Officer involved in Breonna Taylor's death charged with wanton endangerment

A woman reacts to news in the Breonna Taylor shooting, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. A grand jury has indicted one officer on criminal charges six months after Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by police in Kentucky. The jury presented its decision against fired officer Brett Hankison Wednesday to a judge in Louisville,

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A grand jury in Jefferson County, Ky., indicted former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison on Wednesday in connection with the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, charging him with three counts of wanton endangerment, in a decision that devastated advocates who sought more serious charges in Taylor’s killing. The two other officers involved in the case, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and detective Myles Cosgrove, were not charged, and none of the officers were charged for their role in her death.

The Republican attorney general said that according to Kentucky law, the use of force by Mattingly and Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves. This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Ms. Breonna Taylor’s death.

The earlier announcement of the indictment outraged civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Taylor’s family.

Crump tweeted, Jefferson County Grand Jury indicts former ofc. Brett Hankison with 3 counts of Wanton Endangerment in 1st Degree for bullets that went into other apartments but NOTHING for the murder of Breonna Taylor. This is outrageous and offensive!.

Cameron said he spoke with Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, before the announcement and informed her of the decision not to charge the officers with homicide. Hankison fired his weapon 10 times sending bullets into apartments adjacent to Taylor’s. At the time of the incident, three residents in those apartments were home. There is no conclusive evidence that any bullets fired from Hankison’s weapon struck Miss Taylor. There was no video or body camera footage of the incident. Therefore inquiry relied on ballistics evidence, 911 calls, police radio traffic and interviews with the people involved.

The decision to charge Hankison with endangering others, while not pursuing a case against the officers who killed Taylor drew a rebuke from attorneys representing Taylor’s family.

When asked about Cameron’s decision not to charge the officers with homicide, President Trump said Wednesday he didn’t yet know much about the decision, but said that he loves the Black community, and I've done more for the Black community with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.