Beyonce Demands Justice For Breonna Taylor In A Letter To The Kentucky Attorney General

Beyonce wrote an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking that justice be served in the death of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year old black woman who was reportedly shot by police while she was asleep in her home. Beyonce posted a copy of the letter to her website on Sunday.

In the letter, Beyonce called out Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s attorney general, for not actively pursuing justice on behalf of Taylor and her family.

“Three months have passed — and zero arrests have been made, and no officers have been fired,” Beyonce wrote. “The LMPD’s investigation was turned over to your office, and yet all of the officers involved in the shooting remain employed by the LMPD.”

She also pointed out that the investigation into Taylor’s death had raised more questions than it had answered. Beyonce referenced the police department’s incident report, which was released last week. The report listed Taylor’s injuries as none and indicated that the officers had announced themselves before entering Taylor’s home. These claims directly contradict many of the purported facts in the case, which Beyonce pointed out in her letter.

Beyonce demanded that Cameron take decisive action in the case. She wrote that he should use his power as the state’s attorney general to ensure justice was served for Taylor and her family. Beyonce asked him to bring charges against Jonathan Mattingly, Myles Cosgrove, and Brett Hankison — the officers involved in the shooting — “commit to transparency in the investigation and prosecution,” and launch an investigation into the LMPD’s follow up to the incident.

She ended the letter with a powerful plea for Taylor’s case not to end up like so many cases before.

“Don’t let this case fall into the pattern of no action after a terrible tragedy. With every death of a Black person at the hands of the police, there are two real tragedies: the death itself, and the inaction and delays that follow it. This is your chance to end that pattern.”

Under the picture of the letter posted on her site, Beyonce included a request for fans to sign petitions that demanded justice for Taylor. She included links to a Color of Change petition that demanded the officers involved in Taylor’s death be fired and a site called Stand With Bre, which outlines ways that people can take action to demand justice.

Taylor died during the execution of a “no-knock” warrant at her residence. Louisville police officers broke down her door, and when her boyfriend allegedly starting shooting at the officers — who he reportedly thought were intruders — the officers returned fire. Taylor was shot at least eight times while asleep in her own bed.