Breonna Taylor — The consequences of life choices sometimes result in a tragic conclusions.

Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron’s Breonna Taylor Press Conference:
https://youtu.be/wusCD55EPP0

Important Points of clarity

Because of the nebulous terms on this topic, I want to make my stance clear on my usage of them. Your definitions may differ but this is how they are used in the context of the article. We are welcome to argue against my definitions but don’t misrepresent my points with your personal interpretations. Thanks!

1. BLM Movement — A broad unorganized array of people all of whom actively call out discriminatory practices. Either online or in-person as a peaceful non-violent demonstration.
2. BLM Organization — A legal entity co-opted by radicals who have taken over the BLM related hashtags and use it to coordinate nationally
3. BLM Sentiment — The literal statement that means black lives matter. The one that nobody argues is false but is being misrepresented by the actions of the BLM Movement and Organization.
4. BLM Supporters — A general overarching term to represent all three definitions of BLM listed above as a single group.
5. Protesters — Non-violent peaceful supporters of the BLM Movement or BLM Sentiment
6. Agitators — BLM Organization radicals who coordinate and perpetrate violent attacks while disguised as protesters to gain anonymity in the crowd. They incite other protesters to violence by encouraging them with planned weaponry like Molotov cocktails, fireworks, bricks, and more…
7. Rioters — Any protester or agitator that is actively engaged in violence, or protecting those engaged in violence either actively or passively. Anyone present after a disperse order is given by the police that the protest has been declared an unlawful assembly.

On Sep 23, 2020, We finally got the sorely needed facts and context surrounding the tragic death of Breonna Taylor. The briefing was a stark one, but AG Cameron purported himself admirably and repeatedly expressed his sympathy and sorrow for the Taylor family. I found him to be frank, honest, sympathetic, and with exceptional candor.

Now we have the official law enforcement stance on the lingering questions surrounding Breonna’s death. The big question was regarding potential charges for the officers involved in the incident. Officer Brett Hankison will receive three counts of Wanton Endangerment for his actions, which is no slap on the wrist. It will likely result in jail time if convicted. Hankison put the three residents of the neighboring apartment in danger by recklessly shooting through glass doors and windows of their next-door apartment where three innocent civilians resided. His actions are his own to live with. He has to face the fact that his choices that night could have easily led to more tragedy. He will suffer the consequences through our justice system. Let’s not forget the next step here is Hankison going to trial as he is still innocent until proven otherwise.

On a personal level, I agree with the measured assessment presented by AG Cameron. Had I been a member of the Grand Jury, based on the evidence I’ve seen, I would likely have agreed with that judgment as well. The Grand Jury is made up of independent civilians unrelated to law enforcement and is the fair, impartial, and accepted method of our legal system.

Enter the controversy. The Grand Jury decided that both officers Myles Cosgrove, and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly had justified reasoning in their use of deadly force to return fire that hit Breonna Taylor that night. However, since there are no charges directly related to the death of Breonna herself, this has sparked outrage from some family members and Black Lives Matters supporters. BLM protests once again turned into riots. We saw a handful of ambush attacks directed on police officers, starting with two officers being shot in Louisville, KY several hours after the briefing. There were other violent incidents around the country that night as well. They consisted of radicals ambushing police in an attempt to kill them in the name of vengeance for Breonna. (As if the cold-blooded murder of random police officers is anything near justice.)

Despite the factual evidence of the case that was heard by an independent Grand Jury, and not law enforcement, many BLM supporters are rejecting the decision. BLM organizers are still using Breonna’s name as an example of police brutality, excessive force, and the systemic mistreatment of black people. Sadly, this is not the first name they’ve perverted into an ideological symbol to justify violence. It likely will not be the last either. This practice by BLM organizers and rioters is not new behavior. They perpetuate violence on the citizenry in the name of their false idols they’ve propped up to stoke the emotional outrage responses of their base. This is how terrorist insurgencies operate by sowing discord among the populous to disrupt the status quo. It dishonors Breonna Taylor’s memory. I would be furious with the BLM supporters who started using my baby’s name in such a vile way. My heart goes out to the family members who want to merely honor her memory and not twist it into a calling card for more radical violence and hatred under false pretenses.

We have all the facts now and we are still seeing BLM Supporters peddling misinformation in Breonna’s name. We see left-wing mainstream media outlets curating stories and headlines that play into the agenda of perpetual protesting instead of calling for the Civil Discourse we need.

Stop Calling It A “No-Knock Warrant”

It’s called a Search Warrant. Continuing to call it a “no-knock” warrant in your stories is inflammatory disingenuous rhetoric designed to strike at viewers outrage response to drive clicks and shares. At this stage, it also further emboldens the ongoing protests & riots perpetuating more violence against innocent businesses and communities. While the Search Warrant did have the provision to allow for a no-knock entry, officers were instructed by superiors to disregard the no-knock provision and perform a standard Knock & Announce. So since there is no actual thing called a “no-knock” warrant and the warrant in question was served with a knock & announce strategy, calling it a “no-knock warrant” is now a purely inflammatory marketing technique and needs to stop. It demonizing the “no-knock” provision in a manner that is not representative of the facts in this case. The “no-knock” provision is a valid tool for the intended purpose and is only executed in extreme circumstances that put the officer’s lives in unnecessary risk and it was NOT invoked here so it has zero of the blame in this incident.

The Police Did Not Knock & Announce

The officers were both ordered to perform a Knock & Announce procedure and they in fact executed a Knock & Announce procedure up to 7 times before breaching the door. Officer testimony corroborated by an independent eye witness unrelated to law-enforcement personal both confirmed, multiple Knock & Announce attempts were made.

Stop Saying It Was Friendly Fire

The ballistic forensics from two labs, one state, and one federal, confirm that the round in Sgt. Mattingly’s thigh was a 9mm round. All officers on the scene were firing 40 caliber rounds. The only shooter with a 9mm weapon was Kenneth Walker. This absolutely disproves friendly fire entirely and proves that Kenneth Walker’s single shot hit the officer in question.

Kenneth Walker Did Not Shoot Through A Closed Door

Kenneth Walker’s own testimony combined with Seargent Mattingly’s accounting of events clearly identifies that Kenneth Walker shot first and only after Mattingly had breached the door and entered the apartment. His own testimony admits that he could not see who was at the door before he shot blindly.

Who is to blame for Breonna’s Death?

This is the saddest part of the entire situation. We are all looking for a scapegoat here, myself included. Nobody wants to believe that sometimes bad things just happen to people, even the good ones. Sometimes decisions from our past wreak havoc on our present circumstances. Breonna Taylor was named in the warrant, they were not at her house on accident. She was complicit in Jamarcus Glover’s illicit activities. Whether known or unknown to her at the time doesn’t matter. Her house was witnessed by officers to have been used by Glover. He was seen accepting packages from the residence. Her address was still listed as his primary place of residence. It’s not the police officers that put Breonna in the line of fire. You can argue that it was Glover who did. But the somber truth is we are responsible for our own decisions and the mistakes from our past. Mistakes like dating a drug dealer can sometimes come back to haunt you. It’s hard to admit, but we are responsible for the people we let into our lives. People that come with histories and baggage. It’s human nature to strike out when you are hurt. To have something or someone to serve as the focus of your anger and despair. It can be cathartic when righteously justified. But vengeance is an ugly perversion of justice and we must strive to tell the difference. Nobody is directly responsible for her death, only indirectly. It’s a situation from a series of unfortunate circumstances that all add up to a heartbreaking conclusion. Seems to me she was getting away from that life with Glover, but circumstance brought his baggage right back into her apartment that night and resulted in her death.

I don’t believe Kenneth Walker is responsible, though I’m sure it’s a question that will haunt him to his grave. He was being a dutiful protector. She was next to him out of fear and a need for his safety. He was in an impossible scenario that must be decided in a split second. He chose to be brave and defend them. Don’t sully that by blaming him for her death. I hope I am as courageous in the face of danger when needing to protect my loved ones from an unknown threat coming through the door.

Collectively as a country and a culture, we must not let our irrational minds control us. We must not be so quick to judge, condemn, and hate without all the information. This country only works when we use civil discourse to get to the bottom of our problems. A population ruled by outrage is easily controlled by tyrants. Mob justice is not justice, it’s the worst kind of bigotry.

I’ve put my thoughts together from the information in the following additional sources as well as AG Cameron’s press conference above.

• Debunking Breonna Rumors — https://is.gd/NgDFqF
• 2 Louisville officers shot at a protest — https://bit.ly/3cvAihP
• Breonna Taylor Hankison indicted — https://abcn.ws/3i7hSoG
• Breonna Taylor Family Attorney — https://youtu.be/n6wXT30OJNg
• What we know about Kenneth Walker — https://bit.ly/2EyCLeW