Louisville to pay $12 million settlement over Breonna Taylor's death in botched police raid

[webfact]

Louisville to pay $12 million settlement over Breonna Taylor's death in botched police raid

By Maria Caspani and Jonathan Allen

 

FILE PHOTO: Signs used during protests and rallies are gathered around a memorial for Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., September 10, 2020. Picture taken September 10, 2020. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - The city of Louisville, Kentucky, will pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman shot dead by police in a botched raid on her apartment in March, to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit, Mayor Greg Fischer said on Tuesday.

 

The settlement appears to be one of the largest of its kind in the United States, where police departments are often shielded from having to pay damages for deaths in their custody.

 

It does not explicitly admit wrongdoing on the city's part, but it will be accompanied by reforms of the Louisville Metro Police Department, including a requirement that commanders approve search warrants before they are put to a judge, Fischer said at a news conference.

 

No police officer has been criminally charged over Taylor's death, but the Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Black Republican, is expected to bring the case before a grand jury this week, according to local media reports.

 

"I'm deeply, deeply sorry for Breonna's death," Fischer, who is white, told reporters. "My administration is not waiting to move ahead with needed reforms to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again."

 

Taylor's death, alongside that of George Floyd, a Black man killed in May by a white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck, gave rise to one of the largest protest movements in U.S. history, with daily demonstrations in cities ever since.

 

The mayor was joined by Taylor's family and local activists, who said they welcomed the settlement but also demanded the officers involved face criminal charges.

 

"As significant as today is, it is only the beginning of getting full justice for Breonna," said Tamika Palmer, Taylor's mother, her voice at times shaking with emotion. "It's time to move forward with the criminal charges because she deserves that and much more."

 

The mayor invited Tamika Mallory, the co-founder of activist group Until Freedom, to the podium, where she said there would be "no peace" if the officers involved were not charged.

 

"A settlement is restitution, but it's not arresting the cops," she said.

 

The settlement appeared to be one of the largest ever after a police killing in the United States, Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the family, told reporters.

 

The family of Philando Castile, a Black motorist shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in Minnesota, was awarded $3 million in 2017; in 2016, Cleveland officials agreed to pay a $6 million settlement to Tamir Rice's family after he was shot dead by a police officer.

 

As part of Tuesday's settlement, Fischer said Louisville police officers will be offered housing credits to move to some of the poorest parts of the city in the hopes of improving community ties. They will also be encouraged to regularly volunteer for community organizations and will face increased random testing for drug use.

 

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was killed on March 13 when Louisville police forced their way into her apartment shortly after midnight using a so-called 'no-knock' arrest warrant that did not require them to announce themselves.

 

Louisville police obtained the warrant from a judge as part of an investigation into a drug ring at another house elsewhere in the city. They told the judge that they believed that one of the men suspected of selling drugs had used Taylor's apartment to receive packages.

 

Taylor had previously dated the suspected drug seller but had severed ties with him, according to her family.

 

In June, the police department fired one of the three officers involved, detective Brett Hankison, who is white, for displaying "extreme indifference to the value of human life" when he fired ten bullets into Taylor's apartment.

 

The two other officers have been reassigned to administrative duties. The city also banned the use of no-knock warrants.

 

Fischer declined to agree to the family's request that he commit to firing all the officers involved even if they are not indicted.

 

A Reuters investigation https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-immunity-outliers/when-cops-kill-redress-is-rare-except-in-famous-cases-idUSKBN22K193 this year found U.S. police have been largely shielded from having to pay financial settlements to victims or their grieving families, except in high-profile cases.

 

(Reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut and Jonathan Allen and Maria Caspani in New York; Editing by Howard Goller and Rosalba O'Brien)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-09-16

 

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[faraday]

Yes, $12 mil, so much better than prosecution.

 

 

[Tug]

Rather large brown envelope I hope it was funded by the idiot that signed off on a no knock warrant 

[stevenl]

I still don't understand why no knock warrants are allowed in a country where the chances of encountering guns are high. Especially in the criminal circuit.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts removed.

 

[Tug]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

I still don't understand why no knock warrants are allowed in a country where the chances of encountering guns are high. Especially in the criminal circuit.

Personally I’ve wondered about that as well I could understand in some extreme cases but I think this particular fiasco was over a minor dope dealing complaint a real fubar on the part of the cops on this one and it still doesent bring breanna back just sucks all the way around 

[simple1]

https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html

[Bender Rodriguez]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

(Reuters) - The city of Louisville, Kentucky, will pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman shot dead by police in a botched raid on her apartment in March, to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit, Mayor Greg Fischer said on Tuesday.

in the meantime, thai conscript dies at army base, family gets 600$

[chuang]

Get shot and sue the authority...maybe easy money..

[Baerboxer]

According to reports, the police, having a no knock warrant, didn't identify themselves or instruct anyone before breaking in. 

 

Not surprising, given the propensity of home invasions in the US, that when aroused from sleep by people breaking in a person reaches for a gun if they have one.

[Hi Tea]

The members who normally rant furiously about compensation payments being made to victims here in Thailand and how wrong it is are strangely quiet on this one.

[Hi Tea]

6 hours ago, Tug said:

Rather large brown envelope I hope it was funded by the idiot that signed off on a no knock warrant 

You'll be disappointed, it will be paid by the police department's insurers.

[simple1]

1 hour ago, chuang said:

Get shot and sue the authority...maybe easy money..

 

Not for the deceased is it, nor is there any evidence of 'suicide by cop'

[simple1]

1 hour ago, Hi Tea said:

The members who normally rant furiously about compensation payments being made to victims here in Thailand and how wrong it is are strangely quiet on this one.

Compensation money is paid in Thailand to settle matters in order for the accused to avoid going to Court, corruption also involved. Don't believe there is any similarity to Thai 'justice' in this matter.

[Sujo]

1 hour ago, Hi Tea said:

The members who normally rant furiously about compensation payments being made to victims here in Thailand and how wrong it is are strangely quiet on this one.

This payment is for the civil case, it is still ongoing.

[Rimmer]

A youtube video has been removed also a reply, please use credible sources only to back up posts.

[GroveHillWanderer]

The boyfriend Taylor was with at the time the police broke in (Kenneth Walker) was not a drug dealer. A former boyfriend, who her family says she had broken ties with, was the actual target of the police investigation and they knew he was not there as they had already located him (and possibly arrested him, though the timeline is unclear) at a different address before entering Taylor's apartment.

 

The police application for a warrant said they had evidence from the USPS that the ex-boyfriend was having packages delivered to her apartment but the Postal Inspector has denied this, so it looks like the police lied to get the warrant.

 

See source below:

 

Breonna Taylor fact check

[mtls2005]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

The settlement appears to be one of the largest of its kind in the United States, where police departments are often shielded from having to pay damages for deaths in their custody.

 

The police slaying of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a dual citizen of the United States and Australia in Minnesota resulted in a $20 million setllement.

 

A few factors:

 

She was white

The policeman was not

The setllement came after the criminal conviction of the officer

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/justine-damond-s-family-agrees-20-million-settlement-minneapolis-over-n1001716

 

 

 

The City of Louisville got a bargain. Porbably smart to settle before the whole story gets released?

 

"It has been so long to get to this day where we could assure that Breonna Taylor's life wouldn't be swept under the rug, like so many other Black women in America who have been killed by police," Crump said.

 

The money comes from multiple sources:

$5 million comes from an outside insurance carrier
$2 million comes from the LAGIT trust fund
$5 million is from other Metro funds

 

https://www.wlky.com/article/settlement-reached-between-city-of-louisville-breonna-taylors-family/34024403

[audaciousnomad]

Wow...so the message to criminal police officers is...."Don't worry fellas, if you screw up because you lack restraint and good judgement, you won't be punished. We will just dip into the the city coffers to bribe your victims' families and get you out of being held accountable for your crime."

No wonder Americans hate the police.

[robblok]

 

The BF was not a drugdealer it was a new BF. No drugs were found. The new BF feared it was the ex thug drugdealer BF who broke in and shot 1 time. After that the police kept shooting in house and the poor lady died.

 

Totally preventable, even more so as the order was changed from no knock to knock and anounce. The BF said he did not hear a thing and I believe him. Who in his right mind would shoot at the police. Especially as he was not the drugdealer BF and no drugs were found in the appartment.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html

[Sujo]

Makes me sad to be an aussie after reading some posts. Prejudice and bigotry seems to overide education.

[robblok]

6 minutes ago, Sujo said:

Makes me sad to be an aussie after reading some posts. Prejudice and bigotry seems to overide education.

Who says he has an education. If you can't even bother to look this up in the news.

 

The fact that there was a 12$ million settlement shows that the police did some things wrong. Judges are not stupid no matter how much some right wing nuts might think they are.

[Sujo]

37 minutes ago, robblok said:

Who says he has an education. If you can't even bother to look this up in the news.

 

The fact that there was a 12$ million settlement shows that the police did some things wrong. Judges are not stupid no matter how much some right wing nuts might think they are.

I was not referring to taylor or her bf or whoever she was with. I agree with your sentiment. I know u are not a native english speaker so apologise if my post confused u.

 

I was responding to the poster.

[robblok]

3 minutes ago, Sujo said:

I was not referring to taylor or her bf or whoever she was with. I agree with your sentiment. I know u are not a native english speaker so apologise if my post confused u.

 

I was responding to the poster.

I got you.. you were talking about the OZ guy.. I was just questioning his education (the OZ poster who posted without thinking)

 

I mean all warning lights should start blinking if you read that there is a 12$ million settlement. Anyone with an education or bit of IQ would wonder why a judge would award such a high settlement if the poor girl was used as a human shield. Because then the police would have been a lot less guilty and the settlement lower.

 

That is why i said he should have looked it up in the news, not just go blind on what a poster wrote before him.

 

Maybe my shortness confused you.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by robblok

[Sujo]

38 minutes ago, robblok said:

I got you.. you were talking about the OZ guy.. I was just questioning his education (the OZ poster who posted without thinking)

 

I mean all warning lights should start blinking if you read that there is a 12$ million settlement. Anyone with an education or bit of IQ would wonder why a judge would award such a high settlement if the poor girl was used as a human shield. Because then the police would have been a lot less guilty and the settlement lower.

 

That is why i said he should have looked it up in the news, not just go blind on what a poster wrote before him.

 

Maybe my shortness confused you.

 

 

Ahh it was me that misread your post. I got it ????

[simple1]

52 minutes ago, robblok said:

I got you.. you were talking about the OZ guy.. I was just questioning his education (the OZ poster who posted without thinking)

 

I mean all warning lights should start blinking if you read that there is a 12$ million settlement. Anyone with an education or bit of IQ would wonder why a judge would award such a high settlement if the poor girl was used as a human shield. Because then the police would have been a lot less guilty and the settlement lower.

 

That is why i said he should have looked it up in the news, not just go blind on what a poster wrote before him.

 

Maybe my shortness confused you.

 

 

two words..."Confirmation bias"

[Tie Dye Samurai]

8 hours ago, chuang said:

Get shot and sue the authority...maybe easy money..

Interesting to know that you consider being shot to death in your bed "easy money".

Edited September 16, 2020 by Tie Dye Samurai

[IAMHERE]

The Law Establishment in Louisville tried to cover up and whitewash from the beginning. Surprises me that they actually paid money to help this go away.

[Hi Tea]

21 hours ago, simple1 said:

22 hours ago, Hi Tea said:

The members who normally rant furiously about compensation payments being made to victims here in Thailand and how wrong it is are strangely quiet on this one.

Compensation money is paid in Thailand to settle matters in order for the accused to avoid going to Court, corruption also involved.

Oh, yes? 

Did the compensation paid to the RTP officer's family in the Vorayuth case stop it going to court or was an arrest warrant issued for him regardless?

Did the compensation paid to the families of the two students killed by the speeding Merc driver stop it going to court or stop him from being jailed?

[simple1]

1 hour ago, Hi Tea said:

Oh, yes? 

Did the compensation paid to the RTP officer's family in the Vorayuth case stop it going to court or was an arrest warrant issued for him regardless?

Did the compensation paid to the families of the two students killed by the speeding Merc driver stop it going to court or stop him from being jailed?

 

Some rare exceptions to the norm, So far as I know in the first case you mention, the guy has not faced 'justice'. Most victim's families 'take the money', the amount being negotiated by police. I've had direct exposure to the corrupt process, but as you know cannot post info due to Thai laws of defamation.

 

EDIT: No further reply as straying way off topic.

Edited September 17, 2020 by simple1