LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Beyoncé has once again spoken out about the shooting death of Louisville resident Breonna Taylor during a police raid on her apartment in March.
Beyoncé urged Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron to "demonstrate the value of a Black woman's life" by bringing criminal charges against the Louisville Metro Police officers who shot and killed Taylor, according to a letter posted to her website on Sunday, the day after the three-month anniversary of Taylor's death.
In the letter, Beyoncé also called on Cameron to "commit to transparency in the investigation and prosecution of these officers' criminal conduct" and investigate LMPD's response to Taylor's death, "as well as the pervasive practices that result in the repeated deaths of unarmed Black citizens."
"Three months have passed -- and the LMPD's investigations have created more questions than answers," Beyoncé wrote.
Taylor, a former emergency room tech and EMT, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of March 13 by LMPD officers Myles Cosgrove, Brett Hankison and Jonathan Mattingly, who were serving a search warrant on her apartment near Pleasure Ridge Park. Police obtained a no-knock warrant on Taylor's apartment, which they claimed was being used by suspected drug dealer Jamarcus Glover to receive packages and keep narcotics or proceeds from drug sales.
The officers have said that they knocked on the door to Taylor's apartment and announced their presence before using a battering ram to burst into the residence. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, acknowledged hearing someone knocking on the apartment door but said he did not hear officers announce themselves, according to audio testimony released by Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Wine. Lawyers representing Walker said Walker believed the apartment was being robbed and fired a shot at the officers when they burst in.
"So we both are just putting on something to go answer the door and see who's knocking at the door, and it's late at night," Walker said in the audio released by Wine. "So when we come out, when we get out of the bed or whatever, like walking towards the door, the door, like, comes, like, off the hinges, so I just like let off one shot. Like I still can't see who it is or anything. So now the door's like flying open. I let off one shot, then all of sudden there's a whole lot of shots, and we both just dropped to the ground."
Walker's shot hit Mattingly in the leg and prompted police to return fire. Taylor was shot eight times and died in the hallway of the apartment, according to Walker's testimony.
Taylor's death has prompted her family to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Cosgrove, Hankison and Mattingly and weeks of protests in Louisville demanding charges be brought against the officers.
On June 5, what would have been Taylor's 27th birthday, Beyoncé shared an image of Taylor on her Instagram account with the caption "Justice for Breonna" and urged her followers to sign a petition demanding the officers be held accountable for Taylor's death.
In her letter, Beyoncé acknowledged the recent passing of "Breonna's Law," which bans the use of no-knock warrants in Louisville, but said "these small steps in the right direction are painful reminders that there has still been no justice" for Taylor and her family.
"Don't let this case fall into the pattern of no action after a terrible tragedy," Beyoncé wrote in her letter to Cameron. "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."
Cameron told WDRB News' Lawrence Smith on June 5, Taylor's birthday, that he does not have a timeline for completing his investigation into Taylor's death and feels no pressure to file or not file charges against the officers.
"I hope that people will appreciate that we have fairly assessed the information, objectively assessed the information and made a determination based on the facts that are before us," Cameron said. "I hope that when people voted me into this office, they understood that, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of the interests, that I was going to do my job."
To read Beyoncé's letter in full, click here.
Related Stories:
- Police told judge suspected drug dealer used slain EMT's home for deliveries
- What we know about the LMPD officers involved in raid on slain EMT Breonna Taylor’s apartment
- Prosecutors drop attempted murder charge against Breonna Taylor's boyfriend
- Family of Louisville EMT killed during LMPD raid files wrongful death lawsuit against officers
- Metro Council passes 'Breonna's Law,' banning no-knock warrants in Louisville
- Kentucky attorney general says he is seeking 'truth' and 'justice' in Breonna Taylor probe
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