Breonna Taylor’s mother marks what would have been her 27th birthday: ‘It helps me to know that I am not in it alone anymore’

The mother of Breonna Taylor, the black EMT killed inside her apartment in Louisville earlier this year, marked what would have been her daughter’s 27th birthday on Friday as thousands across the country march in protest of her killing by police.

“I’m so grateful to the people listening and wanting the same thing I want — justice,” Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said in an interview with news organization The 19th. “It’s been hard, but the added support I’m getting from around the country helps keep me going. It helps me know that I am not in it alone anymore. It keeps me determined, that’s for sure.”

Taylor, 26, was killed on March 13 in her Louisville apartment by officers serving a no-knock warrant on the wrong address. The officers involved in the fatal shooting have been placed on administrative leave but have not been fired nor have they faced any charges.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer (D) fired police chief Steven Conrad earlier this month after another black Louisville resident, David McAtee, the owner of a popular barbecue restaurant, was killed by police who did not have their body camera activated. 

Palmer said it is “very frustrating” and “heartbreaking” that the officers who killed her daughter have not been held accountable.

“It’s a smack in the face, actually, to know that these officers are still being paid to do a job that they failed at,” Palmer told the outlet.

Taylor has become a household name, along with Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, as thousands march in her honor in protests against racial inequality and police brutality against African Americans.

On Feb. 23, Arbery was shot and killed while jogging in Brunswick, Ga., after being confronted by father and son duo Greg and Travis McMichael who followed him in a vehicle.

The McMichaels, who claim they believed Arbery to be a suspect in a recent string of local break-ins, were arrested only after video of Arbery’s death was leaked and went viral in May.

Floyd was killed over Memorial Day weekend during his arrest in Minneapolis. Video showed one officer, Derek Chauvin, pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

Chauvin has since been fired and arrested, along with his three colleagues who did not intervene during the fatal arrest.

Palmer told The 19th that her daughter “absolutely” would have participated in the wave of Black Lives Matter protests if she were alive.

“If this was anybody else, she’d be right here doing the same thing without a second thought,” Palmer said.

Palmer told the outlet that there has been a few moments of joy in the past month. 

The University of Louisville health system on Friday announced it would create a nursing scholarship in Taylor’s name for eligible black women in Kentucky, as Taylor’s dream was to become a nurse.

The Louisville Metro Council’s public safety committee this week unanimously approved “Breonna’s Law.” The outlet reported that the proposed legislation would limit police use of no-knock warrants, which permits officers to  a building without first knocking or ringing the doorbell, and require the use of body cameras.