Growing Threats and Harms From the Rightwing Judiciary

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. McGARVEY. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago this Monday, in the middle of the night, without warning, four Louisville Metro Police Department officers bashed in the door of a 26-year-old woman's home.

Startled and terrified, as any of us would be, she and her boyfriend leapt from bed. Her boyfriend grabbed his gun and fired a single shot in the direction of the intruders.

In the barrage of return fire, she was killed in her home, cowering by her bed from intruders she never knew were police.

Then silence.

It took 2 months before we learned that that woman was Breonna Taylor.

Laurie Anderson said:

You die three times. First, when your heart stops. Second, when you are cremated or buried. And third is the last time someone says your name.

Say her name. Breonna Taylor.

Breonna Taylor was a caregiver from a young age, an EMT who saved lives; a young woman looking for her American Dream, not just a nameless victim.

Breonna Taylor was loved and had so much to give. Breonna Taylor's math teacher called her brilliant, saying, ``she had a beautiful mind and she was very helpful to others.

Breonna Taylor was someone's sister.

Breonna Taylor was someone's girlfriend.

Breonna Taylor was someone's daughter.

Breonna Taylor was someone.

Breonna Taylor was 26 years old, with dreams, plans, and her whole life in front of her.

We will never forget how Breonna Taylor died.

We also have to remember how she lived; that is the life that was taken that night: 26 years old, convicted of no crime, charged with no crime. Didn't even know it was the police who had broken into her home.

It took 2 months before we even knew to say Breonna Taylor's name.

It was 2 months of the LMPD hoping Breonna Taylor's death would be swept under the rug.

We know that LMPD was there without probable cause on a deliberately falsified warrant.

We know that this extreme tragic, horrific killing was not an isolated incident.

We know this because yesterday, 5 days before the third anniversary of Breonna Taylor's death, the United States Department of Justice released a report that unequivocally found disturbing patterns of systemic racism within the LMPD.

This report is based on an exhaustive, nearly 2-year-long investigation into the LMPD. But there is nothing in these pages we didn't already know.

Still, the report is damning. It is heartbreaking to read.

However, this report is a beginning, and not an end. We should seize this moment to right past wrongs and protect everyone in our community.

But let's not forget, Breonna Taylor should be alive today. Her mom would rather have Breonna alive than a report.

Breonna Taylor's death should not have been the catalyst for change and accountability. We should have addressed this a long time ago.

Breonna Taylor deserves justice and, while we can't bring her back for her family and friends, we can help keep Breonna's spirit alive.

We should remember Breonna Taylor as the funny, bright, caring, and loving young woman she was, and carry her memory with us as we take action to demand real, lasting change.

Let's say her name. Breonna Taylor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source