Louisville declares `no confidence' in mayor over Breonna Taylor case
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Metro Council on Thursday approved a resolution that not only declared “no confidence” in Mayor Greg Fischer over his handling of the death of Breonna Taylor and t he subsequent unrest but also offered him a list of ways to regain the city's trust.
The resolution, which had been amended to remove language explicitly asking Fischer to resign, passed 22 to 4 after three hours of debate.
Among the list of recommendations: ensuring that “complete investigative findings” into the killings of Taylor and David McAtee and subsequent civil unrest are shared publicly; a top-tobottom review of the police department by the end of the year; and promoting home ownership without displacement in impoverished areas.
Some of these steps are what the mayor' s office already does or are close to existing processes, including evaluating all policies through an equity lens, making all staff available to the council for its investigation into Fischer's handling of the Taylor and McAtee cases and protests, and incentivizing Louisville police officers to live in Jefferson County.
Taylor, 26, was shot and killed after Louisville officers broke down her apartment door March 13 to serve a signed “no-knock” search warrant. Her death ignited more than 100 days of protest in Louisville and unleashed a torrent of national figures calling for “justice for Breonna” and the arrest of the officers who fired their weapons.
McAtee, 53, was the owner of a popular barbecue restaurant who was killed June 1 when Louisville police and Kentucky National Guard troops were sent to clear the parking lot of a food mart across the street f rom his restaurant, after reports of a crowd there after curfew. He was shot by a National Guard member.
The resolution comes after city official son Tuesday unveiled a record-breaking $12 million settlement for Taylor's family that includes a host of police reforms.
Fischer, in a video shared to Twitter, responded to the vote:
“With the benefit of hindsight, I see that given the choice of two difficult paths, I' ve sometimes taken the wrong one,” he said.
“I apologize for all this because what's also clear is this,” he went on. “We have enormous challenges, and to move forward we need to pull together, and we must work together in both good times and tough times like these.”
There solution was first introduced last month by council Republicans, who said a change in leadership was necessary for the city to heal and change. Fischer is a Democrat.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has given no timeline on when a decision will be made on whether charges will be filed against the officers in Taylor's death.
A Jefferson County grand jury may hear that case as soon as this week. And the FBI is also conducting a separate investigation.