Episode 22 - Setting the Record STRAIGHT on the Breonna Taylor Case

In the months since the shooting, we heard numerous tales regarding the facts of this case that turned out to be untrue yet are still being parroted by those with a racial axe to grind.  For example, one of the issues from the original story was that Breonna and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were asleep when the cops stormed into the apartment. We now know based on statements of those involved in the altercation that both Breonna and Walker were awake and in the hallway waiting for the cops to come through the doorway.  This is important since the clear suggestion from the sleeping narrative was that the two individuals were caught off guard and at the least could be reasonable in shooting who they throught were intruders, and at most were reasonable because the cops were trying to ambush them while they were off guard and sleeping. This is not true.

Second, we have the issue of the supposed no-knock warrant.  We have heard in the weeks following the shooting that the cops effectuated a no-knock warrant for the apartment, and thus this added to the supposed element of surprise involved with the cops breaking into the apartment. Now we know that while a no-knock warrant is permitted in Kentucky, it was not utilized in this case. On the contrary, based on statements from the cops and from another resident of the building the cops indeed knocked and announced themselves before entering the apartment. Walker himself admits that he heard knocking but claims he did not hear the cops announce themselves. I think that the witness statement confirming that the announcement was made is critical here. Some disinterested party has backed up the proper procedure by the cops.  Furthermore, it would be interesting to know where the witness lived in the building.  If, for the sake of argument, the witness lived down the hall, on the other side of the building, or on another floor, and was still able to hear the cops announcing themselves, that is very strong evidence that proper procedure was followed insofar as the initial entrance into Walker’s apartment.  Moreover, it also calls into question Walker’s claim that he didn’t hear an announcement from the cops.  If that hypothetical turns out to be true, then how could Walker be believed that he didn’t hear the announcement when someone in a different part of the building was able to hear them?  Although I think the witness statement justifies the conclusion that the cops properly entered the apartment, the location of that witness could be useful in assessing Walker’s credibility.

Next, is the nature of the shooting.  We know based on the statements and initial forensic work done so far that Walker fired first, and thus initiated the ensuing firefight between he and the cops. So the simple act of firing, generally speaking, was prompted by the initial use of deadly force by Walker.  Nevertheless, those on the racial left always have a failsafe, always have a backup lie to go to, on the rare occasion they get held down on their arguments and have to pivot.  We were then met with the bogus claim that apparently the bullets, obliviously not meant for Taylor since she was not the one who started the gun fight, were excessive for a couple reasons - first, the shots were excessive because several shots missed both individuals in the dark apartment (now being used as the anchor for a kind of wanton recklessness type of charge against one of the officers); second, the number of shots hitting Taylor is somehow evidence of intent to kill, never mind the fact that this still doesn't establish that she was the intended target. At the end of the day, this is being used as a vehicle to smear the cops on some kind of drummed up negligence type charge relating to Taylor’s death.

Transcript

Welcome into fate of the union.  The date of recording of this episode is Thursday, September 24, 2020.  Please subscribe to fate of the union on youtube and itunes, and follow fate of the union on twitter and medium for more commentary.

The majority of this episode will be reviewing the recent decision by the the grand jury to not charge any of the officer involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron explained the grand jury’s decision to indict only a single officer as a result of a March incident that left emergency room technician Breonna Taylor dead. For what it’s worth AG Cameron is a black man, so that should quell any suspensions of racial motivation in making his decision. Nevertheless, as we will see shortly this has done nothing to maintain order in the streets of Louisville and ion cities across the country.

In the months since the shooting, we heard numerous tales regarding the facts of this case that turned out to be untrue yet are still being parroted by those with a racial axe to grind.  For example, one of the issues from the original story was that Breonna and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were asleep when the cops stormed into the apartment. We now know based on statements of those involved in the altercation that both Breonna and Walker were awake and in the hallway waiting for the cops to come through the doorway.  This is important since the clear suggestion from the sleeping narrative was that the two individuals were caught off guard and at the least could be reasonable in shooting who they throught were intruders, and at most were reasonable because the cops were trying to ambush them while they were off guard and sleeping. This is not true.

Second, we have the issue of the supposed no-knock warrant.  We have heard in the weeks following the shooting that the cops effectuated a no-knock warrant for the apartment, and thus this added to the supposed element of surprise involved with the cops breaking into the apartment. Now we know that while a no-knock warrant is permitted in Kentucky, it was not utilized in this case. On the contrary, based on statements from the cops and from another resident of the building the cops indeed knocked and announced themselves before entering the apartment. Walker himself admits that he heard knocking but claims he did not hear the cops announce themselves. I think that the witness statement confirming that the announcement was made is critical here. Some disinterested party has backed up the proper procedure by the cops.  Furthermore, it would be interesting to know where the witness lived in the building.  If, for the sake of argument, the witness lived down the hall, on the other side of the building, or on another floor, and was still able to hear the cops announcing themselves, that is very strong evidence that proper procedure was followed insofar as the initial entrance into Walker’s apartment.  Moreover, it also calls into question Walker’s claim that he didn’t hear an announcement from the cops.  If that hypothetical turns out to be true, then how could Walker be believed that he didn’t hear the announcement when someone in a different part of the building was able to hear them?  Although I think the witness statement justifies the conclusion that the cops properly entered the apartment, the location of that witness could be useful in assessing Walker’s credibility.

Next, is the nature of the shooting.  We know based on the statements and initial forensic work done so far that Walker fired first, and thus initiated the ensuing firefight between he and the cops. So the simple act of firing, generally speaking, was prompted by the initial use of deadly force by Walker.  Nevertheless, those on the racial left always have a failsafe, always have a backup lie to go to, on the rare occasion they get held down on their arguments and have to pivot.  We were then met with the bogus claim that apparently the bullets, obliviously not meant for Taylor since she was not the one who started the gun fight, were excessive for a couple reasons - first, the shots were excessive because several shots missed both individuals in the dark apartment (now being used as the anchor for a kind of wanton recklessness type of charge against one of the officers); second, the number of shots hitting Taylor is somehow evidence of intent to kill, never mind the fact that this still doesn't establish that she was the intended target. At the end of the day, this is being used as a vehicle to smear the cops on some kind of drummed up negligence type charge relating to Taylor’s death.

The murder and manslaughter laws in Kentucky are relatively straighforward.  The murder statute is Ky. Criminal law section § 507.020 “(1) A person is guilty of murder when:(a) With intent to cause the death of another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person.” subsection b goes further to explain murder can also be “Including, but not limited to, the operation of a motor vehicle under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person and thereby causes the death of another person.” 

So, as far as the potential murder charges are concerned, we have our marching order in terms of what laws we need to assess. First off, we can see the first subsection is completely untenable here. There is absolutely no evidence of criminal intent in the bullets hitting Breonna. She was in the middle of an active gun fight started by her boyfriend. The cops were returning fire upon the person initiating a deadly threat. There’s no conceivable way to carry a murder charge to conviction when the victim is not the intended target and was essentially hit with a stray bullet.

Subsection b has a type of depraved indifference standard for murder. These kinds of charges are sometimes brought when someone open fires upon a group.  That person may have had the genuine intent to just clear people out of his way or escape a crime scene, or didn’t really care whether someone lost their lives as a result.  Regardless, that depraved or extreme indifference to the grave risk of the loss of life, and the eventual loss of life as a result, would justify a murder charge anyway. 

However, we can see the glaring difference when compared to the facts of the Taylor case. The cops here did not act with extreme indifference to human life as contemplated by the law. That’s partially because they acted in self-defense. Surely defending you life, after someone immediately near you has already been shot by the aggressor as was the case with one of the cops here, is not criminally punishable disregard for human life.  Moreover, returning fire in the confines of an apartment building is not wanton conduct.  The attendant circumstance that any of the bullets hit Taylor or the apartment walls is irrelevant to the determination of intent by the officers, and the related conclusion that they acted reasonable in the situation despite any unintended consequences to someone who is simply an unfortunate bystander- more on that later.

Manslaughter in the first degree doesn’t apply here because although one section calls for the intent and result of causing serious injury to another, this charge becomes impossible to bring to conviction for the same reason as the murder charge we spoke about first- there is no criminal intent to cause harm or death to Taylor. Furthermore, the cops did not act with the extreme emotional disturbance called for in the law, which is normally reserved for situations like catching your spouse cheating or having a serious emotional psychological disturbance or disability at the time of the alleged crime. Second degree manslaughter could not be brought because there is no situations involving harm or death or anyone when the operation of motor vehicles or the use of controlled substances are involved.

Interestingly here, Kentucky abolished the felony murder rule. Felony murder says that if an individual was engaged in an inherently dangerous felony, then he could be held criminally culpable under the state’s murder statute for any deaths that resulted from his conduct, regardless if he is the one who actually killed someone.  The typical example is actually one very similar to the facts of this case - the person initiates a shootout with the cops, which is certainly inherently dangerous felony, and the cops stray bullet hits the person’s co-conspirator in the crime or an innocent bystander. The criminal himself didn't fire the bullet that killed the person in this situation but felony murder allows for the person to be charged for murder anyway. Nevertheless, the Kentucky Legislature abolished the felony murder rule with the enactment of Kentucky Revised Statutes § 507.020. Recognizing that an automatic application of the rule could result in conviction of murder without a culpable mindset, the Kentucky Legislature instead allowed the circumstances of a case, like the commission of a felony, to be considered separately. Otherwise, I think there would have been a strong case for felony murder against Walker based on the facts of this case.