Breonna Taylor’s family marks 4 years since her death
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Doves flew over Grand Rapids Wednesday night with a message of peace and unity honoring the life of Breonna Taylor, whose death in a botched Louisville, Kentucky police raid in 2020 helped spark a national movement.
“Today is a day of love, peace and to overall just unveil what we desire in our community and of course to represent Breonna and her beautiful spirit,” said Breonna’s sister, Dee Dee Taylor.
Family, friends, community members and Grand Rapids police officers gathered Wednesday night on Breonna Taylor Way, which was named after the Grand Rapids native, to release doves. They hoped it would uplift and honor her memory.
“The doves symbolize peace, unity, respect, love and overall, just the convening of everybody coming together in unity. … We are actually going to release the doves and they’re going to do an infinity sign inside of the sky which also represents eternal life,” Dee Dee Taylor, said.
Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old emergency room technician and first responder. On March 13, 2020, she was sleeping in her apartment unarmed when Louisville, Kentucky police conducted a no-knock search warrant and shot her several times.
None of the six officers involved have been charged in her death, although four were charged with federal civil rights violations, including lying to get a search warrant for the apartment.
Breonna Taylor’s family, including her mother, grandmother, and sister say they will keep fighting for justice.
“Absolutely it’s very important that we keep her name alive, that we continue to fight for justice because the person who did this to her, the law enforcement officer who did this to her, he’s actually celebrating with new employment,” Dee Dee Taylor said. “So, we have to keep her name alive, we have to keep demanding justice, but in a respectful way of course.”
The legacy Breonna Taylor left behind is evident in her family, the city of Grand Rapids, and across America. No-knock search warrants have been banned in four states and other police departments have started re-examining their no-knock search warrant policies.
“It’s not safe for the individual who is the target of the warrant and certainly not for other individuals like Breonna who just happened to be a bystander in the residence. So, a change in policy is something that we have evolved as a profession and we need to keep evolving,” said Grand Rapids Police Department Chief Eric Winstrom at the event.
Ribbon-cutting held for ‘Breonna Taylor Way’
Winstrom wrote an opinion piece about no-knock warrants published Wednesday by the Detroit Free Press.
“As the chief of police in Grand Rapids, I’m pleased to say, absent circumstances where immediate entry is required to protect human life, GRPD no longer conducts what are commonly referred to as no-knock search warrants. And we are proud to be a leader on this issue,” he wrote.
While he believes search warrants are valuable and necessary, Winstrom said immediate entry no-knock warrants do more harm than good and called for their elimination except in extreme circumstances.
“While it’s not possible to say how many injuries or lawsuits we avoided because of GRPD’s practices, I am confident that our practice is safer and more humane for everyone involved. The policing profession should take a good look at how no-knock warrants — how all policing practices and procedures — impact our communities, and how we can change to evolve and improve,” he wrote.
Breonna’s family won’t stop uplifting her name and celebrating her contribution to society.
“Remember her legacy. Remember her love. Remember her peace, especially inside of Black and Brown communities where we are the majority stigmatized, we’re victims most times, and this is just an overall way for us to find peace and understanding through situations we don’t understand,” Dee Dee Taylor said.
The Taylor family thanks the community and GRPD for their support in their cause and Breonna Taylor’s legacy. They say they will keep fighting for justice for Breonna and celebrating her life and impact every year.
“We welcome the community, and we hope that you guys join us again next year. We’ll be here,” said Dee Dee Taylor.
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