Louisville’s metro government announced a $12 million settlement Tuesday to the family of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old Black woman fatally shot by police in her apartment six months ago.
Watch the Breonna Taylor settlement news conference:
Mayor Greg Fischer confirmed reports of the multimillion-dollar settlement Tuesday afternoon. The funds for the settlement were withdrawn from the city of Louisville’s budget and an insurance trust, according to officials.
He also confirmed that several policy changes will be implemented, including officers volunteering in the communities they patrol and a tracking system for use-of-force and citizen complaints.
“For those who knew her, Breonna’s death is personal, the pain is visceral and the loss is ever more devastating,” Fischer said.
Fischer talked about Tamika Palmer’s memories of her daughter with an “old soul” and passion for helping people and serving as the glue of their family.
Palmer said more is required to truly proffer justice for her daughter.
“It’s time to move forward with the criminal charges,” she said Tuesday. “She deserves that and much more.”
The state’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, is investigating police actions in the March 13 fatal shooting.
Palmer has said she is trying to be patient about the results of Cameron’s criminal investigation and the long wait, which is now six months since her daughter’s death.
When asked about Cameron’s possible decision on the case, Fischer said he was unsure what the attorney general will do.
Palmer’s lawsuit accused three Louisville police officers of blindly firing into Taylor’s apartment the night of the March 13 raid, striking Taylor several times. One of the officers, Jonathan Mattingly, went into the home after the door was broken down and was struck in the leg by the gunshot from Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend.
The warrant was one of five issued in a wide-ranging investigation of a drug-trafficking suspect who was a former boyfriend of Taylor’s. That man, Jamarcus Glover, was arrested at a different location about 10 miles from Taylor’s apartment on the same evening.
The settlement includes reforms on how warrants are handled by police.
The city has already taken some reform measures, including passing a law named for Taylor that bans the use of the no-knock warrants. Police typically use them in drug cases over concern that evidence could be destroyed if they announce their arrival.
Fischer fired former Police Chief Steve Conrad in June and last week named Yvette Gentry, a former deputy chief, as the new interim police chief. Gentry would be the first Black woman to lead the force of about 1,200 sworn officers. The department has also fired Brett Hankison, one of the three officers who fired shots at Taylor’s apartment that night. Hankison is appealing the dismissal.
The previous largest amount Louisville paid to settle allegations of police misconduct was $8.5 million to Edwin Chandler in 2012, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. Chandler was wrongfully imprisoned for more than nine years after Detective Mark Handy perjured himself.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
