Kentucky grand jury indicts 1 of 3 officers in fatal Breonna Taylor police shooting but not for her death
The grand jury charges in Breonna Taylor case is the latest miscarriage of justice toward African Americans. A Kentucky grand jury indicted former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for shots he fired into a neighboring apartment, not directly tied to Taylor’s death.. The other two officers involved in the shooting were not charged.
Grand Jury Indicts Brett Hankison In Breonna Taylor Case On 3 Counts of Wanton Endangerment
In Kentucky, wanton endangerment is a Class D felony.
“A person is guilty of wanton endangerment in the first degree when, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person.”
The no-knock search warrant was a mess from the beginning. Taylor’s ex-boyfriend was the actual focus of a narcotics investigation that led officers to execute the warrant on her apartment, where no drugs were found.
Hankison was terminated in June, when it was determined he fired blindly through a closed sliding door with the blinds closed.
In May, Taylor’s neighbor, Chesey Napper, filed a lawsuit against the LMPD officers, claiming that the officers’ shots were “blindly fired” and nearly struck a man and her baby inside her apartment.
A witness also stated they never heard the officers announce themselves, as the officers claimed.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said his office determined the police officers knocked and announced their presence at Breonna Taylor’s home when she was killed.
That determination was made based on statements by other officers who were present at the location, and that information was corroborated by another civilian witness.
If convicted, Hankison faces up to 5 years in prison for each count.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky responded in a tweet to the indictment of one officer in the Breonna Taylor case.
“LMPD Detective Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for shooting blindly into apartments neighboring Breonna Taylor’s.
No charges were filed against LMPD Officers Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly. None of the charges against Detective Hankison were directly related to Breonna Taylor’s death.
This is the latest miscarriage of justice in our nation’s long history of denying that Black lives matter. Once again, a prosecutor has refused to hold law enforcement accountable for killing a young Black woman.
Breonna Taylor should still be alive today.”
Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor, tweeted following the announcement that one of the officers involved had been indicted in the case.
Jefferson County grand jury indicts former ofc. Brett Hankison Breonna Taylor’s death, with 3 counts of Wanton Endangerment in 1st Degree! We urge @kyoag to accept this recommendation ASAP. While not fully what we wanted, this brings us closer to #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor. pic.twitter.com/yhtcD1FvCU
“The injustice we’re witnessing at this moment can be sensed throughout the nation. Kentucky General Daniel Cameron’s failure to bring substantial charges against the officers who murdered Breonna Taylor causes angst and pain for far too many Americans still reeling from a pandemic. The charges of wanton endangerment in connection with the murder of Breonna Taylor does not go far enough and is a miscarriage of justice for her family and the people of Louisville.”
