Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesBy CHRISTINA CARREGA and SABINA GHEBREMEDHIN
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Members of the Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Council — on both sides of the aisle — are criticizing investigations into the police-involved deaths of Breonna Taylor and David McAtee and demanding more transparency from the city’s mayor.
Government Oversight and Audit Chairman Brent Ackerson and Vice Chairman Anthony Piagentini announced on Monday that they intend to investigate Mayor Greg Fischer and his administration’s handling of the Taylor and McAtee cases, as well as the use of force during recent protests.
Ackerson, a Democrat, and Piagnentini, a Republican, have initiated the first steps to launching an investigation that they plan to present at the council’s July 23 meeting.
“The county attorney and others, in my opinion, have hidden behind certain procedures, processes, to not release that information,” Piagentini said Monday at a press conference.
Added Ackerson: “That’s the important thing, that you have 100% of the truth — the good, the bad and even if there’s something extremely ugly. You’ve got a right to know.”
Fischer, a Democrat, is halfway through his third term as mayor. At least three petitions are circulating online calling for him to resign or be fired.
Fischer’s office did not respond to requests for comment from ABC News.
“Since day one, this administration and Louisville Metro Police Department have worked to cover up the circumstances surrounding Breonna’s murder. The public deserves the truth. Tamika Palmer deserves the truth,” said Sam Aguiar, one of the attorneys for the Taylor family. “We appreciate the Metro Council taking action to hold our mayor accountable for his role in this cove-rup and his utter failure to be transparent.”
“If he wants to continue leading this community … he needs to be more transparent,” added Piagentini. “We have heard the cries of our citizens. … We will do what we are elected to do. We will represent the people and ensure our local government is transparent and that local leaders are held accountable for their decisions.”
Taylor, 25, was shot to death in her apartment on March 13 as three plainclothes Louisville police officers were executing a no-knock search warrant. Since her death, authorities have not released autopsy report findings, and officials have questioned the almost-blank police report filed after the incident.
Investigators with the FBI, the state’s attorney general and internal police agencies now are conducting separate investigations into Taylor’s death.
In the wake of the shooting, officer Brett Hankison has been fired from the police department. He fired 10 of the over 25 bullets into Taylor’s apartment, authorities said.
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove were reassigned.
McAtee, 53, was shot and killed as Louisville police officers and the National Guard were working June 1 to disperse protests throughout the city. As officers responded to a crowd across the street from McAtee’s restaurant, shots were fired.
“You and the public have a right to know whose calling the shots and what the thought process is,” said Ackerson, discussing law enforcement’s response to protests sparked by the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Video surveillance showed McAtee shooting his own weapon. Because city police officers did not have their body cameras on, their chief, who announced his retirement weeks prior, was fired by Fischer.
McAtee’s case is under investigation by local and state authorities as well as the National Guard, which is conducting a review of its own members.
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