Breonna Taylor: NYC Protests & Cuomo Comments

This evening Breonna Taylor’s  Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, posted an illustration of her daughter on Instagram with the caption, “It’s still Breonna Taylor for me #ThesystemfailedBreonna.”  

Today, groups of demonstrators continue to march the streets in NYC, many chanting “Say her name, Breonna Taylor'" 

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo addressed Breonna Taylor's death. In a briefing from his Midtown office, the governor called on Mayor de Blasio and others in City Hall to promptly address the issue of police reform, which gained renewed significance Wednesday when a Kentucky grand jury opted against filing any charges in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Governor Cuomo: "Breonna Taylor's death was murder. People were outraged. Yes, because it's outrageous. If a person was murdered, then there's a murderer, right? That's how it works. And, the underlying police action should never have happened in the first place."

Breonna Taylor was a Black woman killed by police in her Louisville apartment during a misdirected drug raid in March.  The grand jury indicted one Louisville officer in connection to the March 13 killing, but for shooting into a home next to Taylor’s that had people in it. No charges were brought against the two officers who fired their weapon at Taylor, in her home. Prosecutors said they were justified in using force to protect themselves after they were shot at. After the 'nobill' was announced protesting erupted across in Kentucky and NYC. 

Taylor, an emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by white officers who entered her home on a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside.

"This is not Breonna Taylor or George Floyd. It has been going on for decades and decades. You may have reached the point of boiling where people are just saying I'm not going to take it anymore. But it has been going on for decades. It's not going to go away on its own. And there's real tension between the community and the police. Everybody knows it, everybody feels it."  He went on to say,  "We at least have to learn from these horrific situations, and God forbid anything like that happened in this state."

Gov. Cuomo took aim at New York City leaders on Thursday for failing to get the ball rolling on NYPD reforms,  "June 12th, I announced an executive order because we understand this situation now. And I announced that every jurisdiction must come up with a plan that reimagines their public safety function. And they must pass it into law by April 1 or they won't receive funding from the State of New York. There is no greater sanction. None of these jurisdictions can survive without funding from the State of New York. April 1 coincides with our budget date. We're now October. Why? Because they have to acknowledge and resolve the tensions that are there. And that's not going to happen unless you have a quote unquote collaborative, which means put everyone at the table, raise the concerns, and resolve them."

Just one day after a grand jury’s ruling in the death of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he understands the frustration. "Because this is not Breonna Taylor or George Floyd. It has been going on for decades and decades. You may have reached the point of boiling where people are just saying I'm not going to take it anymore. But it has been going on for decades. It's not going to go away on its own. And there's real tension between the community and the police. Everybody knows it, everybody feels it. What do you think? It's going to resolve automatically? What are you, the Trump theory on COVID? It'll magically disappear. It'll be gone by Easter. The president was in denial about COVID. I believe he was actually lying about COVID. But, lying, denial does not work. These tensions are not going to go away until you resolve them."

Protestors slept outside the New York State Executive Mansion overnight Wednesday and stayed through Thursday morning.

Chalk messages on the ground read, “Breonna Taylor,” and  “Say her name.”