Leading Civil Rights Group on Reports Federal Officials Have Charged Four Current and Former Police Officers in the Killing of Breonna Taylor
Statement from Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of Advancement Project – National Office, a leading civil rights organization, on reports that federal officials have charged four current and former police officers involved in the fatal raid that killed Breonna Taylor, of several crimes, including lying to obtain a warrant that was used to search her home:
“Today, by moving forward with criminal charges against the four police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor as she slept in her bed, federal officials are recognizing what we have all known for years: Breonna Taylor should be alive today, and the people who killed her must be held accountable.
“Police departments across the country routinely use excessive force or murder Black people without facing accountability. These killings are horrific and unacceptable.
“That’s why people across the country took to the streets in the uprisings of 2020, sparked by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, to urgently call for an end to police violence. They recognized that policing does not create safe communities.
“It is critical to bring police to account for the use of violence against communities they have sworn to protect. And yet, these charges will not bring back Breonna and will never make her family and community whole again. To truly address the criminalization, arrests, and killings of people like Breonna Taylor, we must build a world that fundamentally values and protects Black people.
“Black people deserve to thrive. Breonna Taylor deserved that too.“
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