#Breonna Taylor cops ‘knocked and announced’ themselves

The Louisville police officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s shooting death “knocked and announced” themselves — and did not execute a “no-knock warrant” as previously believed, Kentucky’s attorney general said Wednesday.

At a press conference, AG Daniel Cameron said a neighbor corroborated cops’ claims that they knocked on Taylor’s apartment door and announced themselves as police in the early morning hours of March 13.

“Evidence showed officers knocked and announced their presence at the apartment,” Cameron said, following the announcement from a grand jury to indict one of the officers, Brett Hankison, on three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree for firing his weapon into another apartment.

Cameron also defended two other officers involved — Detective Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly — saying they were first shot at by Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, before returning fire.

“Our investigation found that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in their use of force after having been fired on by Kenneth Walker,” Cameron said.

Mattingly and Cosgrove were not indicted.

Taylor was sleeping when police burst into her first-floor apartment. She was struck by six bullets — including one that was fatal — with a contemporaneous investigation by the FBI finding that Cosgrove is the one who fired the deadly shot, Cameron said.

Taylor’s death certificate indicates that she was struck five times, with Cameron clarifying that a bullet was lodged in her foot.

The timeline leading up to the botched raid has been hotly debated — with Walker claiming the officers never announced themselves. He said he only fired in self-defense.

Cameron said the grand jury began hearing evidence in the case on Monday and wrapped up the case around noon Wednesday.