Im going to have to disagree with you here for several reasons. To obtain a warrant LE needs For there to be probable cause to search particular premises, it must be reasonably likely that:
a. the specific items to be searched for are connected with criminal activities; and
b. these items will be found in the place to be searched
Facts of the case
Taylor, who has no drug offenses on her record, shared her apartment with her younger sister, Juniyah Palmer. Neither Taylor nor Palmer has any history of drug offenses. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, did not live in the apartment, according to the address listed on his arrest citation. He also has no history of drug offenses, and Walker was not named in the search warrant.
Jamarcus Glover, Ms. Taylor’s ex-boyfriend whose alleged packages led the police to her door that night, was arrested on Aug. 27 in possession of drugs, according to a charging document. He told
The Courier Journal that Ms. Taylor had no involvement in the drug trade. “The police are trying to make it out to be my fault and turning the whole community out here, making it look like I brought this to Breonna’s door,” he said. While
Taylor and Glover had a "passive" relationship, she was not "knee deep" in drug dealing with him.
The Courier Journal reported May 12 that a sworn affidavit from Jaynes said
Glover was seen walking into Taylor's apartment one January afternoon and left with a "suspected USPS package in his right hand" then drove to a "known drug house" on Muhammad Ali Boulevard. But Louisville's U.S. postal inspector, Tony Gooden, told WDRB News in May that a different agency (which he did not identify) had asked in January to look into whether Taylor's home was receiving suspicious mail.
The office had concluded that it wasn't, Gooden said. The report notes that Taylor's house was under surveillance,
but does not find Taylor was "running drugs."
Sources:
Fact check: Posts with Breonna Taylor 'truths' include misinformation
What We Know About Breonna Taylor’s Case and Death
Probable Cause Analysis
BT has no known criminal/drug record, Nor did KW. The probable cause requirement was met because LE claims JG was receiving suspicious packages there. There's nothing illegal about receiving a package. The fact the JG then went to a "trap house" after is again not illegal. Evening assuming illegal activity occurred while there, this does not provide proof that the package JG brought with him contained drugs. Just because it could have been drugged, doesn't mean it was drugged or the it likely drugs. nor does it mean LE or anyone else should leap to that conclusion. Picking up your Amazon order than going to get high with your friends at somewhere, do not implicate either the package, BT, or her apartment. None of these facts create probable cause. to play devil's advocate lets say there were drugs in the package. LE witness JG picking up the package and leaving. There was no indication BT was storing the package or that the package was inside the apartment for any length of time. IMO even if the packages had drugs, which they didnt, they doesn't create a likelihood that they would be found in BTs apartment in the middle of the night, which is a requirement of the warrant. are these things suspicious? absolutely. But is there anything definitive tying BT or her apartment to drugs? No. So i argue no PC here.
Being seen in front of a trap house doesn't make you a drugie, or a drug dealer, or involved with drugs at all just like being spotted in a strip club parking lot doesnt make some a stripper. Its not illegal to go to a friend's house or drive in parts of the city where crime occurs. Driving by a place once also doesnt mean its a place you frequent. She could have been there for any number of reasons and we have no evidence to indicate JG has confirmed BT has nothing to do with his drug dealing. But just for the record taking drugs, or knowing someone who does, or having a friend who commits crimes doesnt make someone's life any less valuable nor does the legal requirements any different.
Furthermore, the Postal worker reported they did not find BT was receiving anything suspicious and LEs own report notes state BT was not running drugs. If there was nothing suspicious arriving in the mail and if by LEs own report BT has not taking any drugs out of the house then no probable cause exists. Additionally, they were working off of information that was 2 months old. As I understand it drug operations tend to move around alot. IMO prior to applying for the warrant LE should have done their due diligence and spent an afternoon verifying this information was still current. JG doesnt do to this location regularly, there was no reason for LE to belive he would be found there. The post offices finding of drugs was the only tangible evidence they had, everything else related to BT is speculation and guesswork.
So the fact that LE lied about it, is not a small detail to sweep under the rug. Its not a small thing, its
THE THING. Without this its totally unreasonable for LE to believe drugs would be found at BTs apartment. Everything remaining looks suspicious, I'll give you that but its all circumstantial. Without probable cause, LE should not have been granted a warrant and hence, they never should have been at BTs apartment. Her death was caused by a chain of misconduct from LE and it never should have happened. Lying about the packages is what made the difference between getting the warrant and not getting the warrant.
Counterargument
GPS tracking and surveillance had him picking up packages at her apartment in January multiple times. He was driving her car on video in front of the trap house. She was seen on video in February in front of the trap house. He was using her phone number and address as his own in February:
Yes he was seen picking things up and then leaving, driving her car but without her. He was not seen staying at her apartment overnight or for a significant length of time, at least to my knowledge so it doesnt make sense for LE to believe he or his drugs would like be found there in the middle of the night.
She definitely had knowledge of what he was doing -
I want to emphasize her that we have ABSOLUTELY no way of knowing what BT did or did not know. Seriously, how many ladies here can testify to their man lying to them about important things? Alot probably. BT sand JG had an on and off again passive thing. This could mean they very close or it could mean they told each other nothing. IMO this comes awfully close to the line of victim shaming (and im not trying to say thats what your doing) whether BT had knowledge of what JG was up to or not really makes no difference to the probable cause analysis because she was never involved and theres nothing to imply she was from LE Reports, JG himself, or her previous record. having knowledge would not somehow make a falsified lie okay, it wouldnt justify what happened to her, nor would it excuse LEs behavior. So IMO it adds nothing to a legal argument and we should therefore not speculate on it
The only real issue is the statement from the Postal inspector and even without that, they still had enough information collected during the investigation to justify having a search warrant for her apartment.
I absolutely disagree. everything they have is circumstantial. LE never confirmed visually or from others that drugs were ever at BTs apartment. It would not be reasonble for the to believe they would find drugs there, given they were workin on hearsay.
And this is neither here nor there but Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a warrant must command the officer to execute the warrant during the daytime, UNLESS the judge for good cause expressly authorizes the execution at another time. Daytime is between 6AM-10PM. I have not seen it noted anywhere they got that the judge authorized the execution of the warrant so late at night. Its very odd they did this and it just speaks to these officers continuous pattern of disregarding the letter of the law
An innocent young woman was killed in her own home. She lives in a decent area, she had no criminal record, LEs own reports stated she wasn't dealing drugs. LE did not have a legal right to search her apartment. They did not do their due diligence in confirming the facts of the case. IMO their behavior was reckless and negligent and as a result someone lost there life. Im not trying to say every cop is bad or every precinct. This isnt even necessarily a reflection of this police force. Its simply a reflection of these officers, and the misconduct they engaged in. Thank you for coming to my ted talk
