The Full Report On Breonna Taylor's Tragic Death Changes Everything We Were Told

The report, obtained by the Louisville Courier Journal, contains phone conversations between several individuals and drug traffickers connected to Taylor and/or her former boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover.  

Americans have heard a very disturbing narrative about the tragic death of Breonna Taylor: A black EMT was sleeping in her apartment, when cops broke into her place (thinking it was a different apartment), and shot her in her sleep. Activists took to the streets and social media to demand justice for the wrongful killing of yet another black American by racist cops and to demand the police be defunded. However, as you read further, the real story seems to contradict the one that has flooded social media over the last several months.

Contrary to initial reports and beliefs, the conversations show that police had good reason to enter Taylor’s apartment on March 13, knocked loudly before entering the apartment, and only began firing after Taylor’s most recent boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired the first shot. Officers’ stray bullets hit Taylor in the hallway, leading to her death.

Disclaimer: This article is simply a summary of the information that appears in the report. 

The Drug Dealer Police Sought Was Breonna Taylor’s Former Boyfriend

Taylor’s association with Glover was initially “disputed,” according to the Louisville Courier Journal.

But according to the report, their association dates back to at least 2016, when cops asked Taylor about a dead body found in her rental car. She said she didn’t know about the body, but that Glover often drove her car. The dead man was the brother of an individual with whom Glover had been arrested numerous times. 

At the time the body was found in her car, Taylor told the officers she had been dating Glover for three or four months. The report also notes that in 2017, Taylor posted bond for Glover on two pending cases. 

Jamarcus Glover called Breonna Taylor 26 times from jail between January 2016 and January 2020. 

The record also shows Glover called Taylor 26 times from jail between January 2016 and January 2020. 

On January 3, 2020, Glover told Taylor he planned to come over for the night. She replied, “When you’re around, I stress more… because I just always be worried about you… not like with you and b****** but just period with the police, like all kind of s***.” They both end the call saying, “I love you.”

The Police Warrant Had the Correct Address

Media reports initially questioned whether police had good reason to enter Taylor’s apartment. No illicit cash and no drugs were found at Taylor’s house during the police incident.

The new report shows that officers suspected Glover may have used Taylor’s address, where he also resided, to mail narcotics. On one occasion, detectives snapped pictures of Glover taking a “suspected USPS package” from Taylor’s house to another location where detectives suspected the traffickers were keeping narcotics. 

Officers suspected Glover may have used Taylor’s address, where he also resided, to mail narcotics.

Using a pole camera, detectives also observed Taylor’s car parked numerous times outside a “trap house,” where Glover was discovered to be one of the narcotics suppliers. In one instance, while parked at the “trap house,” detectives observed Taylor herself step out of the passenger side of the vehicle, look around, and sit back down inside the vehicle.

After Taylor’s death, Glover made a phone call from jail asking where his money was located. “Bre been handling my money,” he said, noting she had “like $8 grand.”

The Cops Knocked Loudly

Police obtained no-knock search warrants for all five houses involved in the March 13 drug bust, since this particular drug trafficking group had a history of destroying evidence, using cameras to compromise detectives, and running away. But Taylor’s house was considered a “soft target,” since they knew Glover wasn’t there, so officers decided beforehand that they would knock. 

According to Cornell Law, "no-knock warrants" are search warrants "authorizing police officers to enter certain premises without first knocking and announcing their presence... Such warrants are issued where an entry pursuant to the knock-and-announce rule (ie. an announcement prior to entry) would lead to the destruction of the objects for which the police are searching or would compromise the safety of the police or another individual."

The phone conversation records in the new report repeatedly indicate that police knocked loudly before coming in the door. A police briefing regarding the incident claimed that officers also identified themselves as police before entering the apartment.

“They was beating on the door,” Walker said during one of the recorded calls.

Taylor’s house was considered a “soft target,” since Glover wasn’t there, so the officers decided to knock. 

It’s important to note that the officers wore plainclothes, according to the Courier Journal, although CNN reported they were wearing “tactical vests.” At the beginning of the call, Walker indicates he thought it might have been a home invasion.

Unknown Male: “So y’all figured someone was trying to home invade you all?”

Walker: “That’s what I thought you feel me.”

Walker also indicated that officers didn’t identify themselves before busting through the door. 

“[S]he (Breonna Taylor) was like who is it and they ain’t saying nothin,” Walker said.

Walker Fired the First Shot, and the Cops Fired Back

The police then used a battering ram to enter Taylor’s house. Glover summarized the chain of events in one of his phone calls from jail: “He shoots at the police, they shoot back, Bre in the hallway, and she gets killed.” 

Walker’s earlier account confirmed Glover’s statement: “The door like comes like off the hinges,” Walker told CBS News. “So I just let off one shot like I still can’t see who it is, or anything.”

“He shoots at the police, they shoot back, Bre in the hallway, and she gets killed.” 

Walker’s bullet hit Louisville Metro Police Department Sgt. Jon Mattingly in the leg.

“And so I just returned fire,” Mattingly said, according to CNN. “I got four rounds off and it was like simultaneous. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.”

Taylor Was Killed in the Crossfire

Taylor was shot five times according to her death certificate, leading to the termination of Police Detective Brett Hankison, who fired a total of 10 shots, a few of which hit the wall adjoining the next-door apartment.

Keira Bradley, identified as the “child’s mother” in the report, cast the blame for Taylor’s death not on the officers, but on Glover.

“[T]hat girl got killed over you,” Bradley told him over a phone call the day of Taylor’s death.

“That girl got killed over you."

Glover later shifted the blame to Walker, noting that “he fired shots at the police.”

Walker Lied about What Happened

When Walker was arrested the night of the incident, the police asked him who had fired the gun, and Walker told them it was Taylor.

"I had no reason to say it, like I say, my gun is legal and everything," Walker said. "Clearly, I was scared. I don't know."

Walker's false testimony led to Taylor being incorrectly considered a suspect at first.

Closing Thoughts

It’s hard not to wonder if the trajectory of Breonna Taylor’s life would have been different if she had never gotten involved with a criminal boyfriend to begin with.

Breonna Taylor’s death is a tragedy that indeed should be mourned. But the tragedy was only exacerbated by the widespread political narrative claiming that racist white cops invaded a random black woman’s home to murder her while she was sleeping. As always, it’s better to wait for the facts to come out before jumping to conclusions.