GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Breonna Taylor's family is celebrating in their quest for justice, following the news that one officer involved in her killing has been fired from the force. They also call the journey 'not by far over,' optimistic that the other officers involved will be terminated and charged.
Taylor is originally from Grand Rapids but had relocated to Louisville. Much of her family still lives in the West Michigan area.
In March, plainclothes police officers burst into Taylor’s Louisville apartment while she and her boyfriend were asleep. The officers were conducting a no-knock warrant in connection to a drug investigation. Neighbors have stated the officers never identified themselves at the door before executing the warrant.
Taylor’s boyfriend shot at police, thinking they were intruders. The officers then returned fire. While conducting the search, police did not find drugs at the home.
On Friday, Brett Hankinson was fired from his position at the Louisville Police Department. The two other officers remain on administrative leave and with the department.
"At first I was like, do I cry? Do smile? Do I laugh? Do I jump around? I cried because it’s been a long fight, months," said Taylor's cousin, Tawanna Gordon.
Gordon and her relatives are now pushing for the termination of the other officers involved.
"I want to say thank you to Louisville’s current police chief for making that decision to fire that officer. And I am pleading with you to do the same with the other two officers, and until the Attorney General of Louisville. Our family is not going to stop. We are not going to go away."
The Louisville Metro Council recently passed Breonna's Law, which bans no-knock warrants. Gordon is now meeting with lawmakers to pass the law in Michigan and across the country.
"We don’t want someone else to lose a loved one the way we’ve lost her. It is unfair. It is a pain that you never get rid of."
The case is still under investigation by the Kentucky Attorney General, with many pushing the prosecutor to issue charges for all 3 officers.
"Hopefully second degree murder, nothing less than," said Gordon. "Because that’s actually what they executed that day. Because of their negligence and their inability to be more ready for what they were executing and prepared, she is gone. And so at least, second degree murder and at least being fired. No pensions released. You need to lose all of that."
