LOUISVILLE TO PAY $12M TO BREONNA TAYLOR’S FAMILY
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The city of Louisville will pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor and reform police practices as part of a lawsuit settlement months after Taylor’s slaying by police thrust the Black woman’s name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Tuesday.
Taylor’s death sparked months of protests in Louisville and calls nationwide for the officers to be criminally charged. The state’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, is investigating police actions in the March 13 fatal shooting.
“I cannot begin to imagine Ms. Palmer’s pain, and I am deeply, deeply sorry for Breonna’s death,” Fischer said, referring to Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer.
At Tuesday’s news conference, an emotional Palmer pushed for charges against the officers involved in the shooting.
“As significant as today is, it’s only the beginning of getting full justice for Breonna,” Palmer said. “We must not lose focus on what the real drive is and with that being said, it’s time to move forward with the criminal charges because she deserves that and much more.”
The lawsuit, filed in April by Palmer, alleged the police used flawed information when they obtained a “no-knock” warrant to enter the 26-year-old woman’s apartment in March. Taylor and her boyfriend were roused from bed by police, and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, has said he fired once at the officers thinking it was an intruder. Investigators say police were returning fire when they shot Taylor several times. No drugs were found at her home.
“We won’t let Breonna Taylor’s life be swept under the rug,” said Ben Crump, an attorney for Taylor’s family.
Crump said the $12 million settlement is the largest such settlement given out for a Black woman killed by police. He also called for charges against the officers and urged people to “say her name,” a phrase that has become a refrain for those outraged by the shooting.
Fischer said the civil settlement has nothing to do with the criminal investigation.
Asked about the criminal investigation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who represents Kentucky, told reporters Tuesday “the investigation seems to have been more complicated than a lot of people felt.” He said he has confidence in Cameron and stands by him.
The Louisville news conference was broadcast over a loudspeaker downtown, and protesters listened as they sat around a memorial to Taylor.
CNBC host Jim Cramer says he made a “very stupid comment” by referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “Crazy Nancy” during an interview Tuesday morning that sparked criticism on social media.
On his show “Mad Money” later Tuesday, Cramer said the remark had been a “tongue-incheek attempt to make a point about the harsh tone of the negotiations in Washington.”
He was interviewing Pelosi on CNBC’s “Squawk On The Street” show about the prospects for a deal between Democrats and Republicans on a new coronavirus economic aid bill when he asked: “What deal can we have, Crazy Nancy?”
He quickly followed up the remark by apologizing, adding “that was the president.” President Donald Trump has referred on Twitter to Pelosi as “Crazy Nancy.”
Cramer also stressed he has “such reverence for the office, I would never use that term.”
Pelosi responded, “But you just did. But you just did,” before seeming to let Cramer off the hook for the remark. CNBC’s Cramer calls Pelosi ‘Crazy Nancy’