Walker had initially been charged with attempted murder because one of his defensive shots struck a police officer in the leg. But as prosecutors were forced to reckon with all of the mountains of evidence that Walker acted in self-defense, and that the police officers in question should be those being charged with crimes, the charges were dropped.
Walker’s attorney, Steve Raines, read a statement in which he explained that the money doesn’t change the fact that Walker will be haunted by Taylor’s death forever. “He will live with the effects of being put in harm’s way due to a falsified warrant, to being a victim of a hailstorm of gunfire, and to suffering the unimaginable and horrific death of Breonna Taylor.”
Walker’s settlement comes years after Breonna Taylor’s family settled for $12 million, before any charges had been filed against the officers responsible for her death. In March, after years of staying out of prison, former police officer Brett Hankinson was acquitted for his part in Breonna Taylor’s death. So far, the only real justice that has come from all of this is the adoption of “Breonna’s Law,” which limits the use of Gestapo-like no-knock warrants.
It took the racist law enforcement apparatus of Louisville until August 2022—after two years and numerous local and national protests—to fire two of the cops involved in Taylor’s death. This was almost 900 days after Breonna was killed. It was about two years since the first officer was finally indicted for “endangerment.”
The “blue lives matter” crowd whine and wring their hands about “Defund the Police,” but the law enforcement apparatus across the country costs taxpayers far more money in lawsuits and settlements than they are worth in safety.
It is not yet clear whether or not this settlement satisfies the state civil rights lawsuit Walker filed as well.
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