Steph Deschamps / September 16, 2020
Twelve million dollars and local police reforms: The family of Breonna Taylor, a black American killed in her home by police, announced on Tuesday that they had waived a civil complaint as part of a "historic" agreement with the Louisville Town Hall.
This sum, one of the largest ever granted to relatives of police victims, reflects the commotion caused throughout the United States by this dossier which has become emblematic of the "Black Lives Matter" movement. .
“Today is an important day in the direction of justice for Breonna. But that's just the beginning, ”her mother Tamika Palmer said at a press conference.
Her face covered by a mask bearing a photo of her daughter, she demanded with hard-to-contain emotion the indictment of the agents involved in the tragedy, who remain at large six months after the death of the young woman.
The amicable agreement puts an end to the civil proceedings but not to the criminal investigation. "We demand that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron immediately announce indictments" in this case, added Ben Crump, Ms. Taylor's attorney.
In the meantime, he welcomed this agreement of a "historic" amount, one of the highest after the $ 16 million that the city of Chicago agreed to pay in 2018 to the relatives of Bettie Jones, a woman. 55-year-old black woman shot dead by police officers to whom she had opened the door to help them arrest one of her neighbors.
But comprehensive police reforms are just as important, they set an example, ”added Crump.
These provide for better supervision of arrest warrants, the establishment of a system listing complaints against agents, the inclusion of social workers in the ranks of the police or even financial incentives for them to act. are settling in disadvantaged neighborhoods, said Louisville Democratic Mayor Greg Fischer. For him, it is about preventing such a "tragedy from happening again. »
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old nurse, was shot dead in the middle of the night on March 13 at her home when three police officers showed up with a “no knock” arrest warrant that allowed them to enter. at a suspect without announcing himself. Officers were investigating drug trafficking involving the young woman's ex-boyfriend.
When they arrived, his new companion opened fire with a legally owned weapon. Officers retaliated and Breonna Taylor was shot several times. He then explained that the officers had not announced and that he believed he was dealing with a burglar. They claim to have introduced themselves before entering.
Lawyers for the Taylor family had filed a civil lawsuit in April seeking redress, arguing that the police warrant was wrong, that the officers shot blindly without taking the necessary action, and that they delayed to assist the young woman.
His death did not attract much attention at first, but has returned to center stage as part of the major anti-racist protests that have swept across the United States since the death of George Floyd, a black forty-something strangled by a white policeman in Minneapolis on May 25.
Faced with the mobilization, authorities in Louisville fired one of the officers, Brett Hankison, and fired his two colleagues. The city has also banned “no knock” warrants.
While awaiting a judicial decision, the climate remains tense on the spot, especially as armed militias, supposed to "prevent" acts of vandalism, have deployed on several occasions in the city, in particular during a famous horse race, Kentucky Derby on September 5th.
Credit : Sudinfo