Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings/Conspiracy Theories Book II

The Shooting of Breonna Taylor

Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-oldAfrican-American emergency medical technician, was fatally shot byLouisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers JonathanMattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove on March 13, 2020.Three plainclothes LMPD officers executing a no-knock search warrantentered her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky. Gunfire was exchangedbetween Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker and the officers. Walkersaid he believed that the officers were intruders. The LMPD officersfired over twenty shots. Taylor was shot eight times and LMPDSergeant Jonathan Mattingly was injured by gunfire. Another policeofficer and an LMPD lieutenant were on the scene when the warrant wasexecuted.

The primary targets of the LMPDinvestigation were Jamarcus Glover and Adrian Walker, who weresuspected of selling controlled substances from a drug house morethan 10 miles (16 km) away. Glover had a prior relationship withTaylor. The search warrant included Taylor's residence because itwas suspected that Glover received packages containing drugs atTaylor's apartment and because a car registered to Taylor had beenseen parked on several occasions in front of Glover's house. Nodrugs were found in the apartment.

Walker was licensed to carry a firearmand fired first, injuring a law enforcement officer, whereupon policereturned fire into the apartment with more than 20 rounds. Accordingto a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the police by the Taylorfamily's attorney, the officers, who entered Taylor's home withoutknocking or announcing a search warrant, opened fire "with atotal disregard for the value of human life."

Persons involved

Breonna Taylor – an emergencymedical technician working for University of Louisville Health. Herfuneral was held on March 21, 2020.

Kenneth Walker – Taylor'sboyfriend, who lived with her in the apartment.

Jonathan Mattingly – an LMPDpolice officer who joined the department in 2000, became a sergeantin 2009, and joined the narcotics division in 2016.

Brett Hankison – an LMPDdetective. Hankison joined the department in 2003.

Myles Cosgrove – an LMPDpolice officer who transferred to the department's narcotics divisionin 2016.

Shooting

Shortly after midnight on March 13,2020, Louisville police entered the apartment of Breonna Taylor andKenneth Walker using a battering ram to force open the door. Thepolice were investigating two men they believed were selling drugs.The Taylor/Walker home was included in a signed "no-knock"search warrant, signed by Jefferson County Circuit Judge Mary M.Shaw, reportedly based on representations by police that one of themen used the apartment to receive packages. The suspected drug dealerhad allegedly been seen walking into Taylor's apartment one Januaryafternoon with a USPS package before leaving and driving to a knowndrug house, and the warrant said a US Postal Inspector confirmed thatthe man had been receiving packages at the apartment. PostalInspector Tony Gooden has said that his office had told police therewere no packages of interest being received there.

Louisville police stated that theyannounced themselves while entering the home after knocking severaltimes and saying they were Louisville police officers with a searchwarrant. Neighbors and Taylor's family dispute this, saying there wasno announcement and that Walker and Taylor believed someone wasbreaking in, causing Walker to act in self-defense. Walker said inhis police interrogation that Taylor yelled multiple times, "Whois it?" after hearing a loud bang at the door, but receivedno answer, and that he then armed himself. Walker, a licensed firearmcarrier, shot first, striking a police officer in the leg; inresponse, the officers opened fire with more than 20 rounds, hittingobjects in the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, bathroom,and both bedrooms. Taylor was shot at least eight times andpronounced dead at the scene. No drugs were found in the apartment. According to anonymous sources who spoke to WAVE3 News, one of thethree officers allegedly fired blindly from the exterior of theresidence, through a window with closed blinds and curtains; thesources said they do not believe Taylor was struck by any of thebullets fired by the officer who was outside.