A Louisville, Kentucky police chief said he intended to shoot one of the three officers involved in the shooting death of Briano Taylor, and that a black woman was killed by a bullet from guards when drug investigators mistakenly entered her home.
Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was shot dead on March 13, when officers entered his apartment with a "no-knock" arrest warrant.
In a letter to Detective Brett Hankison, Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Robert Schroeder posted on Twitter that he intended to fire an officer for what he termed a "serious" violation of standard operating procedures, a deadly force when used at Hankison's apartment.
Schroeder writes, "When you wish, your actions show profound indifference to the value of human life and have shot ten (10) rounds of sight at Bryon Taylor's apartment." "I think your behavior is a shock from conscience."
The River City Fraternal Order of Police, which represents LMPD officers, did not respond to a request for comment.
Schroeder's letter stated that Hankerson, who was appointed by this department in 2003, was disciplined for reckless conduct in January 2019.
Hankinson, along with a lawyer or union representative, said it would be possible to "mitigate additional information or factors" before finalizing his retirement.
An attorney for the Taylor family, Benjamin Crump, called the police chief's letter "damaging" and said he would like to see other officers removed and indicted on Twitter.
The May 25 death of Taylor Floyd in the Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd and other police killings of black people has become a cry for the Black Lives Matter movement and has sparked nationwide protests against racism and police brutality.
Hours after the March 13 attack, Louisville Police Lt. Ted Eden told reporters that the officers forced the door before entering and that Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker shot her. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, an officer injured the leg and the three struck Taylor at least eight times.
Walker has been charged with attempted murder and assault, but last month state prosecutors dropped the charges, the Courier-Journal reported.
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