Breonna Taylor trivia | 69 facts about the African-American woman who was shot on March 13, 2020

Breonna Taylor was fatally shot on March 13, 2020, by a police officer. She was 26 years old and became one of the faces of the recent protests in the US.

So let’s find out some more about this fatal incident.

On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers
Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly, Detective Brett Hankison, and Detective Myles Cosgrove forced entry into her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky under the authority of a search warrant
Gunfire was exchanged between Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, and LMPD officers
Walker believed that the officers were intruders
The LMPD officers fired over twenty shots
Taylor was shot eight times
Mattingly was injured by gunfire
Another police officer and an LMPD lieutenant were on the scene when the warrant was executed
The LMPD investigation was searching for two people who were already in police custody and suspected of selling controlled substances from a drug house more than 10 miles (16 km) away
One of the people in custody, Jamarcus Glover, had a prior relationship with Taylor
The search warrant included Taylor’s residence because it was suspected of receiving drugs in the case
Also, a car registered to Taylor had been seen parked on several occasions in front of Glover’s house
No drugs were found in the apartment
Walker was licensed to carry a firearm
He fired first, injuring a law enforcement officer
Whereupon police returned fire into the apartment with more than 20 rounds
According to a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the police by the Taylor family’s attorney, the officers entered the home without knocking or announcing that they were police officers
The police officers allegedly opened fire “with a total disregard for the value of human life”
Breonna Taylor was born on June 5, 1993
She was fatally shot on March 13, 2020
She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Her parents were Tamika Palmer and Troy Herrod
She graduated from Western High School and went on to study at the University of Kentucky
She was an emergency medical technician
She worked at two hospitals, University of Louisville Jewish Hospital and Norton Healthcare
At the time of her death, she was working for University of Louisville Health
She was laid to rest on March 21, 2020
Kenneth Walker was Taylor’s boyfriend
He lived with her in the apartment
Shortly after midnight on March 13, 2020, Louisville police entered the apartment of Breonna Taylor and Kenneth Walker using a battering ram to force open the door
The Taylor/Walker home was included in a signed “no-knock” search warrant because police said one of the men used it to receive packages
The suspected drug dealer had allegedly been seen walking into Taylor’s apartment one January afternoon with a USPS package before leaving and driving to a known drug house
The warrant said a US Postal Inspector confirmed that the man had been receiving packages at the apartment
Postal Inspector Tony Gooden has said that his office had told police there were no packages of interest being received there
Louisville police claim to have announced themselves while entering the home after knocking several times and saying they were Louisville police officers with a search warrant
Neighbors and Taylor’s family dispute this, saying there was no announcement and that Walker and Taylor believed someone was breaking in, causing Walker to act in self-defense
Walker said in his police interrogation that Taylor yelled multiple times, “Who is it?” after hearing a loud bang at the door, but received no answer, and that he then armed himself
Walker, a licensed firearm carrier, shot first, striking a police officer in the leg
In response, the officers opened fire with more than 20 rounds, hitting objects in the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, bathroom, and both bedrooms
Taylor was shot at least eight times and pronounced dead at the scene
According to anonymous sources who spoke to WAVE3 News, one of the three officers allegedly fired blindly from the exterior of the residence, through a window with closed blinds and curtains
The sources said they do not believe Taylor was struck by any of the bullets fired by the officer who was outside
On May 15, Taylor’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit
It states that Taylor and Walker were sleeping in their bedroom before the incident happened, and that the police officers were in unmarked vehicles
None of the officers were wearing body cameras, as all three were plainclothes narcotics officers
Taylor and Walker thought their home had been broken into by criminals and that “they were in significant, imminent danger”
The lawsuit alleges that “the officers then entered Breonna’s home without knocking and without announcing themselves as police officers. The Defendants then proceeded to spray gunfire into the residence with a total disregard for the value of human life”
On May 14, photos were released to the public in The Courier-Journal by Sam Aguiar, an attorney representing Taylor’s family
The photos show bullet damage in their apartment and the apartment next door
On May 21, after intense local and national criticism for the department’s handling of the case, Police Chief Steve Conrad announced his retirement, effective June 30
The LMPD has also announced that it will require all sworn officers to wear body cameras and will change how it carries out search warrants
On May 27, the LMPD said it had received multiple death threats like “All cops need to die” and “kill pigs”
On May 20, officers were responding to a 911 call near Taylor’s apartment and multiple people threw pieces of concrete at them and then ran away
No officers were injured
On May 29, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer indefinitely suspended the use of “no knock” warrants
On June 1, Police Chief Conrad was fired after the fatal shooting of black business owner David McAtee
On May 26, 2020, multiple protesters, including friends and family of Taylor, surrounded Mayor Fischer’s office, demanding the three officers be arrested and charged with murder
On May 28, 500 to 600 demonstrators marched in Downtown Louisville, chanting, “No justice, no peace, prosecute police!” and “Breonna, Breonna, Breonna!”
The protests continued into the early morning of May 29
Then seven people were shot
One was in critical condition
At the same time, Taylor’s sister, Juniyah Palmer, posted on her Facebook page, “At this point y’all are no longer doing this for my sister! You guys are just vandalizing stuff for NO reason, I had a friend ask people why they are there most didn’t even know the ‘protest’ was for my sister”
These protests and demonstrations were part of the nationwide reaction to the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed by Minneapolis police on May 25
For weeks after Taylor’s death, there was very little public reaction or response from government officials
The LMPD has not provided many details about the shooting or answers to questions about the case
Taylor’s death gained national attention when activist Shaun King posted about her shooting death on social media
On May 13, 2020, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear responded to reports about Taylor’s death and said the public deserved to know everything about the March raid
Beshear requested that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and local and federal prosecutors review the Louisville police’s initial investigation “to ensure justice is done at a time when many are concerned that justice is not blind”
On May 14, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and LMPD Chief Steve Conrad announced they had asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney to review the local findings of the Public Integrity Unit’s investigation when it is completed