Five Years After Breonna Taylor’s Death, Calls For Justice And Reform Persist

Five years ago, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was shot eight times. Her passing set forth national calls for police reform and demonstrations. While certain reforms have been implemented—such as the barring of no-knock warrants and federal charges against four officers—activists contend that true accountability and structural reform remain elusive.

Louisville government officials, police and supporters attended an event on Tuesday commemorating her death after five years from when she was killed.

The Fight for Accountability Continues

Since Taylor’s death, activists with the BreeWay movement, like Dynasty Davidson, have remained vociferous in their demands for police reform. “Breonna woke the world up in 2020, and now I’m in the thick of it,” Davidson added in a quote to WLKY.

While LMPD leadership, including Chief Paul Humphrey, has expressed remorse for Taylor’s death, her supporters say that words are not enough.

Louisvillians all over the city are fighting for stronger monitoring of LMPD, particularly through the pending People’s Consent Decree—a resolution that legally acknowledges the department’s past injustices and suggests rebuilding community confidence. Metro Council Republicans recently challenged the federal consent decree aimed at executing reforms, making local efforts like the People’s Consent Decree even more vital.

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A Mixed Record on Reform

Taylor’s killing sparked a wide net of policy changes, including Breonna’s Law, which outlawed no-knock warrants in Louisville and enforced the use of body cameras during search warrants. However, bigger reform efforts have experienced challenges.

At the state level, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a weaker version of Breonna’s Law in 2021, limiting but not eliminating no-knock warrants. Former State Representative Attica Scott, who had fought for a comprehensive prohibition, termed it an insufficient step toward justice.

On the federal level, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) produced a damning report in 2023, exposing LMPD’s excessive use of force and civil rights crimes. This led to the development of a consent decree between Louisville Metro and the DOJ, aiming to bring federal monitoring to LMPD changes. However, that accord remains in limbo, with Republican opposition in Metro Council and doubt over whether it would be executed under a prospective new presidential administration.

Despite this uncertainty, Mayor Craig Greenberg and Chief Humphrey have committed to continuing reform efforts. “Working together with our community, we will continue to move forward in a new direction—committed to public safety, transparency, and accountability,” Greenberg said in a statement on the anniversary of Taylor’s death.

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This article appears in Mar 14-27, 2025.