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Oct. 14, 2020 - Dennis Prager Show
08:00
What America Learned—and Didn't Learn—From the Breonna Taylor Case
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This happened in Louisville, Kentucky with Breonna Taylor.
Remember the cops were shot at by her boyfriend.
The boyfriend was Kenneth Walker.
So I decided to listen to Walker's grand jury testimony to find out.
And it was a hell of a story he told.
A complicated story.
And we know how much people, especially the media, like complicated stories.
That was what we call a subtle dig.
It was late at night on March 13th, and Walker and Taylor were sleeping.
She'd worked hard that day at the local hospital.
Instead of a late date, the couple stayed at home and did what couples across America often do, streamed a movie in bed.
The last words Walker remembered hearing Taylor say were turn off the TV. Then came the late night banging on the door, loud ominous banging that scared them both.
Walker, who'd known Taylor for over seven years and had been dating her since 2016, testified that he thought it was an intruder at the door, but not any intruder.
He thought it was Jamarcus Glover, Taylor's ex-boyfriend, whom she had begun dating not long after she began dating Walker.
Glover had a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2008 in his home state of Mississippi, where he served six years of a 17-year sentence for a drug felony.
After his release, he moved to Kentucky, where he was convicted of another drug offense in 2014. More brushes with the law followed.
Taylor made the biggest mistake of her life when she began dating Glover back in 2016. Soon she was pulled into his life of crime.
In December 2016, Glover rented a car for Glover.
Taylor rented a car for Glover and lent it to him.
Not long after, a man was found dead in that car.
He was executed gang style.
Inside the car were three baggies of drugs and Ms. Taylor's rental contract, a New York Times story reported.
The victim was the brother of an associate of Mr. Glover, who had been arrested alongside the drug dealer numerous times.
Investigators didn't believe Breonna Taylor had knowledge of that crime.
But they wondered whether she was involved in Mr. Glover's drug operation, the Times story said.
In the years to come, Taylor would come up with bail money, at least $7,500 for Glover and a friend on two occasions.
In early 2020, Glover landed in jail and he called Taylor.
His tone on the January 3rd call was demanding.
The Times story noted, he told her whom to contact to arrange his bail and added that after he was released, he would come get me some rest in your bed.
The story continued.
Taylor was not happy with the relationship with Glover, telling him that, quote, when you were around, I stress more because I just always be worried about you with the police, unquote.
That's why the cops were at Taylor's home that night.
Not because they thought she was a dealer or a bad girl.
She was neither.
But because she'd been dating a bad guy.
And that bad guy spent time with her and listed her apartment as his home address with Chase Bank, where he had an account.
Five no-knock warrants were signed by a judge that afternoon.
Seeking evidence of drug trafficking by Glover and people affiliated and associated with him.
Though the media mostly overlooked Taylor's complicated and unfortunate relationship with Glover and the larger context of those late-night raids, her new boyfriend didn't.
He testified that he too thought it was the drug-dealing ex-boyfriend at the door.
We've been on and off together, whatever, for like seven years, Walker told the grand jury about his relationship with Taylor.
That's Breonna Taylor.
So there was a guy that she was messing with or whatever throughout that time, you know.
And he popped up over there once before while I was there like a couple months ago, Walker explained.
So that's what I thought was going on.
The night of the shooting, Walker testified, he and Taylor screamed as loud as they could, more than once, who is it?
The pounding got harder, and soon there was an extremely loud sound and the door was off the hinges.
The would-be intruders were about to enter the home.
Walker admitted he fired the first shot.
So boom, one shot, he testified.
Then all of a sudden, There's a whole lot of shots.
I just hear her screaming.
That's why Walker wasn't charged.
Because he was a good guy and a licensed owner of a 9mm Glock.
And he thought the person trying to break into his girlfriend's apartment was a bad guy with a bad history.
A bad guy his girlfriend was trying her best to leave.
That's why Walker fired the first shot to defend himself and his girl.
And that's why he was cleared of the attempted murder charge.
Because under Kentucky's Stand Your Ground statute, citizens have the right to use deadly force against an intruder.
I didn't mean to kill anybody, he testified.
And Walker wasn't lying.
He also told investigators that if he'd known it was the police at the door, he would never fire that shot.
And that he and Taylor had no reason to fear the cops.
That's why Walker wasn't charged.
Because in America, people shouldn't get charged for crimes they don't commit.
The testimonies of Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Miles Cosgrove of the Louisville Metro Police Department were equally compelling.
The two officers said they knocked at the door repeatedly and identified themselves.
Mattingly testified that as soon as he pushed in the door and cleared the threshold, he saw silhouettes of a male and female figure near the end of the hallway.
The man holding what seemed to be a gun in his hand, his arm stretched out in a firing position.
Then came the first shot, which was fired by Taylor's boyfriend.
As soon as the shot hit, I could feel the heat in my leg, Mattingly testified, and so I just returned fire.
He recalled firing at least four rounds constantly.
Cosgrove, who was behind him, also returned fire.
And that's why the two Louisville cops who sent Taylor were cleared.
Because like Walker...
They, too, thought they were shooting at a bad guy.
A bad guy who shot them first.
And under Kentucky law, there's a statute protecting cops who use deadly force in self-defense.
I will finish the story with regard to Breonna Taylor's death.
And we will be back in a moment.
You are listening to The Dennis Prager Show.
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