Beyonce seeks justice for Breonna Taylor in open letter to Kentucky Attorney General, wants cops to be charged
Beyonce is calling for justice over the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician from Louisville, with an open letter to the Attorney General of Kentucky, Daniel Cameron. Taylor was killed in an unannounced police raid on her boyfriend's apartment while the officers involved in the shooting have not been charged.
“It has now been over three months since members of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) killed Breonna Taylor," the singer began her letter, according to Rolling Stone. "Plainclothes officers with a ‘no-knock’ warrant forced their way into her apartment, where she was asleep and unarmed. Moments later, the officers fired over twenty shots into Breonna Taylor’s home, striking her at least eight times,” wrote Beyonce.
“Three months have passed — and the LMPD’s investigations have created more questions than answers. Their incident report states that Ms. Taylor suffered no injuries —yet we know she was shot at least eight times. The LMPD officers claim they announced themselves before forcing their way into Ms. Taylor’s apartment — but her boyfriend who was with her, as well as several neighbors, all say that this is untrue," she added.
On June 12, all 26 members of the Louisville police department voted unanimously to ban no-knock warrants, calling the new legislation “Breonna’s Law.” Referring to the new ordinance, Beyonce wrote, “While ‘Breonna’s Law passed in Louisville and federal legislation has been introduced that will also ban no-knock warrants, these small steps in the right direction are painful reminders that there has still been no justice for Breonna Taylor or her family. “
In the letter, the contemporary R&B star is asking for Cameron to criminally charge the three officers involved in the fatal shooting, named Jonathan Mattingly, Myles Cosgrove, and Brett Hankison. Additionally, she is calling for an investigation into the LMPD's response to Taylor's death as she requested the attorney general to “commit to transparency in the investigation and prosecution of these officers’ criminal conduct.”
“Your office has both the power and the responsibility to bring justice to Breonna Taylor, and demonstrate the value of a Black woman’s life,” Beyonce noted, adding, “Don’t let this case fall into the pattern of no action after a terrible tragedy. With every death of a Black person at the hands of the police, there are two real tragedies: the death itself, and the inaction and delays that follow it. This is your chance to end that pattern. Take swift and decisive action in charging the officers. The next months cannot look like the last three.”
In an Instagram post shared on June 5, Beyonce had celebrated Taylor on what would have been her 27th birthday. Posting a graphic of the Louisville native, Beyonce also urged her fans to sign a petition in her bio calling for justice for Taylor's death. In late May, Beyonce had also sought justice for George Floyd, another victim of alleged police brutality.