Louisville Officials Detail $12M Settlement With Family Of Breonna Taylor

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday announced a $12 million settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor, the black EMT fatally shot by cops during a botched raid on her home.

The amount handily surpasses the $8.5 million Louisville coughed up in 2012 to a wrongfully imprisoned man — then largest sum ever awarded by the city in a police misconduct suit — and comes in addition to police reforms to prevent a similar tragedy.

Holding back tears at a press briefing announcing the settlement, Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, hailed the deal, but made clear that the fight was far from over.

“As significant as today is, it’s only the beginning of getting full justice for Breonna,” said Palmer. “Her beautiful spirit and personality is working through all of us on the ground, so please continue to say her name: Breonna Taylor.”

Taylor, 26, was asleep in her apartment in the early hours of March 13 when cops executing a no-knock warrant barged in and fatally shot the unarmed EMT.

Authorities believed that Taylor’s ex-boyfriend was stashing drugs and cash in the apartment, but nothing illegal was found.

“For those who knew her, Breonna’s death was personal, the pain is visceral,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who also unveiled a series of sweeping reforms to minimize the risk of the deadly error repeating.

Among the measures, the Louisville Metro Police Department will now require commanding officers to review all search warrants and affidavits for them before they are executed.

Additionally, an early warning system will be implemented to keep tabs on potentially out-of-control cops, measuring use of force, civilian complaints and other red flags.

Cops will also be financially incentivized to buy homes and volunteer in the communities they serve.

“We’ve finished the first mile in a marathon, and we got a lot more miles to go,” said Baker.

She, fellow attorney Ben Crump and Palmer called on Kentucky prosecutors to go further and bring criminal charges against the officers involved.

“We’ve finished the first mile in a marathon, and we got a lot more miles to go,” said Baker.

Added Crump, “We are still demanding that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron bring charges immediately against the police officers that murdered Breonna Taylor.”

Palmer agreed.

“We must not lose focus on what the real drive is,” she said. “It’s time to move forward with the criminal charges, because she deserves that and much more.”

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