Susan McCoy spoke over a tribute to Taylor to wrongly claim she had been in the company of a criminal at the time of her death
A teacher interrupted a Black History Month tribute to police shooting victim Breonna Taylor to suggest the paramedic was to blame for her own death. Susan McCoy, a teacher at Pebblebrook High School in Atlanta, Georgia, was recorded dismissing Taylor’s March 2020 killing during a virtual tribute last week.
As principal Dr Dana Giles addressed the meeting to commemorate 26 year-old Taylor, McCoy could be heard to say: ‘Dr G is on the announcements talking about….what’s her name? Breonna…something…the one that was killed in the gunfire by the cops.
‘(Taylor) put herself in that position hanging out with someone she shouldn’t have been with.’ A student asked McCoy if she was referring to Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who does not have a criminal record, and was the legally-registered owner of the gun he was carrying.
McCoy continued: ‘Here’s the thing. She was with her boyfriend who was a criminal.’ She was then corrected by another student, who told the teacher that she had mistaken Walker for Taylor’s ex, Jamarcus Glover, who was in custody at the time of her shooting.
McCoy continued: ‘Yeah. Okay. Like I said, I’m sorry she’s dead but they actually have proof that he fired at them first.’
McCoy has since issued a groveling apology in the wake of the furore triggered by her comments, and is also being investigated by school district bosses.
She told WSBTV: ‘I never should have talked about something that I didn’t understand, and I truly, truly apologize and ask for forgiveness.’
The two minute exchange came almost a year after Taylor was gunned down by Louisville Police Department officers executing a warrant at her home.
She became a figurehead for the Black Lives Matter movement throughout summer 2020.
Fresh attention was paid to Taylor’s death in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis two months after she was shot.
Police claim they announced themselves before entering, although that claim has been disputed.
Walker opened fire after the plain-clothes cops burst into Taylor’s home, fearing they were home invaders.
Those officers then returned fire, with one of them striking and killing Taylor.
The warrant was executed over a suspected postal delivery of drugs to Taylor’s ex-boyfriend Glover, although a postal inspector later denied confirming that delivery had taken place.
Taylor’s family were awarded $12 million by the City of Louisville for their daughter’s wrongful death, with policing reforms also promised.
Myles Cosgrove, the officer who fired the shot that Taylor, was fired but did not face any criminal charges. He is appealing his dismissal.
His colleague Brett Hankison was also fired and charged with wanton endangerment over claims he endangered Taylor’s neighbors by clumsily firing shots into their apartment.
Sergeant Jon Mattingly – the only police officer who entered the apartment – was shot by Kenneth Walker, but recovered.
He has since filed a civil lawsuit against Taylor’s boyfriend over the injury.
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