Well... no. Because she is dead. Because the police executed (no pun intended) a no knock warrant on her home in the middle of the night, and busted her door in with a battering ram- because she used to date a guy who was a street level drug dealer and some of his mail went to her house sometimes. So they battering ram
The door in... and then a sleeping resident shoots at the un identified men who just broke the door down in the middle of the night while he was asleep in bed.. and Taylor is shot while in bed and killed.
So there is no she said- she died. But... the he said he said might be that the police say that despite having a no knock warrant- they totally knocked. Which if we assume they aren’t lying... it still seems a bit odd that they wound specifically go to the Troy me of getting a no knock warrant- granted on grounds when officers make a case that knocking and announcing themselves would be dangerous to them...
So we must question that. Since Taylor and her boyfriend had no criminal history... and the man selling drugs who the investigation was about was known to be miles away.... if the police are telling the truth and could knock, they didn’t feel it was dangerous- so they lied to the judge when they got the warrant- or they thought it was dangerous... and lied when they said they knocked. So we have a lie there- or a serious breach in judgment either way. That’s pretty indisputable.
So then... we must look at the rest. If we say they did knock- I don’t know about you- but from my old apartment bedroom, someone knocking on my door at 12am isn’t going to be heard. By all accounts, at 12am I’m usually asleep. Tonight in up late- getting ready for a big day tomorrow. Usually- asleep. So most reasonable people know that most working adults aren’t answering or even hearing the door at 12am.
But here is a Tl:dr and finisher to the “he said...” The MOST BASIC rules of firearms- not something taught in combat or duty training to elite pros. Something that every state in the union requires every gun owner to know, a thing that any human around guns should already know- you always point a weapon on the safest direction- and you must always be aware of what is down range of your target because billets miss and bullets over penetrate. If you shoot in a residential building- you need to make sure you don’t kill someone behind your target. If you are not able to be aware and safe- you should not fire a weapon.
Most police departments don’t allow car chases. PURPOSE. WHAT IS THE THING YOU AS A COP ARE DOING, AND WHY? If your purpose is to protect the public- negligent discharge of a fire arm to protect yourself- from a situation you put yourself in and could excuse yourself from- is not conducive to your purpose. Killing an EMT with no criminal history and uncovering... no crimes, no drugs, no money...? Not conducive.
And what IF there had been money, or drugs- and a woman who had nothing to do with it had been shot anyway? That wouldn’t really be a fair trade would it? How many kilos or how many stacks of $100’s would you trade the life of your spouse/mother/sister for?
You know what isn’t satisfying? What’s boring, doesn’t make cool stories or let you live out action hero fantasies? Watching, waiting, recording, going in to the home maybe... not at midnight but maybe... 12PM on a Wednesday when people are at work and you’re pretty safe no one is home? Maybe having a UC watch the house so you can be pretty sure that no one is home to minimize the risks before you enter?
No one won. That’s not something that’s he said she said. The cops have a black eye- they’ve lost their no knock privileges there- and other cops might too- a potentially valuable tool of used right- gone. They look real bad, and have added fuel to a fire that wants to defund, disband, or otherwise restrict police even further. An innocent woman is dead, and the only real court case they built from the bust- is a case for murder or unjustified shooting- BY THEM. That’s bad- when your tally for a nights work is you’ve created more crimes than you stopped or brought to justice.
So there are certain little particulars here that are up for debate- but it ultimately doesn’t matter since someone who is supposedly trusted with a gun amongst a civilian populace, shot and killed a person other than the person who was a threat at the time. The shooter takes the shot, the shooter gets the medal or the heat whichever way that goes. Don’t like it- keep your finger off the trigger- because the moment you draw iron, that’s it. Life and death are in your hands and no one on earth is accountable for what happens next except you.
Oh- and there wouldn’t need to be he said she said if the cops on the case were wearing body cameras. Which they weren’t- because Narcs seldom do, to protect those they work with. Which might apply when you’re speaking to an informant- but makes no sense when you’ve set out to raid a suspected drug stash does it?
The door in... and then a sleeping resident shoots at the un identified men who just broke the door down in the middle of the night while he was asleep in bed.. and Taylor is shot while in bed and killed.