The US city of Louisville has agreed to pay the family of Breonna Taylor $12 million after plainclothes police officers shot her dead in her home.
“I’m here today, with the family of Breonna Taylor, to announce that Louisville Metro Government has settled a civil lawsuit with her estate,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said. "We must have transparency and accountability for the work that our officers do."
The payment marks the largest settlement that the city has paid in a police misconduct case.
“I’m grateful to the actions of the city of Louisville today,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump said at a press conference. “And it is not just the historic $12 million settlement, which as I understand is the largest amount ever paid out for a Black woman in a wrongful death, killed by a police in America... This is about setting a precedence.”
The 26-year-old woman was killed by police during a raid in her apartment in March.
“I believe it may be the largest amount paid for a Black person in a police shooting,” Crump said. “It is certainly… one of the largest amounts paid out by any person in the way of settlement in a police killing in America.”
Louisville Metro Police officers broke down her apartment door March 13 to serve a signed "no-knock" search warrant.
According to Lonita Baker, a Kentucky-based attorney for Taylor's family, "justice for Breonna is multi-layered," and the settlement is "only a portion of a single layer."
The US has been rocked with protests against police brutality and racial injustice after some high-profile cases of shooting African Americans.