Benjamin Crump, an attorney connected to the Ahmaud Arbery case, announced Monday that he now represents the family of EMT Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed during a police raid in Louisville, Kentucky on March 13. They say law enforcement officers weren’t even supposed to be there.
Louisville Police fatally shot #BreonnaTaylor. They had the wrong address AND their real suspect was already in custody. 2 months later, no one has been held accountable for her death… but we will change that! #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor #SayHerName pic.twitter.com/wytTAozY5l
— Benjamin Crump, Esq. (@AttorneyCrump) May 11, 2020
Attorneys Sam Aguiar and Lonita Baker are also on the case, according to the statement.
“We stand with the family of this young woman in demanding answers from the Louisville Police Department,” Crump said in a statement. “Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding her death, the Department has not provided any answers regarding the facts and circumstances of how this tragedy occurred, nor have they taken responsibility for her senseless killing.”
Crump is linked to another controversial case. He also happens to represent Marcus Arbery, the father of slain 25-year-old Georgia man Ahmaud Arbery. Arbery was shot and killed in a confrontation allegedly initiated by two other men, Gregory and Travis McMichael.
I’m late to the Breonna Taylor story, but it looks worse by the day. Louisville cops conducted a forced entry drug raid. Registered gun owner Kenneth Walker woke up, fired at them. They opened fire, killing his girlfriend Taylor, an EMT. One cop wounded.https://t.co/RjEKbg9Xy9
— Radley Balko (@radleybalko) May 10, 2020
At the time of Taylor’s death, police said they were issuing a search warrant at a home for a drug investigation. Assistant Police Chief Josh Judah said that suspects [plural] opened fire as officers arrived at the residence and entered, according to The Courier Journal. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was struck in the leg, but survived.
A woman at the home (later identified as Taylor) was shot and killed after three officers returned fire, according to the police account. Kenneth Walker, 27, was arrested at the scene for a count of attempted murder of a police officer.
His attorney pushed back on the official account. In a March hearing, lawyer Rob Eggert claimed officers forced their way into the home without announcing their presence and opened fire at least 22 times, according to WDRB.
“Had Breonna Taylor been killed by anyone except police, the person or persons responsible for her death would have been charged with a homicide,” he said.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Ebert Haegele continued to put the blame on the defendant: “One person is dead, and one person [Mattingly] was almost killed due to Mr. Walker’s actions.”
Taylor’s family has denied that she or her boyfriend Walker were involved in drugs. Crump shares Eggert’s version of events. In his statement, he said that cops “burst” into the residence by using a battering ram, and without warning, “in search of a suspect who was already in their custody.”
A spokesperson the Louisville Metro Police Department declined to comment when Law&Crime reached out.
“The LMPD Public Integrity investigation into this case remains ongoing, therefore it would be inappropriate for us to comment beyond what we already have said immediately following the incident,” Sgt. Lamont Washington wrote in an email.
[Screengrab of Taylor’s family via WHAS11]
