Amidst the national and global unrest due to police brutality, one of its victims would have celebrated a birthday today.
Breonna Taylor would have turned 27 years old today. Her memory during these times is helping keep the momentum of change in the air. People are protesting daily and sharing other ways to help the fight for social justice.
Taylor was shot and killed by police officers who entered her home in March. Her death as well as that of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd have sparked a call for change in police procedures and an overall examination of race relations in America.
What Happened?
Shortly after midnight on March 13, Louisville police, executing a search warrant, used a battering ram to crash into the apartment of Breonna Taylor.
The then 26-year-old African-American emergency room technician had a brief confrontation. Taylor’s partner, Kenneth Walker, thought the police were intruders and opened fire, hitting one officer.
The Louisville police then shot around 25 bullets, hitting Taylor eight times.
The police were investigating two men who they believed were selling drugs out of a house that was far from Ms. Taylor’s home. However, a judge had also signed a warrant allowing the police to search Ms. Taylor’s residence.
The police said they believed that one of the two men had used her apartment to receive packages. The judge’s order was a so-called “no-knock” warrant, which allowed the police to enter without warning or without identifying themselves as law enforcement.
The Aftermath
Louisville police had no reason to enter Taylor’s home as the suspect they were looking for had already been placed in custody.
In April, Taylor’s mother filed a wrongful death suit that alleging the police had no reason to enter Taylor’s home.
Ms. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said her daughter had dreams of a lifelong career in health care after serving as an E.M.T. and as an emergency room technician.
“She had a whole plan on becoming a nurse and buying a house and then starting a family. Breonna had her head on straight, and she was a very decent person,” Ms. Palmer told The Courier Journal. “She didn’t deserve this. She wasn’t that type of person.”
Thus far, petitions calling for justice for Floyd, Arbery, and Taylor had collectively amassed more than 18 million signatures as of June 3. Today, Twitter is trending “Breonna Taylor” as users pay tribute on what would have been her 27th birthday.
With all four officers involved in the death of George Floyd, people are not being quiet about what happened to Breonna Taylor. The protesting against police brutality and demanding justice for black people who have been wrongfully killed continues worldwide.
