An Expensive Study in Municipal Liability
Does a botched police raid make a home invasion NOT a home invasion?
Breonna Taylor Lawsuit Settled
On Sept. 16, 2020, Louisville city officials unveiled a record-breaking $12 million settlement for Taylor's family, including a series of police reforms.
"The payout — announced six months after Taylor, 26, was fatally shot in her apartment March 13 — is the largest ever on behalf of Louisville police, dwarfing a previous $8.5 million settlement from 2012 when Edward Chandler was falsely sent to prison for nine years.
It is also among the largest payouts in the U.S. for the shooting of a Black American by police.
The settlement also makes a series of changes to Louisville Metro Police policy and practices designed to strengthen officers' connections to the community, reform the search warrant process and make officers more accountable and their actions more transparent."
Poor training and oversight has consequences for all concerned. In this case, many of the officers involved had been part of a similarly erroneous raid the year before. That likely made municipal liability all the greater, leading to the settlement.