Beyoncé Writes Open Letter Calling for Criminal Charges Against Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor

By Rebecca Fishbein  |  June 15, 2020 | 12:05am
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Beyoncé Writes Open Letter Calling for Criminal Charges Against Cops Who Killed Breonna Taylor
Image: (via Getty)

The police officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor while she slept in her own bed have yet to be brought to justice. The officers involved in her killing have neither been arrested nor fired from the jobs, and the only piece of investigatory documentation released by the Louisville Metro Police Department has been a mostly blank incident report. Protestors, marchers, and other Black Lives Matter advocates are still demanding justice for Taylor, and on Sunday, Beyoncé (virtually) joined them, posting an open letter to the Kentucky Attorney General on her website.

The letter, addressed to Kentucky A.G. Daniel Cameron, lists three demands: 1) that the A.G. criminally charge officers Jonathan Mattingly, Myles Cosgrove, and Brett Hankinson, who were involved in Taylor’s death, 2) that the A.G.’s office be transparent in their investigation, and 3) that the A.G.’s office investigate both the LMPD’s response to Taylor’s murder and the “pervasive practices that result in the repeated deaths of unarmed Black citizens.”

“Three months have passed — and Breonna Taylor’s family still waits for justice,” Beyoncé wrote, later adding, “With every death of a Black person at the hands of police, there are two real tragedies: the death itself, and the inaction and delays that follow it. Take swift and decisive action in charging the officers. The next months cannot look like the last three.”

Taylor was only 26. Her 27th birthday would have been earlier this month.

 
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