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LMPD: Breonna Taylor investigation almost complete, calls for FBI and US Attorney to review

"It's obvious that this relationship between the police and communities of color in every American city is challenging,” Mayor Greg Fischer said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad says the investigation into the March 13 police shooting that resulted in a Louisville EMT’s death is almost complete.

Chief Conrad joined city leaders on a Facebook live Thursday as a part of Mayor Greg Fischer's town hall to discuss the Breonna Taylor case.

Chief Conrad and LMPD's public integrity unit discussed generalities during the call and refused to go into details surrounding the case.

Taylor's family has said there has been a lack of information provided to them throughout the investigation and they want answers.

RELATED: 'This was a botched investigation that ended up with an innocent young woman killed,' Breonna Taylor's attorney, mother speak out

"It's one of those situations where we also don't have a lot of contact with the officer involved, and it provides us the ability to do thorough and fair investigation as much as possible," Jamey Schwab with the public integrity unit said.

Fischer says his goal is that the facts are made public once the fair and impartial investigation is complete.

Investigations like this are typically turned over to the Commonwealth attorney for review when they are complete, but Commonwealth Attorney Tom Wine had recused himself from the investigation.

Chief Conrad has asked Attorney General Daniel Cameron to review the investigation and said U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman will also be getting a copy of the investigation to review. He also asked Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Kentucky, Robert Brown, to look it over.

"It's obvious that this relationship between the police and communities of color in every American city is challenging,” Mayor Fischer said during Thursday’s town hall. “We share the same history as Americans and we have to lean into all of our history – the proud moments, the painful moments, and the histories that have taught us how to move forward together."

Police fired several shots into Breonna Taylor's home from outside on the patio during the March 13 drug raid, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges the 26-year-old and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker III were in the hallway at the time.

An affidavit states the three detectives "attempted to enter" under a no-knock search warrant but were met by gunfire from a person inside. In that document officers imply at first, they thought it was Taylor who shot at them, but in a separate affidavit, Walker says he admitted he pulled the trigger in self-defense thinking it was a home invasion.

"Get your damn story straight,” Louisville attorney Sam Aguiar said during a zoom conference call with national civil rights attorney, Ben Crump. “Give me a break. It seems to me like [LMPD] is just trying to cover their tracks from day one."

Aguiar is representing Taylor's family with Crump.

In January, police believed suspected drug dealer, 30-year-old Jamarcus Glover, was using Taylor's apartment to ship drugs to avoid detection.

Attorneys say Taylor and Glover dated about two years ago and maintained a "passive friendship."

In one instance, detectives saw Glover picking up a package from Taylor's home and then taking it to another "known drug house."

"The biggest question we have is that if all of a sudden the police are conducting surveillance on Jamarcus Glover, see him carrying a package that they think contains some sort of drugs – then why in the world was he not pulled over right then and there?" Aguiar said.

Police pulled over Glover at least once a month, according to Aguiar. He was arrested and charged the same morning before Taylor was killed.

The search warrant says police saw a vehicle registered to Taylor in front of Glover's home on "different occasions." However, the document listed Glover and 27-year-old Adrian Walker, as the main suspects in a drug-trafficking investigation. The warrant also listed Taylor’s name and DOB. Her address was on the warrant, including images of her apartment and patio.

Attorneys say Taylor was unarmed during the police shooting and that no drugs were found in her home. An affidavit supporting that claim shows police found some of Taylor's belongings including Glover's mail inside her purse but showed nothing that appeared to be illegal.

"The warrant itself looks like it was just another goose chase to try to get drug dealers and other folks in Louisville,” Aguiar said.

A woman who lives next door to Taylor’s apartment said she woke up to the sound of gunshots in the early morning of March 13 and heard Taylor's boyfriend yelling for help, according to an affidavit.  

Taylor's sister who lives there was not home at the time.

Attorneys say the EMT was shot eight times at the end of the hallway while police were shooting "blindly" from outside.

Walker's father says his son had just accepted a job to work at the U.S. Postal Office.  Taylor's family says she and her boyfriend were not involved in drug activity.

RELATED: Commonwealth Attorney requests special prosecutor in Breonna Taylor case

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