Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday that the Department of Justice will open an investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department nearly a year after the death of Breonna Taylor.
Just days after he announced an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department over the death of George Floyd, Attorney General Merrick Garland says the Department of Justice will also be looking into the police department in Louisville, Kentucky. Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old black woman who was killed last year after her boyfriend fired shots on police in the young couple’s home. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, claims that he believed the officers were intruders, despite having a search warrant. Garland says that the reason for the search comes as a result of a comprehensive review of public information.
“As with every Justice Department investigation, we will follow the facts and the law wherever they lead,” Garland said.
Taylor’s death is one of the more well-known cases of a black individual who died at the hands of police, and led to many protests of their own. Additionally, it furthered the movement to rein in no-knock warrants and other controversial policing tactics.
On Monday, the president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, praised the move by Garland. He says, “For far too long, killings at the hands of police have only led to one hashtag after another. But true justice comes with accountability and action. We applaud the Justice Department’s new investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department for the murder of Breonna Taylor and their ongoing practices. No police officer or police department is above the law.”
