report (Wolfson, 2020). What we do know for certain is that Breonna Taylor was shot several times, with injury to her pulmonary artery, and soon died. 

Louisville officials agreed to a 12 million dollar settlement for a wrongful death lawsuit brought upon by Breonna Taylor’s mother. However, when it comes to indictments, none of the officers were officially charged with Taylor’s murder. Without an official charge, Breonna Taylor and her family do not receive real justice. It is almost as if the legal system is gaslighting us; they are telling us, yes, it was a wrongful death, but no, we will not be charging anyone with this death. 

While various celebrities, magazines, and large organizations have used their voice and influence to bring awareness to this case, it almost feels useless when actual justice is not being served. Unfortunately, this is an experience all too familiar to the Black community. Mentioning the pain the Black community faces becomes a trend or hashtag and then fades away, yet the pain that comes with Black lives being lost to police brutality never seems to go away. Enough performance- we need justice! 

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References

Wolfson, A. (2020, September 28). Ballistics report doesn't support Kentucky AG's claim that Breonna Taylor's boyfriend shot cop. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/09/27/ballistics-report-breonna-taylor-boyfriend-kenneth-walker-shot-louisville-cop/3554995001/