Glover was no kingpin. His arrest would not have made national headlines. But having him in handcuffs represented a key moment in a monthslong narcotics probe. Had it ended there it would have been a good night for the police.
But in a related, near-simultaneous operation across town, officers wearing tactical vests set up outside an apartment on Louisville's South End with a green door bearing a gold No. 4. It was the home of a young woman detectives suspected was tied to Glover's alleged ring.
Her name: Breonna Taylor.
Officers used a battering ram to break down Taylor's door, triggering a chain of events that would leave the unarmed 26-year-old woman fatally shot in a barrage of seemingly out-of-control police gunfire.
Unlike the recent controversial killings of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, there is no police body camera video of what transpired in the moments after officers bashed through Taylor's door. And in an era of widespread demand for greater police accountability, it's a case in which achieving a widely agreed upon sense of justice could prove elusive.
In the absence of videotape evidence, the circumstances surrounding Taylor's slaying have been widely discussed — and sometimes distorted — on social media and by pundits. Among the false claims is that police were conducting a raid at the wrong address, and that an officer injured in the shooting was a victim of "friendly fire" by fellow cops.
Misconceptions aside, the police operation that night was tragically flawed.
A CNN review of the incident found that a key miscalculation by police who assumed Taylor was home alone when she was in fact accompanied by a boyfriend who was legally armed, coupled with the decision to press forward with a high-risk, forced entry under questionable circumstances, contributed to the deadly outcome. This story is based on a review of search warrant affidavits, audio recordings of the official statements of key participants, 911 recordings and interviews with more than a dozen people.
The chaotic scene that night was exacerbated by an officer accused by his own department of "blindly" firing 10 rounds into Taylor's apartment from an outdoor patio. He's since been fired and is appealing his termination.
Police officials and prosecutors declined comment for this report, citing an ongoing investigation. Attempts to reach Glover, who faces drug trafficking charges stemming from the incident, were unsuccessful. His attorney said his client intends to plead not guilty but declined further comment.
Walter Katz, a veteran police oversight expert who has monitored departments in Los Angeles, San Jose and Chicago, called the known circumstances surrounding Taylor's death "very problematic," and indicative of systemic flaws in training and tactics.
The investigation, which now includes the state attorney general's office and the FBI, is being closely watched not just in Kentucky, but across the US.
Five warrants approved
Around noon on March 12,
