Louisville city council declares ‘no confidence’ in mayor over handling of Breonna Taylor case

The Louisville Metro Council on Thursday passed a resolution declaring ‘no confidence’ in the mayor over his handling of the Breonna Taylor case and its aftermath.

But members of the city council who supported the measure with a 22-4 vote stopped short of asking Mayor Greg Fischer to resign.

Instead, the resolution offered the mayor a list of more than a dozen reforms intended to regain the city’s trust.

An earlier version of the resolution demanded that Fischer step down, but it had been amended prior to Thursday’s vote.

‘The Council believes that Mayor Greg Fischer failed to hold leadership of the Louisville Metro Police Department (“LMPD”) properly accountable,’ the approved resolution stated.

Among the list of 14 recommendations proposed by the council were calls to ensure that ‘complete investigative findings’ into the killings of Taylor and David McAtee and subsequent civil unrest are shared publicly, and provide a ‘public accounting’ of all internal police investigations and ensure they are completed quickly, reported the Louisville Courier-Journal. 

Other proposed reforms include a complete review of the police department by year’s end; ensuring that ‘the demographic makeup of LMPD represents the diversity of Louisville Metro,’ and promoting home ownership without displacement in impoverished areas.  

Following the council vote, Fischer, a Democrat, released a video acknowledging the mistakes he’s made.

‘With the benefit of hindsight, I see that given the choice of two difficult paths, I’ve sometimes taken the wrong one,’ he said. ‘I sometimes failed to recognize quickly enough where changes needed to be made… I apologize for all of this.’

Fischer noted that several of the reforms that were proposed by the council are already underway, including changes to police policies and procedures. 

But he conceded that additional changes are needed, including more affordable housing and closing racial gaps in wealth, education and opportunity. The mayor closed his remarks on a hopeful note, calling on the council and the city to work together to take Louisville ‘from tragedy to transformation.’

The Metro Council passed the ‘no confidence’ resolution just two days after Louisville agreed to pay a record-breaking $12million to Breonna Taylor’s family.

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was killed on March 13 when Louisville police forced their way into her apartment shortly after midnight using a so-called ‘no-knock’ arrest warrant that did not require them to announce themselves.

Louisville police obtained the warrant from a judge as part of an investigation into a drug ring at another house elsewhere in the city. They told the judge that they believed that one of the men suspected of selling drugs had used Taylor’s apartment to receive packages.

Taylor had previously dated the suspected drug seller but had severed ties with him, according to her family.

Her killing sparked weeks of protests, policy changes and a call for the three Louisville Metro Police Department officers who shot Taylor to be criminally charged.

One of the officers, Brett Hankison, was fired for ‘blindly’ firing 10 shots into Taylor’s apartment from outside. The other two, John Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, remain on the force on administrative assignment.

‘I’m deeply, deeply sorry for Breonna’s death,’ Mayor Fischer said on Tuesday. ‘My administration is not waiting to move ahead with needed reforms to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.’ 

At a press conference announcing the settlement, Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer pushed for charges against the officers involved in the shooting.

‘As significant as today is, it is only the beginning,’ Palmer said. ‘We must not lose focus on what the real job is, and with that being said, it’s time to move forward with the criminal charges, because she deserves that and much more.’ 

McAtee, 53, was killed on May 31 while he was cooking at his popular barbecue restaurant miles away from protests over police brutality that were taking place in downtown Louisville.

Louisville Metro Police and National Guard soldiers were in the area responding to a report of a crowd gathering when the shooting occurred. Officials stated that McAtee fired first and was shot in the chest by a National Guard member who was returning fire.