KENTUCKY — State Rep. Attica Scott (D - Louisville) filed a resolution Friday calling for the new United States Attorney General to fully investigate the death of Breonna Taylor.
What You Need To Know
- Lawmakers filed a resolution calling for Attorney General Merrick Garland to fully investigate the police killing of Breonna Taylor
- State Reps. Attica Scott and Nima Kulkarni filed H. Res. 93 on Friday, asserting that previous investigations failed to "adequately investigate and pursue" the facts of the case
- Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron brought forward no charges related to Taylor's death, with one officer being charged with wanton endangerment for bullets that entered neighboring apartments
- Jefferson County Attorney Tom Wine said the FBI and DOJ still have open investigations into the case
House Resolution 93, co-sponsored by Rep. Nima Kulkarni (D - Louisville), urges Merrick Garland, newly-minted head of the U.S. Department of Justice and the nation's top law enforcement officer, to pursue a complete investigation of the police shooting death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville on March 13, 2020.
Today, I filed House Resolution 93 (https://t.co/4G5WE6IG6o) asking our new U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to fully investigate the murder of Breonna Taylor.
— Attica Scott (@atticascott4ky) March 12, 2021
Thank you State @RepNimaKulkarni for signing on as a co-sponsor.#kyga21 #SayHerName #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/BE6iTeQcLH
The resolution asserts that Kentucky's Attorney General Daniel Cameron "failed to adequately investigate and pursue the facts and circumstances" of Taylor's death at the hands of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD). Cameron served as special prosecutor, presenting the case to a grand jury last summer that eventually brought no charges to anyof the officers involved in the deadly raid.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot and killed when several LMPD detectives executed a no-knock warrant at her Louisville apartment. Her death sparked an outcry across the country, her name being chanted alongside George Floyd's during protests that gripped the country last summer.
One year later, none of the officers involved in the raid on Taylor's apartment face charges directly connected to her death. One officer, former detective Brett Hankison, faces wanton endangerment charges for bullets that entered a neighboring apartment. Hankison, along with two other officers involved in the raid, has been dismissed from LMPD.
A handful of grand jurors later came forward, alleging that Cameron did not give them the chance to explore other charges related to her shooting death by the officers.
The Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council said in December that a new special prosecutor would not be appointed.
Commonwealth's Attorney of Jefferson County Tom Wine said he does not plan to introduce the case to another grand jury since there are still open investigations into the case.
"The investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor is not over. It continues in the hands of both independent investigators and prosecutors, those of the FBI and the United States Department of Justice," Wine said in a statement Thursday. "Violations of federal civil rights under color of law, resulting in the death of an individual, carry the same, if not greater, criminal penalties than those provided under Kentucky law."