Friday would've been Breonna Taylor's 27th birthday.
Instead, the EMT was shot and killed by Louisville police in March as they executed a no-knock warrant on the wrong home late at night — police had arrested the person they were looking earlier that day. So to "demand justice" for Taylor, activists took out a full-page ad in the Louisville Courier Journal with five demands for the city and its police department.
National nonprofits Color of Change and UltraViolet partnered with Louisville activists to, first and foremost, demand Louisville's mayor and city council "address the use of force" by the Louisville Metro Police Department. Next, they're demanding that the city "arrest, charge, and convict" the police officers responsible for Taylor's death. The activists also want to see the creation of a "local, independent civilian community police accountability council" — something in the works in Chicago — and a "policy for transparent investigation" into police misconduct. And finally, they're calling for the end of no-knock warrants.
Police used a battering ram to force their way into Taylor's home, but didn't announce themselves, and so Taylor's boyfriend shot at them. Police fired back, hitting Taylor at least eight times and killing her.