LeBron James on Breonna Taylor: 'Life That's Gone Too Soon out of Nonsense'
July 28, 2020
LeBron James discussed his thoughts on the death of Breonna Taylor, saying her life was "gone too soon out of nonsense."
Kyle Goon @kylegoon. @BA_Turner asks LeBron about how he reacted to Breonna Taylor’s death: “I think about if it was a sister of mine. If it was my mother. If it was an auntie of mine. If it was a friend of mine.” Says he has friends and family in Louisville: “They’re sad, they’re angry.” https://t.co/CnyYJ9e7fz
"I kinda put myself in that household with them. Coming into a house, a place where they shouldn't have been in the first place, and then opened fire and killing an innocent woman who had a bright future," James said. "... What do we need to see a video of her actually being killed for something to actually happen with the officers who committed this crime? I've spoken to a lot of people in Louisville, and they're irate. They're sad, they're angry, they're disgusted with what's going on and the timetable of what's happening.
"So I just feel for her mother, I feel for her family and anyone that had any association with her in her community. Her coworkers that probably saw her every day and seen her smile, and seen her probably talk about not only her presence in the world, but her future. It's a life that's gone too soon out of nonsense and out of just a pure act of violence."
Taylor was killed March 13 when Louisville police officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove executed a no-knock warrant on her apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. The officers, who were in plainclothes, were shot at through the door by Walker, who believed they were intruders.
Police then shot into the home more than 20 times, striking Taylor at least eight times and killing her.
Taylor, who was 26, was an ER technician and former EMT.
Attorneys representing Taylor's family in a civil lawsuit said the officers provided false information to receive the warrant on Taylor's apartment. The warrant called for a no-knock search due to Taylor's alleged association with a suspected drug dealer. No drugs were found in the apartment, nor did the suspected drug dealer live at Taylor's apartment.
Louisville has since banned no-knock warrants but none of the three officers has been arrested. Hankinson was fired. Mattingly and Cosgrove remain on the police force and are currently on administrative reassignment.
The Louisville police internal investigation was completed and sent to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron for a decision on whether criminal charges should be filed on May 20. However, Cameron's investigation remains ongoing. The FBI also announced it's own investigation into the killing.