Kentucky cop in shooting to be fired

The police in Louisville, Ky., are moving to terminate one of the officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Friday, the first major action against an officer in a case that has drawn widespread criticism and national protests.

As one of three officers who used a noknock warrant to enter Taylor’s apartment on March 13, the officer, Brett Hankison, blindly fired 10 rounds into a covered patio door and a window, according to a termination letter released by the Louisville Metro Police Department on Friday.

“I find your conduct a shock to the conscience,” Police Chief Robert Schroeder wrote. “I am alarmed and stunned you used deadly force in this fashion.”

The killing of Taylor, 26, a black emergency medical technician, has for weeks fueled protests and escalating questions about why little action had been taken. Those questions only intensified last week when police released a fourpage incident report of Taylor’s death containing minimal details and aberrations, including listing “none” under victim injuries, even though officers shot her at least eight times.

The other officers involved in the case — Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove — have been placed on administrative reassignment.

Lonita Baker, a lawyer representing Taylor’s family, said that the attorneys were pleased to hear Hankison would be fired but that this was just a first step.

“Based on the content of the letter, it’s our position that there’s enough to move forward with criminal charges against him,” Baker said. None of the officers have been charged.

The case has drawn intense scrutiny, leading city officials to ban the use of noknock warrants, a contentious police practice that allows officers to forcibly enter homes without warning.

Officers said they did announce themselves, but Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he did not hear any warning as the door was beaten down. He opened fire, striking an officer in the leg. Officers fired back, killing Taylor, who had been in bed.

According to the Louisville Courier Journal, the officers were investigating two men who they believed were selling drugs out of a house far from Taylor’s home. But a judge also signed a warrant allowing police to search Taylor’s residence because police believed one of the men had used it to receive packages.