JUDY WOODRUFF: Weeks before George Floyd's death fueled national protests around Black
Lives Matter, the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of police led to anger and grief
in Louisville, Kentucky.
Her case has now become a national touch point for protesters who often chant, "Say her name."
As John Yang reports, the city of Louisville's response to the case is now a flash point
all its own.
PROTESTER: Say her name!
PROTESTERS: Breonna Taylor!
JOHN YANG: Anger and frustration are still fresh more than four months after 26-year-old
Breonna Taylor died at the hands of Louisville police, no apparent progress in the investigation
and no charges in the case.
PROTESTER (singing): Can you say her name?
PROTESTERS (singing): Breonna Taylor.
PROTESTER (singing): Do you remember her name?
PROTESTERS (singing): Breonna Taylor.
JOHN YANG: For weeks, daily demonstrations have demanded justice for the emergency room
technician who was shot in her apartment as police tried to serve a no-knock drug search
warrant after midnight.
Hannah Drake is a Louisville activist.
HANNAH DRAKE, Activist: We continue to fight. We continue to speak. We continue to shout.
So, this is not an incident that will be buried underneath bourbon and bluegrass in Kentucky.
JOHN YANG: On Monday, several Louisville residents began a hunger strike, livestreamed on Facebook,
and backed by medical professionals to ensure their well-being.
Protests have spread across the country, including the NBA. Philadelphia 76er forward Tobias
Harris used his time with reporters on Monday to send a message to Kentucky Attorney General
Daniel Cameron, who is investigating Taylor's death.
TOBIAS HARRIS, Philadelphia 76ers: We want to make sure that Daniel Cameron will arrest
the cops and officers involved with Breonna Taylor's death. And, yes, that's all I got
to say.
(CROSSTALK)
TOBIAS HARRIS: That's going to be my answer -- that's going to be my answer for every
question.
QUESTION: Fair enough.
JOHN YANG: Amid all this, new details are emerging. Last week, The Louisville Courier-Journal
used police dispatch tapes to determine that, for more than 25 minutes, Taylor lay where
she fell in her apartment hallway, receiving no medical attention.
The coroner said she had been shot five times and could not have been saved.
HANNAH DRAKE: It seems as if this city continues to murder Breonna Taylor every single day.
So, there was a moment where the mayor called on us to have a day of healing and reflection.
And there can be no healing and reflection when, every day, something new is coming out
about the case.
JOHN YANG: Records show three plainclothes officers used a battering ram to break down
Taylor's door at 12:40 a.m. None wore a body camera.
Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, has said he heard pounding on the door, but no one
saying they were police. He said he thought someone was breaking in. Investigators recorded
his statement.
KENNETH WALKER, Boyfriend of Breonna Taylor: So, now the door is, like, flying open. I
let off one shot, and then all of a sudden there is a whole lot of shots.
So, there's just shooting. And, like, we're both on the ground. And when all the shots
stop, I'm, like, panicking. She's right there on the ground, like, bleeding.
JOHN YANG: Walker shot once, hitting an officer in the leg, though charges against him were
later dropped. The police fired 20 rounds.
Detective Brett Hankison was dismissed last month for violating the department's deadly
force policy by wantonly and blindly shooting into the apartment. Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly
and Detective Myles Cosgrove are on administrative leave.
In May, city officials turned the case over to Attorney General Cameron, a Republican.
He is the first Black person to hold that office, and is a protege of Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell.
PROTESTER: Your new neighbor has the power to arrest and charge cops that murdered Breonna
Taylor.
JOHN YANG: Last week, nearly 90 protesters were arrested after peacefully gathering at
his home. Cameron declined to comment for this story, citing the ongoing investigation.
MAN: Why have laws not been enforced?
JOHN YANG: Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, a Democrat, faces calls for a city council
investigation into his handling of Taylor's death, and the ensuing protests, when a popular
restaurant owner was shot and killed by authorities.
On MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell reports last week, he deflected questions about the criminal
probe.
GREG FISCHER, Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky: This is in Daniel Cameron's hands. We have
communicated to him, please move this forward quickly as you possibly can. Our city is suffering.
The country is suffering. Certainly, Breonna's family is suffering as well.
And so I pray that we will have a quick resolution to this. We have done everything that we can
here.
JOHN YANG: The FBI is conducting a separate investigation.
PROTESTER: It is time for Daniel Cameron to get information.
JOHN YANG: And as weeks have turned into months since Breonna Taylor's killing, demonstrators
in Louisville and elsewhere have made sure she is not forgotten.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm John Yang.