On Monday (Aug. 3), the Louisville police chief and chief of public services walked out of a government oversight committee meeting after refusing to answer questions regarding the case of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old EMT who was fatally shot by Louisville police officers back in March.
“We understand that people in our city want answers. We want them too, and we remain committed to sharing information as soon as we can without jeopardizing pending investigations,” Jean Porter, director of communications for the mayor of Louisville, said in a statement.
Louisville Metro Police Chief Rob Schroeder and chief of public safety Amy Hess said that they could not answer any questions regarding the case due to a pending lawsuit against the police department and the city, which was filed on July 30 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU) and the NAACP.
“Rather than treating its peaceful protesters as important parts of the democratic process protected by the Constitution, the City of Louisville has chosen to forcibly silence them — often using military-type weapons and tactics that resemble those used by authoritarian regimes to stifle dissent,” the lawsuit states.
Taylor was shot and killed inside of her home while police officers were conducting a no-knock warrant. Officers Brett Hankison, Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove were involved in the shooting. None of them have been arrested or charged with her death. Hankison is the only officer who was fired for the incident.
Last month, a judge ruled that MetroSafe, Louisville’s emergency communications system, had to turn over the recorded radio conversations from the night of the fatal shooting. Attorney Sam Aguiar filed to get the recordings released on behalf of Taylor’s family for their civil lawsuit against Hankison.
Aguiar questioned Hankison’s whereabouts during the night of the fatal shooting. The attorney claims that the former officer left the scene for almost two hours. Aguiar wants MetroSafe to turn over recordings from all closed tactical channels as well.