Beyoncé Shares Open Letter Demanding Justice for Breonna Taylor
Beyoncé is the latest celebrity to call for action over the death of Breonna Taylor.
On Sunday (June 14), the singer posted a powerful open letter, on her website, addressed to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron demanding justice for the 26-year-old, who was killed in March after police came into her home unannounced and shot her eight times while she was asleep.
"It has now been over three months since members of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) killed Breonna Taylor," Beyoncé's letter began.
In the months since her death, millions of people have signed a petition asking for Taylor's killers to be arrested, but they are still free. In June, "Breonna's Law" was passed to ban no-knock warrants, however, Beyoncé says it is not enough.
She continued, "While 'Breonna's Law' passed in Louisville and federal legislation has been introduced that [it] will also ban no-knock warrants, these small steps in the right direction are painful reminders that there has still been no justice for Breonna Taylor or her family."
"Three months have passed and the LMPD's investigations have created more questions than answers...," the Lion King star wrote. "Three months have passed and zero arrests have been made, and no officers have been fired."
"Three months have passed and Breonna Taylor's family still waits for justice. Mrs. Taylor's family has not been able to take time to process and grieve," Beyoncé noted.
She then urged the department to take "swift and decisive" action against Louisville Metro Police Department’s Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and officers Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison.
"Don't let this case fall into the pattern of no action after a terrible tragedy," Beyoncé demanded. "With every death of a Black person at the hands of the police, there are two real tragedies: the death itself, and the inaction and delays that follow it. This is your chance to end that pattern. Take swift and decisive action in charging the officers. The next month can't look like the last three."
Last week, several other celebrities including Cardi B, Alicia Keys and Sia, released a PSA asking "Do you know what happened to Breonna Taylor?" In the video, Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, also explains what happened to her daughter on March 13.
"They fired 22 times, eight of those bullets landed in the body of the most essential worker I will ever know," she said. "Now the whole city is mad, now the whole world is mad. Breonna should not be dead. Some days, I feel like I can't breathe without her. This should never happen to another family. I am Breonna Taylor's mother, say her name.”