The Only Witness Who Heard Police Announce Themselves at Breonna Taylor's Door Changed His Story [View all]

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Source: Vice News


The Only Witness Who Heard Police Announce Themselves at Breonna Taylor’s Door Changed His Story

Aarin Sarpee initially told investigators that he didn't hear police say who they were before ramming through Taylor's door. Two months later, he drastically changed his recollection.

by Roberto Ferdman

When Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced this week that no charges would be brought in direct connection with Breonna Taylor’s death, he underscored that the officers executing the search warrant that night did identify themselves at Taylor’s door, pointing to a witness who corroborated the officers’ version of events.

But, according to audio and documents obtained by VICE News, that same witness changed his story in the months following the deadly raid.

The witness is Aarin Sarpee, who was picking up his daughter from his brother’s apartment above Taylor’s at the time of the raid. According to officers’ interviews with investigators, Sarpee got into an argument with Detective Brett Hankison as the officers were banging on Taylor’s door.

The interviews were conducted by LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit (PIU), which investigates officer-involved shootings. According to the Public Integrity Unit’s investigative file, LMPD investigators spoke to Sarpee on the phone twice in the ensuing months. On March 21, a week after the shooting, Sgt. Jason Vance asked Sarpee directly if he heard anyone identify themselves as police. Sarpee responded, “No, nobody identified themselves.”


Read more: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bv8qyd/breonna-taylor-investigation-witness-changes-story