LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Pastors called on Louisville leaders to independently investigate Breonna Taylor's death and for a Civilian Review Board to form and help hold police accountable on the case.
The Interdenominational Ministerial Coalition (IMC) wants all the facts of Breonna Taylor's death brought to light and made available to the public. The president spoke to reporters on Tuesday morning.
Taylor, 26, was shot and killed in the early morning of March 13. The family of the Louisville EMT hired prominent Civil Rights attorney, Benjamin Crump, for a wrongful death suit against the three Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) Officers at her apartment that day.
While LMPD told Spectrum News 1 they cannot comment on the ongoing internal investigation, there was a press conference the day the fatal shooting happened; in the press conference, an investigator said officers were serving a search warrant at the residence Taylor was in. The investigator claimed officers were met with gunfire from a man inside and returned fire. A SWAT team found Taylor and she was later pronounced dead.
However, in Crump's announcement to file suit, he claims police were at the wrong house and the suspect they were looking for had already been arrested earlier that day. Crump is the attorney who also represented Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery suits.
IMC President Dr. Frank M. Smith, Jr., called on the mayor, police chief, and Commonwealth's Attorney to launch an independent investigation.
“As truth seekers and believers, we seek the complete truth, the facts, and the circumstances surrounding her death. It has been more than two months with no statement from the public-to the public-regarding this incidence. So to that end, we call for an independent investigation," he said.
There's a petition calling for justice for Taylor circulating online, at change.org. By Tuesday afternoon, it had more than 10,600 signatures.