Tell Congress no one is above the law: Demand an end to qualified immunity for police officers!
Dear MoveOn member,
Once again, our broken justice system has failed Breonna Taylor.
Breonna Taylor was a Black, 26-year-old, health care worker from Louisville, Kentucky, who became a figure of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, the largest protest movement in U.S. history. Breonna was killed in her home by police officers who entered with a warrant based on falsified information and fired 32 times, discharging their weapons blindly through the interior walls of her apartment while she was in bed.1 Since her death, Breonna Taylor has become another heartbreaking story among the countless victims of police violence and for the fight to end the system of white supremacy that enables police officers to evade accountability.
A judge has now thrown out the charges against two former police officers who falsified a warrant leading police to enter Breonna Taylor’s apartment with a no-knock warrant and kill her. The judge claims Breonna’s boyfriend, NOT the cops who lied, was the “legal cause” of her death.2 Even the U.S. Justice Department ruled that the Louisville Police Department violated the Constitution.3 There can be no justice for Breonna Taylor if our judicial system refuses to hold those who endangered her accountable. As long as police can lie and kill without fear of consequences, our communities will have to suffer the type of police violence that cost Breonna Taylor her life. We’ve had enough.
These officers violated Breonna Taylor’s civil rights, but now Judge Simpson’s ruling threatens to shield them from accountability.
No one is above the law. Demand police accountability and justice for Breonna Taylor.
U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson has dismissed charges against the two former officers that falsified the warrant that led police officers to enter Breonna Taylor’s apartment. An investigation into Taylor’s death and the Louisville Police Department conducted by the U.S. Justice Department and announced by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland concluded that the practices of the Louisville Police Department violated the Constitution.4 We refuse to ignore a policing and criminal justice system that continues to perpetuate such civil rights violations.
It is a failure of our justice system to dismiss the charges against these former police officers who are evading responsibility yet again for fabricating a warrant and killing Breonna Taylor. Congress must act urgently to end qualified immunity, which shields police officers from accountability. Together, we can bring about a future where our law enforcement officers are held accountable and our communities are safe.
Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.
Thanks for all you do.
–Soraya, Justin, Nita, Mia, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. “Judge’s logic-defying order brands Breonna Taylor’s protector her killer,” Kentucky Lantern, August 27, 2024
https://kentuckylantern.com/2024/08/27/judges-logic-defying-order-brands-breonna-taylors-protector-her-killer/
2. “Judge rules Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend caused her death, throws out major charges against ex-Louisville officers,” CBS, August 26, 2024
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/breonna-taylor-kenneth-walker-judge-dismisses-officer-charges/
3. “Louisville Police Department practices violated Constitution, DOJ finds,” Politico, March 08, 2023
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/08/louisville-police-violated-constitution-doj-00086081
4. Ibid.
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