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Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother, in white beside Attorney Ben Crump, left, speak in Louisville, Ky., after settlement was announced. The city of Louisville will pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor and reform police practices as part of a lawsuit settlement months after Taylor’s slaying by police thrust the Black woman’s name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Tuesday. [AP Photo | Dylan Lovan]

Louisville Agrees To $12 Million Settlement With Breonna Taylor’s Family

By: Brakkton Booker | NPR
Posted on: Tuesday, September 15, 2020

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (NPR) — The city of Louisville announced a $12 million dollar settlement Tuesday in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Breonna Taylor.

The settlement also includes a series of police reforms to be adopted by Louisville Metro Police Department.

Emergency medical technician Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot and killed by police in her home in March. Her name has become a rally cry in protests against police brutality and social injustice. [Taylor Family]

Louisville police shot and killed Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, during a botched no-knock narcotics raid at her home in March.

Taylor’s case has become a rallying cry in the ongoing national protests against police brutality, like other cases of Black people killed or severely injured by law enforcement this year, including George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and Jacob Blake.

The announcement comes as Daniel Cameron, the Kentucky Attorney General, continues to conduct a criminal investigation into the March 13 shooting. Cameron, a Republican and the state’s first Black attorney general, is considering whether to bring charges against the three white officers involved in Taylor’s death.

The Louisville Metro Police Department fired one officer Brett Hankison, in June. Two other officers — Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove — have been reassigned to administrative duties.

Cameron, who took over as special prosecutor in the case in May, was reported to be close to presenting his findings to a grand jury. But in a Sept. 9 statement, he apparently sought to tamp down the speculation.

“My office is continually asked about a timeline regarding the investigation into the death of Ms. Breonna Taylor,” Cameron said.

“When the investigation concludes and a decision is made, we will provide an update about an announcement,” he continued. “The news will come from our office and not from unnamed sources. Until that time, the investigation remains ongoing.”

Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, was with her the night of the raid. He maintains he never heard police announce themselves before they burst through the front door.

The officers said they announced their presence before entering the home.

Walker, a licensed gun owner, said he and Taylor were startled by the commotion, and he fired a warning shot that hit one of the officers in the leg.

The officers returned fire, striking Taylor multiple times and killing her. None of the officers were using body cameras during the raid.

The city requires all officers wear and use body cameras when serving warrants, according to Louisville NPR member station WFPL. Mayor Greg Fischer has ordered a comprehensive review of the police department by an outside firm.