As of September 23, a grand jury in the United States has indicted one of the police officers in the case of Breonna Taylor’s shooting, but not for her death.
On March 13, Breonna Taylor was fatally shot while asleep in her home, in an apparent drug raid gone wrong. The police executed a no-knock warrant after midnight, pursuing a suspect that no longer lived there. 26-year-old EMT Taylor, who had no criminal record and no drugs on the property, was shot multiple times while she was sleeping.
Although no one was indicted for her death, Police officer Brett Hankison was indicted in Louisville on three counts of “wanton endangerment” for firing into a neighbour’s apartment on the night of Taylor’s death.
Charges of this nature carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count, meaning Hankison may only see a maximum of 15 years behind bars. As the New York Times announced, none of the officers involved were charged for causing Taylor’s death.
Benjamin Crump, a lawyer representing Taylor’s family, had previously called for charges of second-degree manslaughter. Crump has since said the indictment is “outrageous and offensive.”
In court on September 23, AP News reported that prosecutors claimed that the other two officers involved in the shooting were justified in their actions as a way to protect themselves.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron asserted that the other two officers —Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove—were “justified to protect themselves and the justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges”.
Rightfully so, there has been an outpouring of rage toward the decision with many celebrities using their platform to enforce why it’s so important to vote in the upcoming U.S. Presidential election.
What happened to Breonna Taylor was more than a tragedy. Breonna Taylor’s unjust death should never have happened, and this heart-breaking ruling confirms that there’s more work to be done and it starts with us.
But there are ways to help bring justice to Breonna Taylor:
- Writer Cate Young started the #BirthdayForBreonna campaign, compiling a list of action items people can do to commemorate Taylor’s life.
- Sign this petition asking for the officers involved to be arrested and charged and for Congress to pass legislation that federally bans “no-knock” warrants.
- Donate to the GoFundMe for Taylor’s family.
- On justiceforbreonna.org, you can send a note to Taylor’s family and find a list of actions to take, including a list of officials to contact and another petition to sign.
- Learn about the history and power of police unions, starting with this Vox explainer.
- Donate to the Louisville Bail Fund, which you can find here.
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