What happened to Breonna Taylor and how did #SayHerName start? Four officers charged with his murder spark internet outrage
Four police officers from Louisville and Kentucky were charged Thursday, Aug. 4, by U.S. prosecutors with killing Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency technician, in a no-hit raid in March 2020. The four police officers from the Department of Louisville Metro Police—Joshua Jaynes, Kyle Meany, Kelly Goodlett, and Brett Hankison—have been charged with violating people’s civil rights, unlawful conspiracy, using excessive force against them, and obstructing the application of the law.
Taylor’s murder had only one officer involved in the raid, Brett Hankison, already charged. The two additional officers were not immediately charged, however. Four officers participated in the botched home invasion that killed Breonna Taylor, it’s now been established.
Breonna Taylor
Review of ‘no-knock’ search Louisville police conducted on Breonna Taylor’s home
In a ‘no-knock’ raid on March 13, 2020, Louisville police were investigating an alleged narcotics smuggling incident when they forced open Breonna Taylor’s door. Kenneth Walker, her lover, used a legally owned gun to shoot the police. Taylor was killed when officers returned fire and fired 22 rounds at the residence.
Prosecutors say Brett Hankison shot ten times at Taylor’s residence through a draped window and a glass door. Meanwhile, the police officer claimed before a Kentucky grand jury that he started shooting as soon as the shooting began.
According to Reuters, the prosecution also claimed that Jaynes and Goodlett then met in a garage to fabricate a tale and hide the fictitious evidence they had used to justify the raid.
What does the #SayHerName online movement mean?
In the United States of America, the #SayHerName social movement seeks to raise awareness of black women’s experiences of police brutality and gender-based police violence.
Activists, protesters and Breonna Taylor’s family gathered in Louisville in June 2020 for a vigil to celebrate her birthday and demand that the killers be charged immediately. Taylor Palmer’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said via the BBC at the same wake:
It was lonely at first, but it’s amazing how many people speak for her just by using her name.
Kimberlé Crenshaw, a law professor, developed the #SayHerName movement. In December 2014, the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) created the hashtag “SayHerName”.
Internet users have reacted to recent events
The murder of Breonna Taylor, as well as those of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, had already sparked numerous protests. All social media users including celebrities and followers spoke out against these murders.
Following the unprecedented decision to arrest four Louisville and Kentucky police officers for the failed raid that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor, social media users have taken to Twitter to analyze the decision.
Taylor’s family have settled a $12m (£9.4m) lawsuit against the Kentucky town linked to his death.
