Louisville SWAT team had concerns about Breonna Taylor raid: report
SWAT reportedly arrived to a 'chaotic scene' at Taylor's, where officers were freely walking around the premises.
The shooting death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor remains under intense scrutiny, even after a grand jury decided last week not to indict the three officers involved in her death.
A new report from Vice claims that as early as two months after the March 13 shooting, officers within the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department had questions and concerns about how the deadly raid was executed.
VICE News has obtained audio interviews with detectives from the department’s SWAT team conducted by the department’s Public Integrity Unit that have never been made public. However, according to the report, they were part of the investigative file that was compiled by the LMPD and provided to the office of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
“We just got the feeling that night that, you know, um, something really bad happened,” Lieutenant Dale Massey told investigators on May 19.
Massey describes arriving at Taylor’s apartment after the shooting to a “chaotic scene,” where officers were freely walking around the incident’s site.
Read More: AG Daniel Cameron to release transcripts, recordings in Breonna Taylor case
“While we’re on scene, we learned that Cosgrove’s involved in it. Like, I had no idea he was part of it,” Massey said referring to Detective Myles Cosgrove, whose bullet allegedly was the fatal shot that killed the young EMT.
Later, Massey added, “I do remember saying, ‘Hey, separate him. He’s involved.’ He was way too up in the mix.”
The VICE article describes the raid as “poor planning and execution” which “suggested the officers were placing a higher priority on seizing whatever drugs or money they hoped to find over the lives of those involved — both the officers and whoever was on the other side of the door.”
Read More: Officer charged in Breonna Taylor case pleads not guilty
While VICE had the audio of Massey’s interview, they were not able to reach the veteran officer for comment.
Late Monday, Cameron decided to release the transcripts of what he presented to the grand jury related to the case. The decision came hours after an anonymous juror filed a motion for the release of the transcripts and permission to speak to the public to “set the record straight.”
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