Beyonce is ready to see some action. The GRAMMY winner revealed on her website on Sunday that she has sent a letter to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, demanding criminal charges against the three police officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s death.
Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was fatally shot by the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) on March 13. Three plainclothes officers executing a no-knock search warrant entered her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he believed the officers were intruders, and gunfire was exchanged between him and the LMPD. Officers fired over 20 shots into the apartment, including eight shots at Taylor, who was asleep and unarmed when LMPD entered her residence.
“While ‘Breonna’s Law’ passed in Louisville and federal legislation has been introduced that will also ban no-knock warrants, these small steps in the right direction are painful reminders that there still has been no justice for Breonna Taylor and her family,” Beyonce wrote in her letter.
“Three months have passed — and the LMPD’s investigations have created more questions than answers. Their incident report states that Ms. Taylor suffered no injuries — yet we know she was shot at least eight times,” the singer pointed out. “The LMPD officers claim they announced themselves before forcing their way into Ms. Taylor’s apartment — but her boyfriend who was with her, as well as several neighbors, all say that this is untrue.”
Beyonce continued, noting that no arrests have been made and no officers have been fired. “The LMPD’s investigation was turned over to your office, and yet all of the officers involved in the shooting remain employed by the LMPD. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officers Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison must be held accountable for their actions,” she told Cameron.
“Three months have passed — and Breonna Taylor’s family still waits for justice. Ms. Taylor’s family has not been able to take time to process and grieve. Instead, they have been working tirelessly to rally the support of friends, their community, and the country to obtain justice for Breonna,” she continued. “Your office has both the power and the responsibility to bring justice to Breonna Taylor, and demonstrate the value of a black woman’s life.”
Beyonce urged Cameron to use his power to bring criminal charges against the officers and commit to transparency in the investigation, as well as investigate the LMPD’s response to Taylor’s killing and “the pervasive practices that result in the repeated deaths of unarmed black citizens.”
“Don’t let this case fall into the pattern of no action after a terrible tragedy. With every death of a black person at the hands of the police, there are two real tragedies: the death itself, and the inaction and delays that follow it. This is your chance to end that pattern. Take swift and decisive action in charging the officers. The next months cannot look like the last three.”
