Thursday, October 08, 2020

SWAT team told investigators raid on Breonna Taylor's home was 'just an egregious act'

Members of the Louisville Metro Police SWAT unit condemned the planning and execution of the March raid on Breonna Taylor’s home, with one saying it was an “egregious act.”

Lt. Dale Massey and other members of LMPD's SWAT team told the Profession Integrity Unit in interviews after Taylor’s death the three officers involved violated a basic rule of policing — identifying your target and what's in the background before you shoot.

Sgt. Brandon Hogan called that "basic academy stuff," according to interviews obtained by The Courier Journal as part of LMPD's investigative file.

Massey also told investigators serving multiple warrants at once is inherently dangerous, calling them "bad business," and the search of Taylor’s residence was never mentioned in a briefing a month earlier on a larger narcotics operation centered on Elliott Avenue.

Sgt. Jason Vance with the Public Integrity Unit asked Massey if he would have recommended officers not serve the warrant in the early morning hours of March 13.

"I would've advised them 100% not to do it until we were done doin' what we had to do," Massey said. “I most definitely would have told them, ‘Hey, wait until we’re done and can move some armor to you.'"

Read more:SWAT team told investigators raid on Breonna Taylor's home was 'just an egregious act'

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