Kamala Harris demands federal investigation into police shooting of Breonna Taylor

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is demanding federal investigators examine the controversial shooting of EMT Breonna Taylor.

"I'm calling for the Department of Justice to investigate #BreonnaTaylor's death," Harris, a California Democrat, said in a tweet Wednesday. "Her family deserves answers."

The former presidential candidate described Taylor as a young woman with a dream of becoming a nurse and how she was fatally shot by police while in her apartment.

Harris incorrectly stated on NBC News that Louisville police were "at the wrong place trying to serve a warrant."

Louisville narcotics officers did have a warrant to search Taylor's address on March 13, but the document shows that she was not the main subject of the drug investigation.

Police also found no illegal narcotics inside her apartment.

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Also:Mother of EMT killed by Louisville police speaks out: Breonna Taylor 'didn't deserve this'

Taylor's death has raised questions about why police entered her home while serving a warrant at 1 a.m. if she was not a suspect.

Police believed that one of the targets in their narcotics investigation, Jamarcus Glover, used Taylor's home to receive mail, keep drugs or stash money earned from the sale of drugs, court records show. 

Louisville investigators said in an affidavit summarizing the case how Glover was seen walking into Taylor's apartment one afternoon in January.

Officers said he left with a "suspected USPS package in his right hand" before got into his car and drove to a "known drug house."

Taylor, 26, had no criminal record and was an award-winning EMT. She died in her apartment after being shot eight times by police who alleged they opened fire after her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired first, wounding an officer. 

Louisville-based attorney Sam Aguiar, who is one of the lawyers representing Taylor's family, said the police warrant represents "another wild goose chase" by investigators and that Taylor was wrong "lumped right into the middle of it."

"If they really thought that Breonna (Taylor's apartment) was a place for him to pick up packages and that these packages contain things that they shouldn't, why in the world are they waiting until the middle of March to execute a no-knock drug raid?" Aguiar said during a press conference on Wednesday.

More:Shooting victim Breonna Taylor's lawyer to police: 'Get your damn story straight'

Taylor's shooting has been thrust into the national spotlight in recent days, and a petition calling for justice for her has collected more than 39,000 signatures.

Harris said Taylor's shooting dovetails with the stunning video that capture the shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was shot and killed by two white men in South Georgia in late February.

"That's not justice what has happened for those two young people," she said.

Harris' call for federal authorities to look into the case echoes local civil rights leaders, who have said there needs to be an independent investigation.

The Interdenominational Ministerial Coalition has also demanded creating a new civilian review board to oversee Louisville Metro Police.

Other national political figures have spoken up about the shooting, including Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, who said Wednesday how the shooting, "should be thoroughly and promptly investigated."

News:Louisville mayor calls for 'thorough investigation' into Breonna Taylor's death by police

Reporter Tessa Duvall contributed to this story.

Reach Phillip M. Bailey at pbailey@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4475. Follow him on Twitter at @phillipmbailey.