Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend says police 'did nothing' as she lay dying from shooting

Breonna Taylor posing during a graduation ceremony in Louisville Kentucky
Courtesy of Family of Breonna Taylor
April Roach @aprilroach2815 October 2020

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend said the police were "disrespectful" as they "did nothing" to help her after she had been shot in her apartment.

Ms Taylor, 26, a black emergency medical technician and aspiring nurse, was struck by six bullets moments after she and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were roused from bed in the commotion of a police raid on March 13.

Her death sparked protests across the US following a decision not to bring charges against police involved in the fatal shooting.

In an interview with CBS This Morning on Wednesday, Mr Walker recounted the events of the night his girlfriend was shot dead in her own apartment.

He told co-host Gayle King that Ms Taylor was more than his partner, but the "most important person pretty much to me on Earth".

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The officers involved in the shooting had been investigating Ms Taylor's ex-boyfriend who did not live at her address. They entered her apartment using a no-knock warrant.

Mr Walker said the officers did not identify themselves when they knocked on the door and Mr Walker, who is a licensed gun owner, decided to get his gun as he thought they were being burgled.

He told CBS This Morning he thought this was "the one time" he would have to use his weapon.

When the officers entered the property, Mr Walker fired one shot and the police opened fire.

A woman visits the memorial for Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky
REUTERS

"I pulled [Ms Taylor] down to the ground," said Mr Walker. "But, you know, she was scared so she just didn't get down.

"I told her that somebody just kicked in the door and shot Breonna. And she's freaking out at this point. But she told me to call 911. So I did."

Mr Walker said he didn't find out that his girlfriend had died until after he was arrested and was in a cell when he heard on the news that one female was dead.

It was only later when watching body camera footage that has since been released, did Mr Walker realise what happened.

He said the footage shows the officers "did nothing" as Ms Taylor died and that it was "disrespectful" for them to case the apartment with her laying on the ground.

Police charged Mr Walker with attempted murder of a police officer but those charges have since been dropped.

Neither Mr Walker or Ms Taylor have criminal histories and no illegal drugs were found at the scene.

A grand jury decided none of the three white officers who collectively fired 32 gunshots as they stormed Ms Taylor's apartment would be charged with causing her death.

One of the officers was indicted on charges of endangering Ms Taylor's neighbours with several stray bullets he fired into an adjacent apartment during the ill-fated March 13 raid. The other two officers were not charged at all.

Prosecutors said that the two officers who fired their weapons at the Black woman were justified in using force to protect themselves.

Ben Crump who helped Ms Taylor's family win a $12 million settlement from the city of Louisville in a wrongful death lawsuit demanded that Kentucky's state attorney general release the evidence presented to the grand jury.

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