The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has agreed to pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor as part of a settlement reached in their wrongful death lawsuit.
The deal, announced on Tuesday, comes six months after 26-year-old Taylor was shot and killed by officers during a “no knock” raid in her apartment.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said the city will implement a housing credit program as an incentive to live in low income census tracts within the city, encourage officers to volunteer two paid hours every two-week period to volunteer at an organization within the community they serve, and add social workers to aid police in sensitive situations such as guiding those dealing with mental health episodes.
“These are significant policy changes on top of many others that we have already made including those that are part of Breonna’s Law, as well as changes to policies on use of force and teargas where they are need to be used,” Fischer said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. “In addition to the policy changes, the settlement includes a payment to Breonna’s estate of $12 million.”
Attorney Sam Aguilar, who is representing Taylor’s family, confirmed to CNN earlier in the day there was a settlement in the case.
“The city’s response in this case has been delayed, and it’s been frustrating, but the fact that they’ve been willing to sit down and talk significant reform was a step in the right direction and hopefully a turning point,” Aguilar said.
The settlement will result in the largest police misconduct payment the city has ever paid in a lawsuit, according to WDRB, surpassing the $8.5 million paid to Edwin Chandler, who spent nine years in prison for a murder which a court later found out he did not commit. He was exonerated in 2012.
The city is also committed to implementing other reforms to its police department, including that a commanding officer review and approve all search warrants.
Some changes have already been made to the Louisville Police Department, such as having all officers wear and use body cameras when serving warrants. Fischer ordered a top-to-bottom review of the department by an outside agency.
Taylor was shot and killed by police officers after they rushed into her home to search for drugs. Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, said he heard the unidentified officers break into the home and thought it was a home invasion, so he fired a warning shot. Officers returned fire and shot Taylor eight times. No drugs were found in the home.
Detective Brett Hankison, the officer who shot Taylor, was fired from the department, and two other officers who were present were reassigned to administrative duties. None of the three officers involved has been charged with a crime.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the first black person to hold the position, was made a special prosecutor to examine the case earlier this year. The FBI and U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman are also investigating Taylor’s case.
