After continuous demands for justice in the name of her daughter were denied, Breonna Taylor‘s mother, Tamika Palmer, is using her platform to hold President-elect Joe Biden accountable.
Palmer ran a full-page ad in Tuesday’s Washington Post, displaying a letter directed to the new administration. The letter was in conjunction with the Grassroots Law Project, which launched a website, bidenjusticedemands.com.
“Your campaign’s stated commitment to prioritize police accountability prompted so many of us to vote this year,” Palmer states.
“Now, we need you to fight for Breonna and for the other families that have joined the sad sisterhood and brotherhood of people who have lost loved ones to police violence. Actions speak louder than words. We need your actions to show that you are different than those who pay lip service to our losses while doing nothing to show that our loved ones’ lives mattered,” she continued.
Palmer also referred to a private conversation that she had with Biden prior to the election regarding Breonna’s case. While she realizes that nothing will bring back her daughter, Palmer hopes the Biden administration will make good on its promise to review and reform law enforcement policies as well as accountability practices.
Taylor, 26, was killed on March 13 during a botched raid where members of the Louisville Metro Police Department stormed her apartment in relation to an investigation linked to Taylor’s ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover. Police found no drugs or evidence at her home, but her life was taken as the result of gunshots, after her boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired a shot in self-defense.
The ad suggests a four-prong approach for reform, one that will ensure families who survive these terrible circumstances, that they have an ear in government, as well as prevention so that no one has to endure this level of heartbreak.
Palmer calls on Biden’s administration to appoint reputable people to the Department of Justice who are committed to police accountability, reopen incomplete investigations shuttered after Barack Obama’s departure, open a large scale federal investigation into Taylor’s case and other similar cases, and launch probes into police departments with a history of harm.
In early December Palmer was denied the appointment of a special prosecutor to review Taylor’s case. The request was made in October, nearly a month after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron failed to bring forth charges in her murder with a grand jury indictment. However, in the midst of one setback, Palmer is steadfast and will continue to carry on for her daughter’s legacy.
SEE ALSO:
Louisville Mourns Kris Smith, 2nd Breonna Taylor Activist Killed In Fatal Shooting
Council Unanimously Denies Breonna Taylor’s Mom A Second Chance For Justice
