One of the largest news stories going through the media right now is about the wrongful death of Breonna Taylor. In March of this year police in Louisville, Kentucky were serving a no-knock warrant on Breonna Taylor’s ex boyfriend who was not even at that residence. Police did not announce themselves when they busted through the door so Breonna’s boyfriend used his registered and legal gun to protect themselves because he did not know it was the police. Neither Breonna or her boyfriend have any criminal history and no drugs were found. Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in this raid by the police. After the shooting, Breonna’s boyfriend called the police because he claims that at that point, he still did not know that it was the police that were shooting since no one came to try to help Breonna. They arrested her boyfriend and and her boyfriend recalls one of the officers later telling him that it was a misunderstanding (CBS This Morning). In the body cam footage
https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylorpolice.html
after the shooting, police are shown casing the apartment with Breonna still laying on the ground. Breonna could possibly be alive today if police would have gotten her help when they should have. Breonna Taylor was an EMT, devoting herself to saving others and she absolutely did not deserve to be killed. Since this, no-knock warrants have been banned in late May but it took until June for one of the officers to be fired. In late September only one officer has had files charged against him and the other two officers involved do not
have any. The officer that was charged was only charged with wanton endangerment which is for the shots that were fired that went into a neighboring apartment (What We Know About Breonna Taylor’s Case and Death”). Essentially, after about 6 months, very little has been done to give Breonna Taylor any Justice. The only officer that had charges pressed against him was only charged for the shots that he missed, not the ones that killed Breonna Taylor. The justice system has failed Breonna Taylor and her family by not providing any real justice for her death. The police need to be held accountable. In any other profession such as one in the medical field, if you mess up and kill someone you will be punished, but in this case, police wrongfully killed an innocent woman and they have not had to face hardly any punishment. This can be related to the The March by John Lewis because of the violence that African Americans faced from police during the Civil Rights Movement and how the justice system failed them just as it did to Breonna Taylor. In stories such as this one about Breonna Taylor, it is evident that there is still change to be made and racism still exists in the justice system.
Olivia, I do think the Breonna Taylor case is an example of Systemic Injustice! I think you did a good job because this is very recent and relevant example! I think this case just shows how much we still need to improve as a country! People are still being different with little justice and this needs to be changed!