Judge Orders Louisville Police To Hand Over All Radio Records From Raid That Killed Breonna Taylor

Written by @kristenshylin_

As a part of the wrongful death suit against the city of Louisville, a judge ruled that all radio call recordings connected to the botched raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor be released to her family.

Daily Mail.com reported that Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman made the order Wednesday after the family’s attorney called for a closer review of the recordings.

Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old EMT who was shot eight times inside her apartment on March 13 when Louisville PD performed an unsuccessful no-knock search warrant on her property.

Attorney Sam Aguiar argued that the release of the tapings would help clarify specific details in the case.

Aguiar urged that there has been uncertainty regarding the actual officers who participated in the raid and questioned if body camera footage from the incident exists.

According to WDRB, court filings reveal that the family’s attorneys believe there were officers, who remain unidentified by the city, who participated in the raid.

“We’ve identified a few officers that were at least supposed to be on scene that always wear body cameras,” Aguiar said in court.

The city’s defense attorneys struck back, insinuating that the family’s attorneys were engaging a “fishing expedition.”

“If we can narrow the focus, I think we will be fine,” Assistant Jefferson County Attorney Peter Ervin said to McDonald-Burkman.

Instead of accepting the city’s request, the judge worked in Taylor’s family favor, giving the family access to recordings going as far back as four hours before the raid and until 3 p.m. the next day when the scene was cleared.

Although Breonna Taylor’s life was unlawfully taken away from her in March, her name did not reach global attention until the death of George Floyd, who was also unjustifiably killed by police.

Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were in bed when Louisville police officers performed a no-knock search warrant around 1 a.m.

During the raid, Officer Brett Hankison carelessly fired ten rounds into Taylor’s home. Gunfire from the Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, and officers Hankison and Myles Cosgrove resulted in the young woman’s death.

Hankison has been fired, while the two other officers have been placed on administrative reassignment.