As Louisville braces for Breonna Taylor decision, mayor declares “state of emergency”

Looks like it’s gonna get ugly.

A grand jury is expected to render a decision in the next few days on whether the officers should be charged in the case of Breonna Taylor, an emergency medical technician who was fatally shot at her apartment earlier this year.

Anticipating potential “civil unrest” in the wake of the verdict, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer signed an executive order Tuesday that places the city under a state of emergency. The order gives him the authority to impose a curfew and a variety of other restrictions under his emergency powers.

On Monday, Louisville Metropolitan Police Chief Robert J. Schroeder issued a memo to his officers that the department would be employing emergency guidelines effective immediately.

“In anticipation of Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s announcement in the Breonna Taylor case, I am declaring a state of emergency for the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD),” according to the chief’s memo.

In addition, he placed a moratorium on officers’ vacation requests, cancelled any time-off requests that have not already been approved, and required officers to work 12-hour shifts as part of the department’s emergency response plan, according to the memo.

It is a lose-lose situation for the city of Louisville and the police department, no matter how the grand jury rules.

Taylor was fatally shot when police carried out a no-knock warrant on her apartment after midnight on March 13.

A 39-page report prepared by the Louisville Metro Police detailed reasons why Taylor’s apartment was targeted. According to the Courier Journal, the report and corroborating evidence show Taylor had more extensive ties than previously made public with an accused drug trafficker who was at the center of a larger narcotics investigation in Louisville.

There were apparently multiple links between Taylor and Jamarcus Glover of Louisville, a main target in a drug probe that prompted police to request the search warrant for Taylor’s apartment.

Glover was arrested the same night as Taylor’s shooting in a house 10 miles away. He was released on bail but is now a fugitive after failing to post a new bail when he was charged again last month.

Police and prosecutors have said that the three plainclothes officers involved in Taylor’s death knocked and announced themselves before breaking down the door.

Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he heard pounding at the door, but didn’t hear anyone announce they were police. He fired one shot at the intruders, according to his arrest citation
Walker’s bullet struck Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the leg. Mattingly and officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove returned fire, shooting more than 20 rounds.

Walker was unwounded, but Taylor was struck multiple times, and died in the hallway of her apartment.

No drugs or cash were found.

Mattingly, Cosgrove and Hankison were all placed on administrative reassignment pending the results of the investigation into Taylor’s death. Hankison was subsequently fired, accused by interim police Chief Robert Schroeder of “blindly” firing 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment.

The city of Louisville agreed to pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor and institute sweeping police reforms as settlement in the family’s wrongful death lawsuit.

Now the city awaits results of the grand jury investigation as to whether the officers involved should be criminally charged in her death.

Some federal office buildings in downtown Louisville have already been closed to the public this week, with the first-floor windows of the Gene Snyder U.S. Courthouse boarded up yesterday.

Aaron Jordan, founder of Black Complex Louisville, told NBC affiliate WAVE called these “subliminal” moves that felt like an indication of what people can expect the grand jury decision to be.

“Right now, a lot of us are pissed off,” Jordan said. “A lot of us are angry. A lot of us are sad, and a lot of people just don’t know what to feel.”

It would seem Jordan’s sentiments are shared by many Americans, no matter their race or the uniform they wear.

But it’s truly a lose-lose situation.

If the officers ARE charged, protests will surely erupt because it proves there is systemic racism in law enforcement. If the officers are NOT charged, protests will surely erupt because it proves there is systemic racism in law enforcement.

Damned if we do; damned if we don’t.