Police say they banged on Breonna Taylor's door 30 to 90 seconds - recordings

[rooster59]

Police say they banged on Breonna Taylor's door 30 to 90 seconds - recordings

By Daniel Trotta and Jonathan Allen

 

FILE PHOTO: A man pauses at the memorial of Breonna Taylor before a march, after a grand jury decided not to bring homicide charges against police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Taylor in her apartment, in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. September 25, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - Police serving a search warrant on Breonna Taylor's home told investigators they banged on her door and announced themselves from 30 to 90 seconds before breaking in during a raid that ended with the officers fatally shooting her, audio recordings released on Friday show.

 

The newly revealed details from the police officers contrast with earlier witness reports, and their account has been a point of contention in the case that has captured national attention and prompted street protests over racism and police use of force.

 

Kentucky's attorney general on Friday released audio recordings of the grand jury proceedings that cleared three policemen of homicide charges in Taylor's death, offering a rare peek at the inner workings of a grand jury, which is normally kept secret.

 

The grand jury last week cleared the two white officers who shot Taylor and charged a third with wanton endangerment for stray bullets that hit a neighboring apartment in the March 13 raid.

 

Street protesters have called for the arrest of the officers and demanded justice for Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician whose family won a $12 million wrongful death settlement from the city of Louisville.

 

Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was with her, has said he believed the plainclothes officers who burst in might have been Taylor's ex-boyfriend. He fired once, wounding one officer. Police then fired 32 rounds, six of which hit Taylor.

 

Hours later and with his voice breaking with emotion, the recordings showed, Walker told police he and Taylor were "scared to death" at the banging at the door, with Taylor yelling "Who is it?" at the top of her lungs but hearing no response.

 

The recordings made over three days of proceedings show police were confused by the burst of their own gunfire. One officer said he did not realize he had fired his weapon until after the fact, while another who opened fire mistakenly feared his colleagues were being shot by an AR-15.

 

The recordings also demonstrate grand jurors were engaged with the investigators presenting the case, peppering them with questions about why police did not wear body cameras, and whether police in the raid were aware that other officers had already located the central suspect in the investigation, Taylor's ex-boyfriend.

 

Strikingly absent were any recordings of prosecutor recommendations that might have revealed how prosecutors guided the 12-member panel's thinking.

 

"Juror deliberations and prosecutor recommendations and statements were not recorded, as they are not evidence," Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the special prosecutor in the case, said in a statement.

 

In a police interview on March 25 that was played to the grand jury last week, the officer who was wounded, Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly, said police banged on Taylor's door six or seven different times, repeatedly announcing they were police there to serve a search warrant.

 

"It probably lasted between 45 seconds and a minute, banging on the door," Mattingly said, before police broke in.

 

Detective Myles Cosgrove, in his interview with police investigators, said the officers knocked on the door for about 90 seconds.

 

Detective Brett Hankison, the officer charged with wanton endangerment, estimated there were 30 to 45 seconds of "banging and announcing, knocking and announcing."

 

'SURREAL THING'

 

Multiple witnesses told reporters they did not hear any police announcement, and Cameron acknowledged that the single witness who verified the police account of their announcement changed his story.

 

The witness first told investigators in March he did not hear police identify themselves but two months later, in a follow-up interview, the witness said he heard officers knock and announce, according to an investigator who testified before the grand jury.

 

Cosgrove, who fired 16 shots, described the experience as disorienting, with bright muzzle flashes interrupting the darkness, as he learned that Mattingly had been shot.

 

He said he only realized after the fact that he had started firing his gun. "It's like a surreal thing," Cosgrove said.

 

When the shooting started, Hankison said he fired into the apartment from outside, and saw more flashes light up the room, mistakenly thinking either Walker or Taylor was holding an AR-15 or other long gun.

 

"I thought they were just being executed," Hankison, who shot 10 times, said of his colleagues.

 

Walker's single round came from a 9 mm handgun that he was licensed to carry. Taylor was unarmed.

 

Attorneys for Taylor's family and Walker did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

After the gunfire, Walker said he dropped to the ground in fear when he saw Taylor had been shot.

 

"She's right there on the ground like bleeding," he said, before breaking down with emotion.

 

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta, Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Dan Grebler and Aurora Ellis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-10-03

 

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[TopDeadSenter]

The narrative here is still very fluid.

 

"Breonna Taylor's boyfriend said SHE opened fire on cops during no-knock warrant before changing his story"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8799423/Breonna-Taylor-cops-knocked-three-times-grand-jury-testimony-reveals.html

 

 I believe the police's account of events. And the surefire takeaway from these events is to co-operate when encountering police. Wherever and whenever. 

[Credo]

Reading that, it sounds like an extremely poorly executed warrant.  It sounds like the police had no idea what they were doing.  Keystone cops comes to mind.   

 

[steve187]

14 minutes ago, Credo said:

Reading that, it sounds like an extremely poorly executed warrant.  It sounds like the police had no idea what they were doing.  Keystone cops comes to mind.   

 

you been in their shoes at any time

[serenedion]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

The narrative here is still very fluid.

 

"Breonna Taylor's boyfriend said SHE opened fire on cops during no-knock warrant before changing his story"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8799423/Breonna-Taylor-cops-knocked-three-times-grand-jury-testimony-reveals.html

 

 I believe the police's account of events. And the surefire takeaway from these events is to co-operate when encountering police. Wherever and whenever. 

First you have to know that they are the police. Most of the neighbors who heard what went down said that the police didn't identify themselves. The only one who did actually at first said that they didn't. It was only a few months later that he changed his report. Were those other neighbors called before the grand jury?

[EVENKEEL]

33 minutes ago, Credo said:

Reading that, it sounds like an extremely poorly executed warrant.  It sounds like the police had no idea what they were doing.  Keystone cops comes to mind.   

 

Nothing like coaching from the keyboard.

[serenedion]

5 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Nothing like coaching from the keyboard.

There's been lots of evidence presented how the raid was ill-conceived from the start. 

[amexpat]

But TopDeadSenter and Daily Mail say........

[EVENKEEL]

20 minutes ago, serenedion said:

There's been lots of evidence presented how the raid was ill-conceived from the start. 

Calling cops "Keystone Cops" from the safety of a keyboard is weak.

[sungod]

21 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Nothing like coaching from the keyboard.

Room entry is a specialised skill, doubtful any regular cop would know how to do it properly, thats why it was so confusing and the cops reacted in the way they thought best.  Maybe those guys should have never been put in that position and someone like SWAT should have done the entry.

[serenedion]

3 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Calling cops "Keystone Cops" from the safety of a keyboard is weak.

Playing the "you had to be there" card to counter the evidence is what's weak.

Edited October 3, 2020 by serenedion

[EVENKEEL]

15 minutes ago, sungod said:

Room entry is a specialised skill, doubtful any regular cop would know how to do it properly, thats why it was so confusing and the cops reacted in the way they thought best.  Maybe those guys should have never been put in that position and someone like SWAT should have done the entry.

That is a good point.

 

He said he only realized after the fact that he had started firing his gun. "It's like a surreal thing," Cosgrove said. 

 

 

[NanLaew]

28 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Calling cops "Keystone Cops" from the safety of a keyboard is weak.

Yeah... better be sure you're wearing kevlar before you type sh*t like that.

[NanLaew]

43 minutes ago, amexpat said:

But TopDeadSenter and Daily Mail say........

Correction. The only cop that got charged with anything says...

[serenedion]

31 minutes ago, sungod said:

Room entry is a specialised skill, doubtful any regular cop would know how to do it properly, thats why it was so confusing and the cops reacted in the way they thought best.  Maybe those guys should have never been put in that position and someone like SWAT should have done the entry.

Right. That's the problem. Because what the police need is even more militarization. 

[NanLaew]

16 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

37 minutes ago, sungod said:

Room entry is a specialised skill, doubtful any regular cop would know how to do it properly, thats why it was so confusing and the cops reacted in the way they thought best.  Maybe those guys should have never been put in that position and someone like SWAT should have done the entry.

That is a good point.

 

He said he only realized after the fact that he had started firing his gun. "It's like a surreal thing," Cosgrove said. 

Cowboys...

[worgeordie]

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The recordings made over three days of proceedings show police were confused by the burst of their own gunfire. One officer said he did not realize he had fired his weapon until after the fact, while another who opened fire mistakenly feared his colleagues were being shot by an AR-15.

They seem well trained Police.....plus knocking on the door,with a NO knock warrant

regards Worgeordie

[bunnydrops]

1 hour ago, sungod said:

Room entry is a specialised skill, doubtful any regular cop would know how to do it properly, thats why it was so confusing and the cops reacted in the way they thought best.  Maybe those guys should have never been put in that position and someone like SWAT should have done the entry.

As the one cop said they were only expecting one unarmed female.

Also they say they announced 3 times while increasing knocking louder on the door for a minute and a half. Sounds like a half hearted attempt at identification to me.

The one officer shooting though a blinded window doesn't sound very "specialised".

[Credo]

2 hours ago, steve187 said:

you been in their shoes at any time

No, but I can recognize a real poop show when I see one.   This is about as unprofessional as it gets.   

 

[KarenBravo]

2 hours ago, steve187 said:

you been in their shoes at any time

Aren't they supposed to have like.........training?

[polpott]

1 hour ago, bunnydrops said:

As the one cop said they were only expecting one unarmed female.

There was only one unarmed female. They shot her 6 times.

 

That'll teach her for not answering the door quickly enough.

[Credo]

2 hours ago, sungod said:

Room entry is a specialised skill, doubtful any regular cop would know how to do it properly, thats why it was so confusing and the cops reacted in the way they thought best.  Maybe those guys should have never been put in that position and someone like SWAT should have done the entry.

This required nothing more than an ordinary search warrant executed during the day or as soon as the occupants left the apartment.   There was no arrest warrant for either occupant and they were looking for drugs, which weren't there.   

 

[Bluespunk]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Police serving a search warrant on Breonna Taylor's home told investigators they banged on her door and announced themselves from 30 to 90 seconds before breaking in during a raid that ended with the officers fatally shooting her, audio recordings released on Friday show.

Yeah right, yet only one witness claimed to have heard this, many others say they did not. 

[sungod]

3 hours ago, serenedion said:

Right. That's the problem. Because what the police need is even more militarization. 

Sending in specialised teams is better than tragic accidents resulting in death, or do you think otherwise?

[Pedrogaz]

Lock them all up and throw away the key.

[animalmagic]

8 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The grand jury last week cleared the two white officers who shot Taylor and charged a third with wanton endangerment for stray bullets that hit a neighboring apartment in the March 13 raid.

Just to clarify, the only police officer facing charges is one that missed her?

Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, fired one round and the police fired 32!  How many of those rounds were fired by police officers at a specific target?

[Proboscis]

8 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

The narrative here is still very fluid.

 

"Breonna Taylor's boyfriend said SHE opened fire on cops during no-knock warrant before changing his story"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8799423/Breonna-Taylor-cops-knocked-three-times-grand-jury-testimony-reveals.html

 

 I believe the police's account of events. And the surefire takeaway from these events is to co-operate when encountering police. Wherever and whenever. 

ALL the witnesses say there was no knock. You are talking about what would have appeared to those sleeping inside, in effect, a home invasion by several armed men. What were they supposed to do?

 

This whole thing stinks but is simply an example of what goes on in local law enforcement in the USA. Policemen talking about only realizing after the fact that they had started firing their guns. That indicates complete lack of training. There is a world of difference between giving a security guard a gun to wear on his holster in case someone comes at him/her with a gun and the sort of training required for a night-time raid on a drug house in a high crime area.

 

If it was what they said it was, a drug den with armed drug-dealers inside, it should have been a SWAT team, highly training for such a raid. If it was a knock on the door to deliver a warrant, it should have been that, a knock on the door, announcing the police and waiting until someone answered the door and presenting the warrant. The whole thing was ill-conceived from the start, seemed to be spur of the moment, led by an inexperienced person, carried out by untrained personnel.

 

The fact that the prosecutors steered the Grand Jury away from obvious charges (and by steered I mean ensured such charges were unavailable) says it all. Law Enforcement is being run by police unions in the USA. They fund the elections of states attorneys, some judges (thats the way it runs in some jurisdictions), local mayors etc. Money does not go into training. You have guys with psychological issues who, in police uniform, are carrying around highly dangerous equipment that they are either ill-trained to use or ill-suited for it. It is almost impossible to indict they for anything as long as they were on duty at the time because their buddies will stand up for them (no matter what they did!), they control much if not all of the evidence (in the form of camera footage etc and can just say they "forgot" to switch on or it malfunctioned) and city/county administrations and prosecutors just fall into line and corruptly say they did nothing wrong. The whole thing is a mess and very corrupt. And that is before you begin to discuss matters of race.

[geoffrobbo]

"Cosgrove, who fired 16 shots, described the experience as disorienting, with bright muzzle flashes interrupting the darkness, as he learned that Mattingly had been shot.
 
He said he only realized after the fact that he had started firing his gun. "It's like a surreal thing," Cosgrove said."

 

Do police not receive firearms training in US?  "he only realized after the fact that he had started firing his gun".

[IAMHERE]

12 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I believe the police's account of events. And the surefire takeaway from these events is to co-operate when encountering police. Wherever and whenever. 

Do you know why those police served up a no knock warrant at a time of night the occupant were expected to be sound asleep? It is a technique used since Nazi's rounded up undesireables. There is a reason no knock warrants are served in the middle of the night. The victim didn't know who was pounding on the door, being awoke like they were is supposed to be disorienting.

[wwest5829]

12 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

The narrative here is still very fluid.

 

"Breonna Taylor's boyfriend said SHE opened fire on cops during no-knock warrant before changing his story"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8799423/Breonna-Taylor-cops-knocked-three-times-grand-jury-testimony-reveals.html

 

 I believe the police's account of events. And the surefire takeaway from these events is to co-operate when encountering police. Wherever and whenever. 

Not on my life. I was resident in Kentucky and assure you if I was awakened by a forced entry, I would be using my firearm to defend my family, as I would be in fear of my life. As was true when the boyfriend fired, that is why the original charge against him was dropped ... I would have had every right to do so. i will await release of audio recordings, grand jury records and independent forensic findings.

Edited October 3, 2020 by wwest5829