Louisville Settles Breonna Taylor Wrongful Death Lawsuit for $12 Million

To this date, the police officers involved with Breonna Taylor's shooting have not been charged.

The city of Louisville has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Breonna Taylor's family, according to The Associated Press. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced the settlement during a press conference.

According to the New York Times, the Taylor family will receive $12 million dollars from Louisville taxpayers. That settlement is the largest sum paid by Louisville for a case that involved police misconduct. Before this settlement, the largest sum involved a man named Edwin Chandler who was wrongly imprisoned for more than nine years. He received $8.5 million in 2012.

The settlement is also alleged to include small police reforms, like a requirement that commanders approve all search warrants before heading to judge and the authority to seek drug and alcohol testing of officers involved in a shooting. (Back in June, Louisville also passed “Breonna’s Law," banning “no-knock” warrants.)

During the press conference, Fischer apologized but stressed that the settlement did not admit any wrongdoing.

"Tamika Palmer, Breonna's mom, says Breonna was a quick student, a hard worker and an old soul, that she was the glue of the family," Fischer said. "Breonna was loved. I cannot begin to imagine Ms. Palmer's pain. I'm deeply, deeply sorry for Breonna's death."

This latest development comes as "justice for Breonna Taylor" has become a rallying cry on social media and protests around the country. To this date, the police officers involved with the shooting — Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove, and Jonathan Matttingly — have not been arrested. Hankinson was eventually fired in June for "blindly" firing 10 shots into Taylor's apartment. Cosgrove and Matttingly have been placed on administrative reassignment. The state’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, is still investigating the case.

Breonna Taylor's mother Tamika Palmer filed the lawsuit for Taylor’s death back in April, with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump representing the family. On March 13th, Breonna Taylor was shot eight times and killed when Louisville Metro Police officers broke down her door. According to the lawsuit — which alleged wrongful death, excessive force, and gross negligence — the officers were conducting a search warrant at Taylor’s home, and looking for a man who did not live at the apartment complex the 26-year-old EMT resided at. The officers attempted to enter the apartment without announcing themselves and, during a shootout with Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fatally shot Taylor in the process.

The suspect that officers were actually looking for had been picked up in a separate raid shortly before the shooting took place.