‘AN EGREGIOUS ACT’

Louisville SWAT Team Had Serious Concerns About Breonna Taylor Raid: Report

“We’re not going to rush in to get dope,” Lt. Dale Massey told investigators. “Human life is more important than any amount of dope.”

A Louisville SWAT commander told investigators he had serious concerns about the raid that killed Breonna Taylor two months after her death, according to a report obtained by VICE. Per a recorded interview with Dale Massey, a department SWAT head who was called to Taylor’s apartment just after she was shot, the raid ordered by now-former Detective Brett Hankison violated several protocols, and the SWAT team was never briefed. The raid occurred while other locations were being searched at the same time, which Massey told investigators is ill-advised and “bad business.” His account of the night includes him mistakenly thinking the shots through the apartment’s glass doors were from someone inside–which Hankison corrected, admitting it was his doing minutes later. Several other details in Massey’s account of the raid violate official police department policy and reflect an over-involvement by Hankison and Detective Myles Cosgrove, who had fired 16 rounds.

Massey also said his team should have been briefed prior to the raid given that it was part of a larger investigation. “We’re not going to rush in to get dope,” the commander said. “Human life is more important than any amount of dope.” Massey then told investigators that the officer-involved shooting was “an egregious act” as he debriefed and looked over the evidence.