Breonna Taylor: Boyfriend Receives $2M Settlement
Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor - who was shot and killed by police in her home in March 2020 - settled two lawsuits against the city of Louisville, Ky., related to his girlfriend's death.
Facts
- Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor - who was shot and killed by police in her home in March 2020 - settled two lawsuits against the city of Louisville, Ky., related to his girlfriend's death.
- Walker will receive $2M from the settlements, one of which was filed in federal court while the other was in state court.
- Taylor’s death sparked a national debate over police brutality and “no-knock” warrants. Police entered Taylor’s apartment unannounced with a drug warrant, and Walker fired a shot, thinking an intruder had broken in, which led to the police firing back.
- Three Louisville police officers were charged with falsifying the warrant that led to Taylor’s death.
- Walker was initially charged with attempted murder of a police officer following the incident at Taylor’s apartment, but charges were dropped following massive protests and riots over police brutality in the summer of 2020.
- Taylor’s family already received $12M in September 2020, with Walker’s settlement also coming with a series of police reforms in Louisville, including a requirement that a senior officer approves all search warrants.
Sources: CBS, Daily Mail, Yahoo News, NPR Online News, and BBC News.
Narratives
- Left narrative, as provided by Ben Crump. While a settlement is an important step towards healing, it can never bring back Breonna Taylor. An innocent woman was murdered at the hands of police, and money cannot make the underlying issues disappear. The most important progress that can be made is implementing reforms to ensure that tragedies like Breonna Taylor’s death never happen again.
- Right narrative, as provided by Townhall. There’s a lot more than meets the eye in the case of Breonna Taylor, which the media is using to fuel the war on cops. While any death is tragic and those responsible must be held accountable, she was actually heavily involved in a drug enterprise, and the police officers — who didn't write the warrant and aren't responsible for its accuracy — were acting in self-defense.
