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Police shot and killed a black woman who broke into her home while she was sleeping while searching for a suspect who was already in custody, according to a lawsuit.
Breonna Taylor, an emergency medical technician (EMT), was 26 years old when officers entered her Louisville home in early March 13 as part of a drug investigation.
Police say they were returning fire after an officer was shot and wounded in the apartment.
A defense attorney for Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, says he shot in self-defense because police did not announce themselves and that he believed they were breaking into the home.
Her family has now hired prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who has represented the families of other high-profile black shooting victims, including Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery.
The family’s lawsuit says officers were not looking for Taylor or her boyfriend, but for a suspect who was already in custody.
“Breonna Taylor was shot at least eight times by officers’ shots and died as a result,” he says.
“Breonna had not posed a threat to officers and did nothing to deserve to die at her hands.”
Mr. Crump called the murder “inexcusable”.
“We are with this young woman’s family in demanding responses from the Louisville Police Department,” he said.
“Despite the tragic circumstances surrounding his death, the department has not provided any response regarding the facts and circumstances of how this tragedy occurred, nor have they been responsible for his senseless murder.”
The Louisville Police Department declined to answer several questions about the allegations, citing an ongoing internal investigation.
Mr Crump also represents the family of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was shot dead in February while running in a Georgia coastal town.
A white father and son were arrested last week after a widely shared video online showed them confronting Arbery.
Then a fight ensued in which punches were thrown, before three shots were fired and Arbery is seen to collapse.
The men told police that they suspected Arbery was a thief. They were not arrested for two months and the prosecutors involved are now under investigation.
Mr. Crump was also involved in the 2012 Trayvon Martin caseThe unarmed black teenager from Florida was shot dead by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
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