FBI says Breonna Taylor case is ‘top priority’ for Louisville agents

FBI investigators say Breonna Taylor’s months-old case is a “top priority” for them.

“We have our best agents working on this,” Robert Brown, the special agent in charge of Louisville’s FBI field office, told activists in a conference call, according to ABC News. “This is definitely our top priority.”

Taylor, a 26-year-old Black EMT, died in March after she was fatally shot by plainclothes police who arrived at her home in Louisville late at night to execute a no-knock warrant as part of a drug case. No drugs were found during the search. 

One of the officers involved in the shooting was fired, but protesters are calling for the officers to be criminally charged and have accused law enforcement of dragging their feet in the case. Brown told activists that “in my experience it’s better to be meticulous and do it right, than to rush.”

“These are very complex investigations,” Brown said.

A renewed push for the officers’ arrests has come after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25, sparking massive protests across the country. Four police officers are charged in Floyd’s death, with one facing second-degree murder charges.

Demands from activists have also led Congress to act. 

Republican and Democrats have both introduced federal police reform legislation. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced legislation last month to end no-knock warrants in light of Taylor’s death.