Social Justice: Breonna Taylor’s Death Sparks Police Reform Agreement In Louisville
Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Breonna Taylor’s death at the hands of inept and overly aggressive police officers in Louisville, Kentucky led to persistent public outcry for police reform at large but specifically in the city with a long history of policing issues. Those cries grew louder as the officers involved have either had their charges dropped or weren’t indicted at all. Brett Hankison, the ex-cop charged with recklessly firing ten rounds into Taylor’s apartment, got a mistrial when a 12-person jury the consisted of only ONE Black person couldn’t agree on whether he was guilty of wanton endangerment.
Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Very little justice has been served in this case and the family has to be as heartbroken as they are exhausted. Fortunately, there is a bit of a silver lining to be had according to new reporting by AP News.
The United States Department of Justice and the city of Louisville, Kentucky have reached an agreement called a consent decree to reform the police department. Previously, LPD had been federally investigated and it was determined that they had longstanding practice of discriminating and violating the civil rights of Black people.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the consent decree “builds upon and accelerates the transformational reform of community policing” in Louisville. He noted that “significant improvements” have already been implemented since Taylor’s death in March 2020. That includes a city law banning the use of “no-knock” warrants, which were commonly used in late-night drug raids.
That sounds good but Breonna’s mother Tamika Palmer isn’t about to let a piece of paper assuage her resolve to see things change in Louisville.
“We have a history of putting things on paper and not moving the needle, so we have to stay on top of the situation and definitely make sure they are doing what they say they are doing,” said Palmer, who was awarded a $12 million wrongful death settlement by the city in 2020.
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