911 call from Breonna Taylor's shooting death released: "Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend"
On the night 26-year-old emergency medical worker Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police inside her home, her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, told a 911 operator that "somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend." Taylor's death has sparked national outcry and an FBI investigation.
"I don't know what happened ... somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend," Walker told the dispatcher. When asked where Taylor had been shot, Walker replied, "I don't know, she is on the ground right now. I don't know, I don't know."
He added that Taylor was unresponsive, yelling "Help!" and "Oh my God," throughout the two-minute call. The audio of the call was released by an attorney for Taylor's family, CBS affiliate WLKY-TV reported.
Police entered Taylor and Walker's home on the night of March 13 with a warrant to search for illegal drugs. The Louisville Metro Police Department said officers announced themselves before entering the home, and were "immediately met by gunfire" from Walker. But a lawsuit filed by Taylor's family claimed the officers arrived at the home in plainclothes and unmarked cars and did not announce themselves, prompting Walker and Taylor to think they were burglars.
"The Defendants then proceeded to spray gunfire into the residence with a total disregard for the value of human life," the lawsuit alleged, adding Taylor and Walker "believed the home had been broken into by criminals and that they were in significant, imminent danger."
Walker was initially charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but the charge has since been dropped, WLKY-TV reported.
In the wake of Taylor's death, the police department announced that "no-knock" search warrants will now require the police chief's approval, and officers will be required to wear cameras when carrying out search warrants.
After the FBI announced its investigation, the chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department announced he would retire before July, WLKY-TV reported.