There are two sides to every story. Sometimes, it helps to recognize both sides before coming to a judgment. Here is my take on the killing of Breonna Taylor.
Ms. Taylor was killed in a no-knock drug raid warrant in her apartment late at night. She was asleep in bed when police broke in. Her boyfriend, who was also in bed with her, thought it was a home invasion because police didn't identify themselves, so he shot one of the intruders in the leg. The police fired 22 rounds into the bedroom, hitting Ms. Taylor eight times. The boyfriend was arrested for shooting an officer of the law. (Charges were later dropped but could be reinstated.)
Breonna Taylor and her boyfriend are both black. She had no police record at all. She was an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for Louisville, KY. Can't attest to her boyfriend because I haven't researched that far yet. In any case, she was a public servant--certainly not a drug dealer. Apparently, the person the police were hoping to capture didn't live there and, in fact, was already in police custody at the time. They had the wrong information. In summary, there was no cause for a warrant of any kind on that location. Of course, the world has gone nuts about the whole thing, accusing police of racist motivation.
What do we know?
1. Ms. Taylor and BF were asleep in their apartment.
2. Police had a no-knock warrant to invade the apartment looking for some drug dealer who was, supposedly unbeknownst to them, already in custody. The no-knock warrant gives police the legal right to break into a home, unannounced, using the element of surprise to capture a suspect before he/she has a chance to escape. These are usually done in the middle of the night, breaking down a door, and using extreme force to capture a suspect. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn't. I am now aware of at least TWO people--both black women--who were killed because people on the inside of the residence didn't understand that the people nosing around outside in the dark, or breaking into their homes, were police.
3. The released police report about the incident involving Breonna stated that there was no evidence of forcible entry, when--in fact--police broke the door down with a battering ram. (It also reported that there were no injuries, when a policeman was shot in the leg, and Breonna was killed.
Huh??)
4. The BF had every right to shoot at the intruders, according to US law. Of course, the police say that they announced themselves. The BF says otherwise. Don't know about you, but if I were sound asleep, I might not hear someone unexpected announcing their presence in my house in the middle of the night. Was the BF wrong in shooting at what he thought were home invaders? His firearm was legal.
*Going back to the beginning, SOMEONE tipped the police off that there was a drug dealer at that address. Who was that person? What intelligence gave "probable cause"?
*The police got a no-knock warrant to capture the drug dealer.
*Did the police go to the right residence? Did they respond to the residence provided to them? Or had they made a mistake?
*Did they announce their presence or not? They say they did. The person asleep in the house says they didn't. He says he believed he was a victim to home invasion. He shot, and the police fired back 22 times, hitting Breonna eight times.
*Do police lie? Yes...they most certainly do. I know this from first-hand experience.
*Do perpetrators lie? Also yes, but what reason would the BF have to lie about what happened? He called 911 looking for help for Breonna. Guilty people generally don't do that The dude that the police were after was already in custody, and neither of the victims of the home invasion had any police record.
*Who shot first? My best guess is that the BF did. (Haven't researched it.) He was confronted with armed people who broke into their apartment unannounced in the middle of the night. This is the United States. Stand your ground. Second Amendment. Your home is your castle...blah, blah.
*Are the police involved murderers? I'm thinking that the courts will say no. Since the no-knock warrant is legal, my guess is that the courts will say that they were acting within the law. In fact, these police are still on the payroll, pending investigation, but Breonna Taylor is no less dead. That enrages the American community, including me. Was it a racist attack? Who knows? I'm pretty sure that racism played a part. Sooo many questions.
*The law needs to change. Considering that people are allowed to defend their homes with firearms in the case of unlawful invasions, and considering that the law supports police invasions, someone is going to die. Sometimes more than one. Thankfully, Louisville (and perhaps other municipalities) have very recently revoked the no-knock warrants except in the case of actual physical danger..not just to catch drug dealers. It's now called Breonna's Law. But it's not over. I'm afraid that there is lots more to come because the courts, who have not yet arrested the officers who participated in this no-knock raid haven't been arrested or fired. What they did was supposedly legal. What they didn't do was account for error. And now, one innocent person is dead, another injured, and a third traumatized for life.
Was it worth it? The whole no-knock warrant issue is overkill for trying to catch a drug dealer. Rapist, kidnapper, murderer, sex trafficker, yes. Drug dealer? No. There is too large a margin for error, and the case of Breonna Taylor proves that.
How current is your information, officers, and what is the source of it?
Are you at the right address? Have you identified yourselves as police as you break down a door?
Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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