Louisville agrees to big payout to a family held at gunpoint by police on a bad warrant
The Louisville Metro Government has agreed to pay $460,000 to a West End family who sued after police smashed in their front door and held the adults and three children at gunpoint, using a search warrant containing false statements.
On Oct. 21, 2018, 14 Louisville Metro Police SWAT officers broke into the West Chestnut Street home using exploding materials and drew their weapons on Ashlea Burr, Mario Daugherty, their 14-year-old twin daughters and 13-year-old son.
At least four of the officers who participated in the raid that day were also involved in the planning or execution of the search warrant at Breonna Taylor's home on March 13, 2020, including Brett Hankison, Mike Campbell, Myles Cosgrove and Joshya Jaynes. Taylor, 26, was killed by police after being hit six times by gunfire.
Hankison is currently on trial in Jefferson County for three counts of wanton endangerment for shots that penetrated a neighbor's apartment during the raid on Taylor's home.
Burr and Daugherty filed a civil lawsuit in October 2019 in state court, seeking damages for an illegal search and emotional injuries. It was transferred to federal court in November 2019.
More: Louisville police's 'no-knock' warrants most often targeted Black residents in the West End
Last month each of the three children was awarded $133,333, which if approved by a family court judge, will be put into restricted accounts for their education and support, said Josh Rose, the family's attorney.
Each parent received $30,000.
“The family is relieved the city has resolved this matter, recognized its importance and helped provide closure to the traumatic event," Rose said.
A spokeswoman for the city said all parties agreed it was in their best interest to settle the case.
The lawsuit says the children have been in counseling, are afraid of police and loud noises, have difficulty sleeping and fear being shot.
During the raid, police forced Daugherty on the ground at gunpoint and drew their rifles on one of the children when she ran out the back door to go to her grandmother's house next door, according to the lawsuit.
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Police kept her on the ground in the cold rain while she wasn't wearing socks, shoes or a jacket and later alleged she "may have weapons In her hair."
The case started with a search affidavit from LMPD Detective Joseph Tapp that said a Black man named Anthony McClain "is growing marijuana and has multiple bags of marijuana packaged for sale in the front bedroom" and that “a white female named Holly was his girlfriend and owned the house," according to the lawsuit, which asserts all those claims were false.
Burr and Daughtery rent the house and nobody named Anthony McClain or Holly lived in the home. Burr "is not white," the suit says.
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The lawsuit says the city initially tried to conceal evidence by saying that no body-worn camera footage of the raid existed. The footage later obtained was "almost completely" redacted.
A claims adjuster for the city indicated the plaintiffs were "drug dealers" and deserved the treatment they got.
The search from the raid yielded no evidence of marijuana in the home, and no one in the home was charged with a crime.
Kala Kachmar is an investigative reporter. Reach her at 502-582-4469; kkachmar@courierjournal.com or @NewsQuip on Twitter. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville settles lawsuit with family over police drug raid
