Breonna Taylor’s Mother Calls on Joe Biden to Hold Police Accountable
Written by SOURCE on December 19, 2020
Breonna Taylor‘s mother, Tamika Palmer, isn’t stopping until her daughter receives justice and she wants the oncoming president to join her in her fight.
The Washington Post ran a full-page ad in its Thursday edition. This ad was a candid, open letter from Palmer addressed directly to President-elect Joe Biden.
In the letter, she asked the president-elect to hold police accountable by enforcing a list of policy changes that would help curb police brutality. She says that he has an obligation to put these measures in place because he was elected in part due to the anger created by police violence and brutality.
“For many Americans, a vote for you was a vote for Breonna, Jacob Blake, Casey Goodson and so many others who have been failed repeatedly by the criminal justice system under the current administration,” Palmer wrote.
Palmer also acknowledges that her daughter is more than a martyr. The 26-year-old Taylor was killed in March after a no-knock warrant was served at her home. Despite several violations by the responding officers, the police weren’t charged in her death. Instead, they were hit with offenses for the bullets that happened to miss Taylor.
“Her murder sparked protests across America and inspired activists to demand accountability in policing across the nation,” Plamer explained. “So far, we have seen none.”
Palmer is hoping to make sure that another family doesn’t have to experience the same pain she lives with by giving Biden a specific list of demands to meet. These demands are part of the Grassroots Law Project, which was co-founded by Shaun King and Lee Merritt.
“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,” Palmer wrote to Biden.
The Biden Administration has yet to respond to Palmer’s letter.
