The attorney for Breonna Taylor’s family urged the FBI to complete its investigation into the police raid on her home that resulted in her death.
After Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced on Sunday that the FBI had completed ballistic testing on the evidence that was left in Taylor’s home after the 29-year-old black emergency medical technician was shot several times by officers conducting a no-knock raid in Louisville, Kentucky, Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Taylor’s family, told Face the Nation that the bureau and Cameron must now expedite their investigation or risk a miscarriage of justice for Taylor’s family.
“[The completion of the ballistic testing] is welcomed news, because since Breonna Taylor was executed in the sanctity of her own home by this no-knock warrant that was dangerously executed, we have been trying to get answers, our legal team. And as for her mother, who every day demanded from the police department, why did they execute her daughter in her own apartment? And they’ve gotten no answers,” Crump said on CBS.
“It’s just been delay tactic, delay tactic, delay tactic. We’ve been told when they get the ballistics report, that’s what they needed to wrap up this investigation and finally give them answers that they so desperately want and the community so desperately needs to try to heal. So at this point, we are hoping that this conclusion will be sooner rather than later because justice delayed is justice denied,” he added.
Crump noted that many aspects of Taylor’s case have been bungled by officials in Louisville and Kentucky. He pointed to the inaccurate three-page police report that claimed no one was injured as a top example of why he and Taylor’s family do not trust authorities to responsibly manage the case.
“I know Breonna Taylor’s family is distrustful of the entire system. You must remember, Margaret, the police report, this three-page police report erroneously reported that there was no forced entry and that there were no injuries, even though Breonna Taylor’s body was mutilated with eight bullets while she was practically naked,” Crump said.
“And so this is the conspiracy that the family believe was at the beginning to sweep her death under the rug. So you have to forgive them from not trusting any law enforcement officials right now and why black people all over America are distrustful, because when it is fitting for them, they release information very quickly. When it’s something that holds the police accountable, it’s we got this long, exhaustive investigation,” he added.
Taylor was killed in March after police conducted a no-knock raid of her home to search for drugs. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said that he believed the unannounced officers were home intruders, so he fired his weapon after they broke into the apartment. The officers returned fire, killing Taylor. No drugs were found in the apartment.
Since Taylor’s death in March, there has been growing demand for the officers who raided the home to be arrested. The investigation into the situation has not been completed, but one officer from the raid was fired from the Louisville Police Department.
