It’s been over six months since Breonna Taylor was killed by police officers who shot her while she was in her bed sleeping. Today (Sept. 23) an indictment was announced, but not for her death. A Kentucky Grand jury indicted former police Officer Brett Hankison, charging him with three counts of Wanton Endangerment in the 1st degree for firing into a neighboring apartment during the police raid of Taylor’s home.
Officer Hankison wasn’t charged for murder in any degree—not even manslaughter. To date, the other two officers who were present when Taylor was killed, Sargent Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove, have not been indicted. None of the officers have been charged for their role in Taylor’s death.
At a news conference after the grand jury’s verdict, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said the three officers announced themselves before entering Taylor’s apartment and didn’t use a no-knock warrant. Previous reports state the officers did use a no-knock warrant during the narcotics investigation. Following Taylor’s tragic death, no-knock warrants have been banned by Louisville’s Metro Council.
“According to Kentucky law, the use of force was justified to protect themselves. This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor’s death.” Cameron is Kentucky’s first Black Attorney General. He dared to go on and state that “the decision before my office as the special prosecutor, in this case, was not to decide if the loss of Ms. Taylor’s life was a tragedy. The answer to that is unequivocally yes.”
This is not the justice Breonna Taylor deserves. She was killed by the police officers who charged into her home in plainclothes at 12:40 AM on March 13, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. The police claim they identified themselves (neighbors said they didn’t) before entering her home looking for a suspect who did not live there. No narcotics were found at her home. Interim Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder said Hankison “wantonly and blindly” shot ten rounds of gunfire into Taylor’s apartment showing “extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
Taylor served her community as an EMT. She had dreams of becoming a nurse, homeowner, and mother. Attorney Ben Crump is representing Taylor’s family and tweeted that the charges involved “NOTHING for the murder of Breonna Taylor. This is outrageous and offensive!” The FBI is still investigating potential violations of federal law in Taylor’s case.