The lawyers for Breonna Taylor accuse police in Louisville of acting on behalf of a redevelopment plan led by the city with funding support from the federal government.
Phillip M. Bailey and Tessa Duvall report for the Louisville Courier Journal:
Breonna Taylor's shooting was the result of a Louisville police department operation to clear out a block in western Louisville that was part of a major gentrification makeover, according to attorneys representing the slain 26-year-old's family.
Lawyers for Taylor's family allege in court documents filed in Jefferson Circuit Court Sunday that a police squad — named Place-Based Investigations — had "deliberately misled" narcotics detectives to target a home on Elliott Avenue, leading them to believe they were after some of the city's largest violent crime and drug rings.
The redevelopment plan at the center of the acquisitions is called Vision Russell, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Choice Neighborhoods initiative. The final addendum to the Vision Russell Transformation Plan was released by the city of Louisville in July 2019.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Fischer said the allegations are "outrageous" and "without foundation or supporting facts," according to the article. Mayor Fischer has recently taken on the role of president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. A follow-up article by Bailey Loosemore, written for the same publication, offers multiple local political leaders a chance to "scoff" at the allegations.
FULL STORY: Breonna Taylor warrant connected to Louisville gentrification plan, lawyers say
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