A grand jury indicted one of three officers who fired shots into Breonna Taylor’s apartment on March 13 — the only one charged in her murder during a botched police raid that set off months of protests around the U.S. against police brutality and racism.
Former detective Brett Hankison was charged with wanton endangerment and ordered held on a $15,000 bond — but not for shooting Taylor. He was charged for shooting rounds into neighboring apartments adjacent to Taylor’s apartment. There were no counts charged in Taylor’s death.
“I think it’s grossly insufficient,” Rev. Al Sharpton said on MSNBC. “It does not deal with the fact that the life of Breonna Taylor was taken.”
Bracing for an announcement in favor of the police, authorities earlier this week declared a state of emergency in Louisville, Kentucky.
A grand jury was expected to review the conduct of Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, Detective Myles Cosgrove and former detective Hankison. It could have considered any four degrees of homicide charges, from reckless homicide to murder, or decide not to indict them for a crime at all, USA Today reported.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron was responsible for deciding whether or not to file charges against the officers involved.
Kentucky Gov. JB Pritzker put the Illinois National Guard on notice ahead of the grand jury presenting its findings, CBS Local Chicago reported.
Cameron was discussed the decision in the shooting death of the 26-year-old emergency room technician by Louisville police during a 1:30 p.m. news conference at the Kentucky History Center and Museum in Frankfort.
State police cars and orange cones blocked off the history center Wednesday morning, the Courier-Journal reported.
Cameron concluded that in his view Taylor’s shooting was justified.
Taylor’s case has put Kentucky’s first Black state attorney general in the spotlight. A rising star in the Republican party, all eyes are on Cameron as he oversees the case.
Activists and Taylor’s family have demanded that the officers responsible for Taylor’s death be arrested. It could serve as a pivotal moment in the 34-year-old attorney general’s career, CNN reported.
As part of the state of emergency, Louisville acting Police Chief Robert Schroeder announced that vacation requests and days off for all Louisville Metro Police Department personnel were canceled until further notice pending an announcement of charges.
Daniel Cameron is a darling of the Republican Party and has been praised by President Donald Trump, landing a speaking spot at the party’s convention in August, where he talked about the protests triggered by Taylor’s death.
“Even as anarchists mindlessly tear up American cities while attacking police and innocent bystanders, we Republicans do recognize those who work in good faith towards peace, justice and equality,” Cameron said. “In fact, it was Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, a future Republican president, who said democracy is a system that recognizes the equality of humans before the law.”
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 73: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin makes the case for why this is a multi-factor rebellion vs. just protests about George Floyd. He discusses the Democratic Party’s sneaky relationship with the police in cities and states under Dem control, and why Joe Biden is a cop and the Steve Jobs of mass incarceration.
Taylor was shot five times. Officials have not publicly said whose bullets shot her, Courier-Journal reported.
Protesters in Louisville have been gathering for months in Jefferson Square Park, where they’ve served food, played music and prayed while demanding justice for Taylor. The park has come to symbolize what people can do when they set aside their differences, protesters said, according to the Courier-Journal.
On Tuesday, Louisville Metro police employees set up concrete roadblocks, traffic barricades and metal fences on the streets around the park in anticipation of charges against police — or lack of them.
