Three months ago Breonna Taylor was murdered by the cops who broke into her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky. She and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping: is was 12:40 a.m. The officers involved, Sergeant. Jon Mattingly, 47; Myles Cosgrove, 42; and Brett Hankison, 44; claimed they knocked on the door, then broke into the apartment and announced themselves. This issue has been highly disputed by Walker and residents of adjacent apartments. Walker said that he believed an intruder or intruders had broken into the apartment, grabbed his registered pistol, and fired a warning shot which struck Mattingly in the leg. The officers returned fire. Eight of their bullets penetrated the body of Breonna Taylor, taking her life.

Today, three months after her death, the police report of the incident has finally been released; sort of.

Here is what the Louisville “The Courier Journal” is reporting.

{The four-page report lists the time, date, case number, incident location and the victim’s name — Breonna Shaquelle Taylor — as well as the fact that she is a 26-year-old black female.

But it redacts Taylor’s street number, apartment number and date of birth — all of which have been widely reported.

And it lists her injuries as “none,” even though she was shot at least eight times and died on her hallway floor in a pool of blood, according to attorneys for her family.

It lists the charges as “death investigation — LMPD involved” but checks the “no” box under “forced entry,” even though officers used a battering ram to knock in Taylor’s apartment door.

It lists the officers involved, but the most important portion of the report — the “narrative” of events that spells out what happened March 13 — has only two words: “PIU investigation.”

And the rest of the report has no information filled in at all.}

We’re talking about the life of a 26-year-old woman; a black woman. Is this “investigation” a sham, or are the Louisville police serious about finding the truth?

“I read this report and have to ask the mayor, the police chief and the city’s lawyers: Are you kidding? This is what you consider being transparent to taxpayers and the public?” asked Richard A. Green, editor of The Courier Journal.

“At a time when so many are rightfully demanding to know more details about that tragic March evening, I fail to understand this lack of transparency. The public deserves more.”

The protests today are the result of wrongful deaths of American citizens, and much more. Until law enforcement is honest and forthcoming about their actions, no one will trust the men and women who are intended to “protect and serve” the people of their towns, cities, and states.

However, reform cannot be focused on police, sheriffs, constables, or other ‘on the ground’ law enforcement alone. Our court system is extremely biased against minorities and all low-income Americans. Wealthy Americans seldom receive ‘punishment which fits the crime,’ while men and women who cannot afford the best attorneys, haircuts, suits, have darker skin, etc., are sentenced more severely.

America has less than five-percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of all the world’s prisoners. Our nation’s recidivism rate is the highest in the world. A disproportionate number of black Americans are in jails and prisons. Prior to their trials and subsequent incarceration, the average income of all imprisoned men and women was just under $20,000 per year.

Most of the previous information is based on the fact that the focus of our penal system is punishment, not rehabilitation.

America needs realistic changes in healthcare, the cost of higher education, equal rights for women, and our voting system. Right at the top of what must happen to save our nation’s future is a complete reform of our judicial system from the streets to our courts. Donald Trump has made America a ‘less great’ nation: we can change this with our votes.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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Photo courtesy of Johnny Silvercloud

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