One of the three dirty cops was fired. |
The LMPD has formally cannon one of the cops who was involved in the failed raid that ended up killed Breonna Taylor, the 26-year old EMT. The LMPD who were plain clothes broke down the home of Taylor and her boyfriend. They got a warrant approved to enter the residence.
Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, a licensed gun owner reacted by shooting one of the cops in the leg.
The cops returned fire and shot through the home. Taylor was hit nearly 10 times and died on the scene. This incident happened in March but started picking up steam in May.
Before the George Floyd tragedy, many were calling upon the junk food media to share this story.
Mayor Greg Fischer announced Friday that Louisville Metro Police is moving to fire Brett Hankison, one of three LMPD officers to fire weapons on March 13 at Breonna Taylor's apartment, killing her.
Hankison is accused by the department's interim chief, Robert Schroeder, of "blindly" firing 10 rounds into Taylor's apartment, creating a substantial danger of death and serious injury.
"I find your conduct a shock to the conscience," Schroeder wrote in a Friday letter to Hankison laying out the charges against him. "I am alarmed and stunned you used deadly force in this fashion."
"The result of your action seriously impedes the Department's goal of providing the citizens of our city with the most professional law enforcement agency possible. I cannot tolerate this type of conduct by any member of the Louisville Metro Police Department," he added. "Your conduct demands your termination."
Specifically, Hankison is accused of violating departmental policies on adherence to rules and regulations and use of deadly force. Schroeder, who wrote that he received the department's Public Integrity Unit investigation into the case on Tuesday evening, notes Hankison was previously disciplined for reckless conduct in early 2019.
The pretermination letter Schroeder sent Friday will be followed up with a pretermination hearing, expected to take place in the next week, where Hankison and his legal representation, attorney David Leightty, will respond to the allegations.
These three dirty cops conducted a "no knock" warrant on the wrong house. |
The other two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor's apartment — Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove — remain on administrative reassignment.
Fischer, in a brief Friday news conference announcing Hankison's termination, declined further comment.
"Unfortunately, due to a provision in state law that I would very much like to see changed, both the chief and I are precluded from talking about what brought us to this moment or even the timing of this decision," Fischer said.
According to state law, "no public statements shall be made concerning the alleged violation" by local government officials "until final disposition of the charges."
Hankison in recent weeks also has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women in viral social media posts. The allegations are similar, saying that he offered intoxicated women a ride home from bars before sexually assaulting them.
Protesters won't be happy until there's accountability for the murder of Breonna Taylor. |
Ryan Nichols, the president of the River City Fraternal Order of Police chapter representing Louisville Metro Police officers, declined to comment at this time.
The Louisville Courier reported Taylor, 26, was shot at least eight times and died in her hallway after officers returned gunfire from Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Walker has said he fired one shot as police entered, hitting Mattingly in the leg, because he thought they were intruders.
Police were at Taylor's apartment on a no-knock warrant signed by Circuit Judge Mary Shaw in connection with a narcotics investigation. Department officials have said officers knocked and announced their presence, but attorneys and neighbors disagree.
The three officers who fired their weapons were under internal investigation by Louisville Metro Police's Public Integrity Unit. That investigation has been shared with the FBI and state attorney general, who are expected to conduct additional investigation.
Neither the FBI nor the Kentucky attorney general have announced any criminal charges.
Louisville FBI officials were at Taylor's apartment on Friday morning executing a search warrant as part of their independent investigation and taking a "fresh look" at the evidence.
On Friday, after hearing that Hankison's termination was underway, some called it a "start," but suggested they'd continue to demand more.
Kenneth Walker and Breonna Walker's family wants justice. |
True justice, he said, won't be achieved unless the other people involved, including those who sought and approved the no-knock warrant, are also reprimanded.
"If one should get in trouble, all should get in trouble," Brown said. "It's a team that did it. We, actually, we got a long way to go."
Pam Sheehan, a board member with Kentucky's Alliance Against Racism & Political Repression, said word of Hankison's firing spread quietly among the dozens hanging out in the park Friday morning.
"This is just the start," Sheehan said. "I really think people are going to stay dug in until he (Hankison) gets charged."
Catrell Mosby, another protester outside Friday, told The Courier Journal, "We want more justice."
"I want him locked up and ... to suffer, just like she did," Catrell said, referring to Taylor. "He took away her life."
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